2021–22_Aberdeen_F.C._season

2021–22 Aberdeen F.C. season

2021–22 Aberdeen F.C. season

Aberdeen 2021–22 football season


The 2021–22 Aberdeen F.C. season is Aberdeen's 109th season in the top flight of Scottish football and the ninth in the Scottish Premiership.[1] Aberdeen competed in the Scottish Cup, the League Cup and in qualifying for the inaugural season of 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League.

Quick Facts season, Chairman ...

Summary

May

Player-coach Scott Brown arrived from Celtic in July. Scotland International defender Declan Gallagher signed a pre-contract from Motherwell. Striker Jay Emmanuel-Thomas signed from Livingston. Goalkeeper Gary Woods permanently joined from Oldham Athletic after his loan spell last season.

June

Young winger Teddy Jenks joined from Brighton and Hove Albion on a loan deal, Jack Gurr joined from manager Glass' former club Atlanta United on a free, and American International Christian Ramirez signed from Houston Dynamo for an undisclosed fee.

July

The club announced all pre-season fixtures were to be played behind closed doors[2] but two matches were cancelled due to COVID-19.[3][4] Scott Brown was announced as Team Captain with goalkeeper Joe Lewis becoming the Club Captain.[5]

August

Aberdeen were knocked out of the League Cup by Championship side Raith Rovers. This followed with being knocked out of Europe by Azerbaijan side FK Qarabağ in the Play-off round.

September

Lewis Ferguson was called up and made his debut for the Scotland national team. The club however suffered a miserable September, losing all three matches in the Premiership. Niall McGinn and Lewis Ferguson were both called up for their respective countries for the October internationals.

October

Having lost five league games in a row, Glass was under pressure but was eased with wins against both Edinburgh clubs and were unlucky not to win at Ibrox.

November

On 20 November, the Dons lost to Dundee United, however off the pitch player Funso Ojo was assaulted by a United fan and was sent off for a second bookable offence. The fan was later charged and banned from football.[6] Ojo himself also assaulted a separate United fan after the match. He was later charged for the incident[7]

December

After three wins, the Dons lost at Easter Road to a Ryan Porteous goal, but during the match he was involved in an incident with Dons forward Ramirez for which he was later given a three match ban.[8] Young full back Jack MacKenzie signed a new contract.[9] The year ended prematurely due to the Covid variant Omicron and the club were forced to play in front of 500 fans against Dundee on Boxing Day as the Dens Park side struggled to field a team.[10][11]

January

Midfielder Matty Longstaff returned to his parent club after a disappointing spell with the club.[12] Austin Samuels also returned to his parent club. Promising young American College player Dante Polvara signed a contract for the club.[13] The club signed Dutch forward Vicente Besuijen on a four-and-a-half year contract.[14]

February

After a poor run of results including a fifth-round defeat in the Scottish Cup to Motherwell, Stephen Glass left the club on 13 February. He was replaced by Barry Robson as interim manager.[15] The club appointed Jim Goodwin as manager on 19 February[16] Before the match with Dundee United, a statue was unveiled of their most successful manager to date, Alex Ferguson.[17]

March

It was announced that Team Captain and player-coach Scott Brown had left to pursue his coaching career elsewhere.[18] For the second time during the season The Dons went 10 matches without a League win.[19] Jim Goodwin's first win as manager came in a 3–1 home win against Hibernian on 19 March. The club descended to 10th place in the league.[20]

April

It was revealed that long-serving defender and former Club Captain Andrew Considine would leave at the end of the season after rejecting the offer of a new deal on reduced terms.[21] Michael Devlin and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas had their contracts terminated and left the club.[22][23] A home defeat to Ross County consigned Aberdeen to a place in the bottom 6 of the league, failing to qualify for European competition for the first time since 2012-13.[24] The team's first clean sheet in the league since December 2021 came in a 1–0 win against bottom placed Dundee.

