Chris Erskine recalls with relish the goal that finished off a brilliant day for Dundee United up at Pittodrie.
The Tangerines and Dons faced up to each other as a new season was launched on a bright August afternoon, just as is the case for this Ladbrokes Premiership campaign.
Twelve months ago, the bookies had installed Derek McInnes’s side as favourites to see off a United team that had just lost top talents in the form of Andy Robertson and Ryan Gauld.
That sounds rather familiar, doesn’t it?
Erskine and his colleagues went on to stun the home fans by scoring three goals without reply, with the midfielder calming slotting home the third in stoppage-time after being set up by striker Mario Bilate.
He is not expecting the same scoreline when they meet tomorrow at Tannadice but he does think another winning start against Aberdeen is well within United’s capabilities.
Erskine said: “Yes, it was a good result for us up there last year.
“It would be nice if we could do that again!
“We would take that in a heartbeat.
“Every year you go into the new campaign looking for a good start.
“It will be far from easy for us, though, because they have strength right through their squad and will be looking to push on.
“Obviously, they pushed Celtic quite far last year – only falling away towards the end – so I’m sure they will be looking to do the same again.
“The main thing was their consistency.
“They didn’t concede a lot of goals and won games because of that.
“We strive for the same consistency here at United.”
Erskine may not have fancied Aberdeen’s long trip to Kazakhstan in midweek but he would have loved United to be in European competition.
Qualification is a goal for the season that lies ahead.
“We want to get into Europe,” he said.
“That was the aim last year and we had a good start before falling away in the latter stages of the season.
“We want a European spot and to be consistent for the whole season, not just the first half.
“Towards the end we had a wee chance of clinching a spot but it just didn’t happen so it has been a bit frustrating for us.
Erskine finds himself facing fresh challenges for a jersey, with new duo Rodney Sneijder and Darko Bodul as well as up-and-coming talents like Scott Fraser – just some of the players looking to break into the team and stay there.
He said: “The new boys have played for some good teams and in training they have looked good.
“They maybe need a wee bit of fitness to get them into the swing of things with the rest of the squad, but they look good players.
“Competition for places is great for the whole squad and pushes us on as a team.
“I hope if I’m doing well and playing as well as I did at times last season I’ll stay in the team.
“The first half of the season was especially good for me and then I fell away in the second half.
“So I want to improve every single year.”