As anticipated, Aberdeen fans responded in spectacular fashion to the sale of Scottish Cup final tickets, and the team will have their biggest backing at the national stadium in decades.
The club deserve great credit for holding out for a larger share – and the decision to underwrite the enhanced allocation – ensuring the Hampden showdown with Celtic will be more of a neutral occasion.
Given it is the first final appearance since 2017, and the wait to lift the trophy has now stretched to 35 years, the supporters were always going to react positively.
But selling more than 20,000 tickets in just a few hours is a phenomenal achievement.
The Red Army have done their bit, now it is up to the players to match that, rise to the occasion, and pull off what would be a major upset on the south side of Glasgow.
Celtic go into the game as clear and overwhelming odds-on favourites. They do not lose too often at Hampden – Brendan Rodgers has never been beaten in the competition across his two spells in charge – and the Parkhead outfit are chasing a sixth treble in just nine years.
Since the Dons won their last major silverware, the League Cup in 2014, there have been 34 trophies up for grabs in Scottish football, and Celtic have lifted 25 of them.
St Johnstone and Rangers picked up three apiece, with Caley Thistle, Ross County and Hibernian the other winners.
That emphasises the magnitude of the task facing Jimmy Thelin and his team, and if they are to prevail, the manager is certainly going to have to get more from his players than he did in Paisley last Saturday.
Aberdeen’s third hopes hang by thread, and Rangers’ recent home discomforts will make clash harder
Not for the first time this season, the side failed to register a single shot on target against St Mirren, and defeat allowed Hibs to open up a three-point lead in the race for that all-important third place.
Aberdeen had started well enough, but fell away, and the overall performance was all the more disappointing coming as it did after the excellent victory over the Easter Road team a week earlier.
I would have hoped that would act as a spur for a strong end to the Premiership campaign, but Aberdeen faltered, and yet another visit to Renfrewshire ended in misery.
Next up is Sunday’s trip to Ibrox, and by then the Dons will know how Hibernian have fared against the champions.
If they slip up at Celtic Park, the door will be open again, but – either way – a loss against Rangers could prove fatal.
It does not help Barry Ferguson’s team are without a win at their own stadium in over three months, an astonishing run of seven matches. They are obviously going to halt that dismal sequence at some point – and would take some pleasure from doing so against Aberdeen.
With Celtic at Pittodrie to follow, then Dundee United at Tannadice, the Dons have little room for manoeuvre.
Support Cove’s play-offs bid… and see Aberdeen youngsters in pressure-cooker action
It is a massive Saturday afternoon for the two north clubs involved in the SPFL play-offs as both Cove Rangers and Elgin City attempt to reach their respective finals.
Elgin face a tough challenge down at Annan, 4-2 behind after the first leg, and the likelihood is the Galabank side will prove too strong.
But Cove have given themselves a real chance after a fine performance to secure a 0-0 draw at Palmerston.
It will still be a challenging 90 minutes, perhaps even longer, as Queen of the South are a good team – the form side in League One over the past few months.
With the Dons not in action until Sunday, the club are anticipating a big crowd at Balmoral, hoping Aberdeen fans will take the opportunity for a glimpse into the future.
While it has been a real team effort over a long, hard campaign, the three on-loan Pittodrie teenagers – Adam Emslie, Dylan Lobban and Findlay Marshall – have all been outstanding. This is a chance for Dons supporters to see how the kids shape-up in a pressure match.
It is likely to be a hard-fought encounter, and Cove will have to hit top form to progress.
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