May

Aberdeen secured their place in the Premiership with a draw at Hibernian.[25] Gaining just 2 points from a possible 9 in the last month of the season, the club finished the league in 10th place. Andy Considine made his final appearance for The Dons at home to St Mirren in the season finale.[26] Dylan McGeouch, Funso Ojo and Michael Ruth left the club on conclusion of their contracts, whilst Adam Montgomery and Teddy Jenks returned to their parent clubs at the end of their loan. [27]

Results & fixtures

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

Pre-season

1 July 2021 Friendly Aberdeen Cancelled Cove Rangers Cormack Park
8 July 2021 Friendly Aberdeen 1–1 Inverness CT Cormack Park
13:00 Emmanuel-Thomas 31' Report Sutherland 22' Attendance: Behind closed doors
16 July 2021 Friendly Aberdeen Cancelled Reading Cormack Park
13:30 Report
16 July 2021 Friendly Aberdeen 0–0 St Johnstone Cormack Park
13:30 Report Attendance: Behind closed doors

Scottish Premiership

1 August 2021 1 Aberdeen 2–0 Dundee United Pittodrie Stadium
15:00 Hayes 27'
Ramirez 51'
Report Attendance: 6,305
Referee: Alan Muir
8 August 2021 2 Livingston 1–2 Aberdeen Almondvale Stadium
15:00 Anderson 35' Report Jenks 47'
MacKenzie 90+4'
Attendance: 2,000
Referee: Kevin Clancy
22 August 2021 3 Heart of Midlothian 1–1 Aberdeen Tynecastle Stadium
15:00 Boyce 56' Report Ojo 71' Attendance: 17,449
Referee: Bobby Madden
29 August 2021 4 Aberdeen 1–1 Ross County Pittodrie Stadium
15:00 Ramirez 88' Report Charles-Cook 33' Attendance: 14,434
Referee: Nick Walsh
11 September 2021 5 Motherwell 2–0 Aberdeen Fir Park
15:00 van Veen 26'
Ojala 59'
Report Attendance: 5,623
Referee: John Beaton
18 September 2021 6 Aberdeen 0–1 St Johnstone Pittodrie Stadium
15:00 Report May 84' Attendance: 13,007
Referee: Bobby Madden
26 September 2021 7 St Mirren 3–2 Aberdeen St Mirren Park
12:00 Ronan 14', 58'
Main 61'
Report Brown 18'
Ramirez 34'
Attendance: 4,513
Referee: Willie Collum
3 October 2021 8 Aberdeen 1–2 Celtic Pittodrie Stadium
12:00 Ferguson 56' Report Furuhashi 11'
Jota 84'
Attendance: 14,522
Referee: Bobby Madden
16 October 2021 9 Dundee 2–1 Aberdeen Dens Park
18:00 Griffiths 49'
McCowan 62'
Report Ramirez 67' Attendance: 6,878
Referee: Colin Steven
23 October 2021 10 Aberdeen 1–0 Hibernian Pittodrie Stadium
15:00 Ramirez 27' Report Attendance: 9,431
Referee: Greg Aitken
27 October 2021 11 Rangers 2–2 Aberdeen Ibrox Stadium
19:45 Morelos 20'
Tavernier 81' (pen.)
Report Ramirez 8'
Brown 16'
Attendance: 49,760
Referee: John Beaton
30 October 2021 12 Aberdeen 2–1 Heart of Midlothian Pittodrie Stadium
15:00 Watkins 49'
Ferguson 69'
Report Souttar 45+2' (pen.) Attendance: 9,736
Referee: Kevin Clancy
6 November 2021 13 Aberdeen 0–2 Motherwell Pittodrie Stadium
15:00 Report van Veen 50', 57' Attendance: 9,666
Referee: Don Robertson
20 November 2021 14 Dundee United 1–0 Aberdeen Tannadice
15:00 Harkes 80' Report Referee: Bobby Madden
28 November 2021 15 Celtic 2–1 Aberdeen Celtic Park
15:00 Jota 20'
McGregor 60'
Report Ferguson 33' (pen.) Referee: Kevin Clancy
1 December 2021 16 Aberdeen 2–0 Livingston Pittodrie Stadium
