Andrew Considine could have been forgiven for thinking this moment would never come.
The long-serving Dons defender, who made his debut in May 2004, had reached the semi-final stages of the Scottish Cup on four occasions before this season, but ended up on the losing side every time.
He was part of Derek McInnes’ team beaten 2-1 by St Johnstone at Ibrox three years ago as well as Craig Brown’s side that lost 2-1 against Hibernian at Hampden in 2012.
Considine was sent off when the Dons were beaten 4-0 by Celtic in the 2011 Scottish Cup semi-final, but the most painful experience was in 2008 when he scored twice but was unable to prevent a stunning 4-3 defeat by Queen of the South.
The 30-year-old was able to exorcise some of the demons of the Hibernian loss by gaining revenge in last month’s 3-2 victory against the Easter Road men to set up Saturday’s date against champions Celtic.
And he cannot wait to line up at Hampden knowing his side is only 90 minutes away from winning the trophy for the first time since 1990.
He said: “This will be my first Scottish Cup final and it would be great for the players who are leaving the club to depart on a high note.
“It’s going to be a great occasion for the club and for us as a group of players.
“I have had to wait a long time and who knows if I’ll play in one again? I have to take these opportunities whenever they come along. A player doesn’t get many chances to win trophies in his career so we know we have to grab them.
“It has been a long time for the club since the 2000 Scottish Cup final and a club such as Aberdeen shouldn’t be waiting 17 years to get to another one.
“We should be playing in finals most seasons so it was a surprise to hear it has been so long. I’m sure we will give a better account of ourselves than we did when we were beaten by Celtic in the League Cup final earlier in the season.”
It has been a memorable season for Considine having won the club’s player of the year award as well as the players’ player of the year accolade.
However, the defender, whose father Doug also played for the Dons, would happily trade both for a Scottish Cup winner’s medal on Saturday.
He said: “It was an honour to win the awards, especially in a season when we have done so well and managed to reach two cup finals.
“I actually think the majority of the team this season could have won the awards.
“Jonny Hayes was shortlisted for the PFA Scotland player of the year award and Kenny McLean and Graeme Shinnie were both excellent this season along with so many others.
“It was great to win and hopefully we can end the season on a positive note at Hampden on Saturday.
“Of course, it is going to be very tough against a side which deserved to the Premiership, but I believe if there is one team capable of beating Celtic it is us and it is up to us to prove that on Saturday.”