Welcome home indeed.
The first home game with a fully-open Pittodrie for Aberdeen in 523 days was one many supporters may long remember.
The result, in some respects, was secondary to seeing so many clad in red return to the stands in the old stadium.
Aberdeen’s last home game where fans were permitted to attend restriction-free was March 2020 against Hibernian. On Thursday night it was Breidablik of Iceland, nudged aside in the Europa Conference League as the Dons moved into the play-off round.
Stephen Glass had spoken glowingly before the game about his European memories of Pittodrie, as a ball-boy in his teenage years for a Cup Winners’ Cup tie against Torino.
The result, on that occasion, went against Aberdeen and Glass clearly had no scope to influence it. But this was his team, in front of 15,000 of their people, hoping to showcase what they are all about.
From the first rendition of “Stand Free”, to Jack Mackenzie’s thumping challenge on Jason Dadi Svanthorsson and the heroic greeting Scott Brown got from besting his duel with Gisli Eyjolfsson, this was Pittodrie as it should be.
The relationship between team and supporter, however, is a two-way street. The crowd get behind them when times are hard, but the players also have to give them something to get excited about.
Performances this season had done that, by and large. The relentless energy of Mackenzie and his younger counterpart on the right Calvin Ramsay, the goals of new signing Christian Ramirez and the higher tempo of play had perhaps reconnected some of those who had become disaffected with their team over the last 18 months.
The 3-2 advantage had given the Dons some leeway but it was not plain sailing. Viktor Karl Einarsson gave them a fright when he lost his footing – under pressure from Declan Gallagher – with the goal at his mercy.
It took until the last 10 minutes of the half for the Aberdeen players to give the vociferous support some encouragement. Ryan Hedges and then Mackenzie drew saves out of Anton Ari Einarsson and Ramirez, picked out by Lewis Ferguson, tried to outfox the Breidablik goalkeeper. Einarsson was up to the task.
The pressure that comes with playing in front of a packed house again means mistakes, allowed to drift away in front of empty stands, now generate an audible reaction. There was a sense this Dons crowd was a little more understanding than it otherwise could have been.
You would have got short odds 12 months ago on Funso Ojo being the man to get Aberdeen fans on their feet but he was just the man.
Seemingly on his way out of Pittodrie in the summer, it was his half-time introduction with Connor McLennan and a shift in formation that did the trick.
The Dons moved from three at the back to four and Ojo pushed on as the more advanced midfielder. It was his bustling run along the touchline and cutback to Ryan Hedges which finally delivered the breakthrough.
The Red Shed erupted into song, serenading the Belgian midfielder as their new unlikely cult hero.
The uplift in mood was short-lived. Eyjolfsson picked out the top corner splendidly to level the game and Arni Vilhjalmsson blazed wildly over after Joe Lewis had come out to thwart his team-mate Svanthorsson. Breidablik’s belief they could dispose of the Dons was no longer appearing fanciful.
But for the team from a land where mythology and folklore hold great significance, there was to be no their fairytale ending.
Ramirez plucked a long ball out of the sky and while his touch was not perfect, it did fall nicely for Hedges. The Welshman did the rest, clipping a sumptuous effort beyond Einarsson and showing why Aberdeen are so desperate to keep him.
After a memorable night at home, Aberdeen must now journey nearly 3,500 miles from it next week. Qarabag, perennial European qualifiers from the Azerbaijan capital Baku, lie in store for Glass and the Dons.
Two results lie between them and the chance to create more European memories in the Granite City.