19:45 Hedges 23'
Bates 75'
Report Attendance: 6,295
Referee: Craig Napier
4 December 2021 17 Aberdeen 4–1 St Mirren Pittodrie Stadium
15:00 Watkins 6', 43'
Ramirez 9', 71'
Report Tanser 42' Attendance: 8,002
Referee: Willie Collum
11 December 2021 18 St Johnstone 0–1 Aberdeen McDiarmid Park
15:00 Report Jenks 83' Attendance: 3,791
Referee: Greg Aitken
22 December 2021 19 Hibernian 1–0 Aberdeen Easter Road
19:45 Porteous 64' Report Attendance: 14,314
Referee: Alan Muir
26 December 2021 20 Aberdeen 2–1 Dundee Pittodrie Stadium
15:00 Hedges 12'
Ferguson 70'
Report Griffiths 7' Attendance: 500[N 1]
Referee: Nick Walsh
18 January 2022 21 Aberdeen 1–1 Rangers Pittodrie Stadium
19:45 Ferguson 73' (pen.) Report Hagi 20' Attendance: 16,371
Referee: Kevin Clancy
25 January 2022 22 St Mirren 1–0 Aberdeen St Mirren Park
19:45 Ronan 61' Report Attendance: 4,821
Referee: Grant Irvine
1 February 2022 24 Ross County 1–1 Aberdeen Victoria Park
19:45 Callachan 53' Report Hayes 48' Attendance: 3,343
Referee: Alan Muir
5 February 2022 25 Livingston 2–1 Aberdeen Almondvale Stadium
15:00 Obileye 8'
Forrest 49'
Report Ramirez 66' Attendance: 4,276
Referee: Kevin Clancy
9 February 2022 26 Aberdeen 2–3 Celtic Pittodrie Stadium
19:45 Ramirez 56'
Ferguson 61'
Report Jota 17', 62'
O'Riley 20'
Attendance: 15,291
Referee: Willie Collum
15 February 2022 23 Aberdeen 1–1 St Johnstone Pittodrie Stadium
19:45 Ferguson 71' (pen.) Report Hendry 6' Attendance: 12,973
Referee: Gavin Duncan
19 February 2022 27 Motherwell 1–1 Aberdeen Fir Park
15:00 O'Hara 68' Report Besuijen 34' Attendance: 5,171
Referee: Nick Walsh
26 February 2022 28 Aberdeen 1–1 Dundee United Pittodrie Stadium
15:00 Edwards 16' (OG) Report McNulty 4' (pen.) Attendance: 18,719
Referee: David Munro
2 March 2022 29 Heart of Midlothian 2–0 Aberdeen Tynecastle Park
19:45 Souttar 38'
Kingsley 60'
Report Attendance: 16,703
Referee: Steven McLean
5 March 2022 30 Rangers 1–0 Aberdeen Ibrox Stadium
19:45 Roofe 81' Report Attendance: 50,010
Referee: John Beaton
19 March 2022 31 Aberdeen 3–1 Hibernian Pittodrie Stadium
15:00 Ferguson 37' (pen.), 64' (pen.)
Besuijen 80'
Report Ramsay 20' (OG) Attendance: 15,321
Referee: Alan Muir
2 April 2022 32 Dundee 2–2 Aberdeen Dens Park
15:00 McGhee 62'
Mullen 86'
Report Ramsay 41'
McCrorie 81'
Attendance: 7,815
Referee: John Beaton
9 April 2022 33 Aberdeen 0–1 Ross County Pittodrie Stadium
15:00 Report Hungbo 86 pen.' Attendance: 15,162
Referee: Greg Aitken
23 April 2022 34 Aberdeen 1–2 Livingston Pittodrie Stadium
15:00 McCrorie Red card 78'
Ferguson 90 pen.'
Report Devlin 41'
Holt 70 pen.'
Attendance: 12,338
Referee: Grant Irvine
30 April 2022 35 Aberdeen 1–0 Dundee Pittodrie Stadium
15:00 Ferguson 73 pen.' Report Attendance: 13,747
Referee: William Collum
7 May 2022 36 Hibernian 1–1 Aberdeen Easter Road
15:00 McGinn 83' Report Bates 55' Referee: Bobby Madden
11 May 2022 37 St Johnstone 1–0 Aberdeen McDiarmid Park
19:45 Hendry 17' Report Attendance: 3,421
Referee: David Munro
15 May 2022 38 Aberdeen 0–0 St Mirren Pittodrie Stadium
12:00 Report Attendance: 14,906
Referee: Don Robertson

