Dundee United got the new season off to a losing start as a strange-looking goal from Kenny McLean separated the sides at Tannadice.
The Aberdeen man stretched his neck to send a back-header into the home net with just eight minutes of the Premiership curtain-raiser to go.
That was all that was between the sides after a tight encounter but the Dons fans were sent back up the road with smiles on their faces.
United didn’t play badly but neither did the visitors, despite having travelled all the way to Kazakhstan and back in midweek on Europa League duty.
The Tangerines had kept their two highest-profile summer signings in reserve, with Rodney Sneijder and Darko Bodul biding their time on the bench.
United still had a fresh look about them though.
Goalkeeper Luis Zwick won the race for the gloves, while there was a new central defensive pairing in Coll Donaldson and Mark Durnan.
Ryan McGowan was handed the captain’s armband, with usual skipper Sean Dillon named as a substitute.
Charlie Telfer was handed the key central midfield position and he, Blair Spittal and Chris Erskine were expected to provide back-up to striker Mario Bilate.
Inside the first minute, Bilate broke into the Dons box but lost control of the ball at the wrong moment. Durnan then fired a Spittal corner past the far post as the hosts started brightly.
Aberdeen came close for the first time on 15 minutes when the ball spun up inside the United goalmouth and was cleared only as far as Graeme Shinnie just outside the area. The former Inverness man let fly with a shot that was a yard or two too high.
Just a couple of minutes later, the Tangerines came even closer than that when an Erskine shot from 20 yards stung the hands of Dons goalie Danny Ward.
A one-two between John Souttar and Erskine ended with the teenager heading wide then there was some fine footwork from Spittal on the left flank and his cutback deserved to be met by a teammate.
On 24 minutes, Aberdeen’s Cammy Smith skinned Durnan to create space in front of goal but Zwick saved his shot.
The Dons pressed forward again on 31 minutes and Adam Rooney hooked the ball over from close range after a Willo Flood corner.
Three minutes before the break, Durnan did well to block a McLean shot after the ball was pulled back by Smith.
United then broke forward and Spittal’s strike was well saved by Ward, with Telfer fouled in the build-up.
How the match was still goalless was a mystery and it became even more mysterious on 43 minutes when Bilate should have burst the net from eight yards, albeit Ward did brilliantly to save.
There was a switch by the home side at half-time, with Bodul coming on for Bilate.
United’s Paul Dixon tried his luck from distance after being found by a Spittal corner but his strike was deflected.
The second half was cagier than the first, with both teams cancelling each other out.
The Dons fans weren’t happy on 61 minutes when Shay Logan was stopped when in full flight inside the United box, with referee Kevin Clancy blowing for a foul to the visitors.
Durnan almost sneaked a header inside the post after reached Spittal’s freekick then Erskine almost dribbled through the Aberdeen defence only to lose control near the goal.
Sneijder made his appearance on 72 minutes then Donaldson headed over as United attacked again.
Four minutes later, McGowan played a captain’s role as he stuck a leg out to block a netbound shot from Andy Considine on the line after Zwick had failed to deal with a high ball.
The young German goalie redeemed himself just a minute later by confidently dealing with another cross.
On 82 minutes, though, the Dons grabbed the lead.
Sub David Goowillie a former Tannadice hero – played a cross into the United box and there didn’t seem to be too much danger as McLean flicked it on with the back of his head. However, the ball looped up and over Zwick and under the bar to make it 1-0.
It was debatable whether or not McLean was trying to score or merely attempting to help the ball on its way.
The Dons closed the game out and United will now head to Motherwell on Saturday as they look to get off the mark.
Dundee United: Zwick, Dixon, Souttar, Rankin (Sneijder 72), Erskine, McGowan, Telfer (Murray 61), Durnan, Bilate (Bodul 46), Spittal, Donaldson. Subs not used: McCallum, Dillon, Fraser, Muirhead.
Aberdeen: Ward, Logan, Shinnie, Considine (Jack 78), Taylor, McLean, Flood, Rooney, Hayes (Goodwillie 68), Smith (McGinn 61), Quinn. Subs not used: Brown, Robson, Pawlett, Wright.
Referee: Kevin Clancy.