Steven Milne signed off his last stint at Dundee in style at Pittodrie, with a goal his leaving gift.
The striker helped the Dens men to a 2-1 win on May 15, 2004, before heading off to join Plymouth Argyle.
A lot of water has flowed under the bridge for Milne since then but now he finds himself back in dark blue and preparing to face the Dons in the Scottish Communities League Cup tonight.
“I remember scoring at Pittodrie in my last game before leaving Dundee in 2004 and we won as well so that was great,” recalled Milne. “It was right at the end of the season before I moved down south so it was obviously a nice way to sign off. It is a nice memory and, of course, I would love to do the same again when we go there in the cup.
“I have always liked playing at Aberdeen because it is a good park and there is usually a decent atmosphere. Also, when you take out Dundee United and St Johnstone, it is probably the closest thing you will get to a derby.
“I think we will get a lift from going to play an SPL team and, if it is the same outcome as the last time I went there with Dundee, then I will be happy.”
The Dens men suffered a setback on Saturday, losing 4-2 to Livingston, but Milne thinks they have every right to expect a positive outcome tonight.
“There is no reason why we can’t go there and do something on the night,” he said. “I have been involved in some cup shocks in the past, notably with St Johnstone, so it does happen.
“I scored the night we put Rangers out of the CIS Insurance Cup at Ibrox, when Paul Le Guen was the manager. That was a memorable game and proved that anything is possible when it comes to cup competition.
“The lads here know it is all about belief and if we go there with the right attitude and mindset we will definitely give ourselves a chance.”PriorityDundee’s obvious priority is challenging for promotion but a run in the cup would still be more than welcome.
“The First Division is naturally the priority because we all want to get Dundee back into the SPL,” said Milne. “However, this is something which we will be giving our full attention to.
“All the pressure will be on Aberdeen. They will be expected to beat us because they are at home plus the fact they are in a division above us. That is where we have to try and capitalise and hopefully take whatever chances come our way.”
Manager Barry Smith wants his players to savour the occasion and use it to get the Livi loss out of their systems.
“Pittodrie is a good place to go so I have told the boys to go there and enjoy it,” he said. “Aberdeen are the SPL team. They are the favourites to go through, so we will go up there to try to show what we can do.
“Our boys don’t have any pressure on them and we will just go there to play our game and see where it takes us. It is good to have a game so quickly after Saturday’s defeat.
“Everyone was disappointed at what happened at Livi but it is a great chance to get over any hangover there might be.”
Aberdeen have doubts over Youl Mawene (hamstring) and Rob Milsom (groin). Striker Mohamed Chalali is to complete his move from Panionios but might not be fit enough to play after his journey from Greece.
Wales international Jason Brown will make his debut in goal.