Scottish League Cup

  • Aberdeen enter the Second Round of the League Cup where they will play Raith Rovers. Stephen Glass made seven changes for the match and subsequently were knocked out.
15 August 2021 Second Round Raith Rovers 2–1 Aberdeen Kirkcaldy
12:00 Varian 48'
Zanatta 71'
AFC
BBC
Emmanuel-Thomas 13' Stadium: Stark's Park
Attendance: 3,297
Referee: Steven McLean
Note: Game televised on Premier Sports.

Scottish Cup

22 January 2022 Fourth Round Aberdeen 3–0 Edinburgh City Pittodrie Stadium
15:00 Hedges 23'
Ramirez 44'
Ferguson 90+2'
Report Attendance: 9,019
Referee: Alan Muir
12 February 2022 Fifth Round Motherwell 2–1 Aberdeen Fir Park
15:00 van Veen 34'
Shields 45+3'
Report Ramirez 3' Attendance: 5,892
Referee: Greg Aitken

UEFA Europa Conference League

Aberdeen qualified by finishing in fourth place in the 2020–21 Scottish Premiership and entered in the second qualifying Round. They knocked out BK Hacken 5–3 on aggregate to enter the third qualifying Round against Breiðablik. They also knocked them out 5–3 on aggregate but lost the play-off round 4–1 on aggregate to Qarabağ.

Second qualifying round

29 July 2021 Second leg BK Häcken Sweden 2–0
(3—5 agg.)
Scotland Aberdeen Gothenburg, Sweden
17:30 Olsson 51'
Bengtsson 68'
UEFA report
Aberdeen FC Report
Stadium: Hisingen Arena
Attendance: 823
Referee: Ádám Farkas (Hungary)

Third qualifying round

5 August 2021 First leg Breiðablik Iceland 2–3 Scotland Aberdeen Reykjavík, Iceland
20.00 Eyjólfsson 16'
Vilhjálmsson 43' (pen.)
Report Ramirez 3', 49'
Ferguson 11'
Stadium: Laugardalsvöllur
Attendance: 1,197
Referee: Ivan Bebek (Croatia)
Note: Game televised on Premier Sports.
12 August 2021 Second leg Aberdeen Scotland 2–1
(5–3 agg.)
Iceland Breiðablik Aberdeen, Scotland
19.45 Hedges 47', 70' Report Eyjólfsson 59' Stadium: Pittodrie Stadium
Attendance: 15,107
Referee: Marco Di Bello (Italy)

Play-off round

19 August 2021 First leg Qarabağ FK Azerbaijan 1–0 Scotland Aberdeen Baku, Azerbaijan
17.00 Romero 30' Report Stadium: Tofig Bahramov Stadium
Attendance: 9,756
Referee: Rade Obrenovic (Slovenia)
26 August 2021 Second leg Aberdeen Scotland 1–3
(1–4 agg.)
Azerbaijan Qarabağ FK Aberdeen, Scotland
19.45 Ferguson 90+2pen' Report Bayramov 8'
Kady 18'
Zoubir 72'
Stadium: Pittodrie Stadium
Attendance: 15,533
Referee: Harold Lechner (Austria)

Squad statistics

Appearances

As of 7 May 2022
More information No., Pos ...

Goalscorers

As of 7 May 2022

More information Ranking, Nation ...

Team statistics

League table

More information Pos, Pld ...
Source: [29][30]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-Head goal difference; 6) Play-off (only if deciding champion, UEFA competitions qualification, second stage group allocation or relegation).[31]
(O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. Teams play each other three times (33 matches), before the league is split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six).

Results by round

More information Round, Ground ...
Updated to match(es) played on 13 May 2022. Source: [citation needed]
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Transfers

Players in

More information Date, Pos ...

Players out

More information Date, Pos ...

Loans in

More information Date, Pos ...

Loans out

More information Date, Pos ...

See also

Footnotes

  1. Match was limited to 500 fans according to Government guidelines

References

  1. "Start dates for 2021/22". SPFL. 25 March 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  2. "Scott Brown to lead the Dons as Team Captain". Aberdeen FC. 17 July 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  3. "Aberdeen overcome depleted Dundee". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  4. Mair, Steven (26 December 2021). "Dundee bench consists of assistant manager, two goalkeepers and a teenager". Daily Record. Retrieved 26 December 2021.
  5. "Sir Alex Ferguson statue unveiled at Aberdeen's Pittodrie Stadium". BBC News. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  6. "AFC Gets Greenlight for fans". Aberdeen FC. 16 July 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  7. "Scottish Premiership Table". BBC. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  8. "cinch Premiership League Table". Scottish Professional Football League. Retrieved 15 May 2022.
  9. "The Rules of the Scottish Professional Football League" (PDF). SPFL. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  10. "Defender Jack Gurr joins the Dons". Aberdeen FC. 21 June 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  11. "US International Striker joins the Dons". Aberdeen FC. 28 June 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  12. "Scott Brown to leave Celtic this summer for Aberdeen player-coach role". The Guardian. 25 March 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  13. "Jay Emmanuel-Thomas moves to Aberdeen from Livingston". BBC Sport. 18 May 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2021.
  14. "Marley Returns". Aberdeen FC. 26 August 2021. Retrieved 26 August 2021.
  15. "Elite American College Player Commits Future to the Dons". afc.co.uk. 8 January 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  16. "Highly rated Dutch youth international commits future to the Dons". Aberdeen FC. 24 January 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  17. "Craig Samson joins Aberdeen four years after retirement". glasgowtimes.co.uk. 12 February 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  18. "PLAYER DEPARTURES". Aberdeen FC. 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  19. "Tommie Hoban Becomes Fourth Summer Signing". Crewe Alexandra FC. 1 July 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  20. "Greg Leigh: Morecambe sign ex-Aberdeen defender on a one-year deal". BBC Sport. 9 July 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  21. Third, Paul (22 June 2021). "Ethan Ross decides not to return to Aberdeen". Press & Journal. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  22. "Ethan Ross". Raith Rovers FC. 14 October 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  23. "Republic FC Adds Jack Gurr to Defensive Corps". 19 January 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  24. "Niall is a Dee". Dundee FC - Official Website. 24 January 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  25. Media Team, AFC (30 January 2022). "RYAN HEDGES DEPARTS THE DONS". Aberdeen FC. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  26. Media Team, AFC (12 April 2022). "Striker departs the Dons". Aberdeen FC. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  27. "Jenks joins Aberdeen on loan". BBC Sport. 14 June 2021. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  28. "Aberdeen sign Wolves' Samuels on loan". BBC Sport. 24 August 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  29. "Matty Longstaff joins the Dons". Aberdeen FC. 27 August 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  30. "Adam Montgomery Joins The Dons On Loan". www.afc.co.uk. 31 January 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  31. "'Dons' midfielder head to Station Park". Forfar Athletic FC. 24 June 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
  32. "KIERAN NGWENYA JOINS KELTY HEARTS ON LOAN". www.afc.co.uk. Aberdeen FC. 16 September 2021.
  33. Third, Paul (3 February 2022). "Aberdeen midfielder Dean Campbell has a point to prove after making a loan move to Kilmarnock". Press & Journal. Retrieved 7 March 2022.

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