'At the end of the day, it came down to who wanted it more,' says emotional Dons hero Alfie Dorrington

Daily Mail​

25-05-2025

As the Aberdeen team bus began the hour-long trip back north after a defeat at Tannadice on the final weekend of the Premiership season, there were many who wondered if there was much point in it doing the journey in reverse a week later en route to the Scottish Cup final.
That loss was the fourth Jimmy Thelin's side had suffered on the spin, their woeful run after the split seeing them tumble down the league table to finish in fifth place.
They'd shipped 12 goals in the process, scoring just twice. With Celtic accounting for five of those in the recent midweek game at Pittodrie, the aggregate score across five games to date with the Parkhead men this season stood at 19-4.
Constructing an argument for Thelin's side somehow pulling a rabbit out the hat was an arduous task, to say the least.
Truth be told, it wasn't just pundits, ex-players and luminaries phoning radio call-ins who had Celtic as nailed-on favourites at Hampden. Most of the vast Dons support which travelled to Glasgow did so more in hope than expectation. None of this noise was lost on Thelin's players. They might well have been tempted to put fingers in their ears to avoid it all in case it further eroded their confidence.
Instead, they listened intently and soaked it all in. It was fuel for the fire.
'There's always a chance in a game of football,' said defender Alfie Dorrington. 'They're Celtic. We had to respect them, but I don't think we ever feared them.
'Maybe the people not giving us a chance gave us a bit more motivation to win and prove them wrong.'
When Dorrington inadvertently knocked the ball beyond Dimitar Mitov late in the first half, any slim hope Aberdeen had of causing an upset seemed to go up in smoke. By common consent, Thelin's side could only win the match if they scored first. You sensed there was a real danger that the floodgates could open. It had happened before.
Yet, despite playing with a back-five for the first time in living memory, this time, the Dons didn't go to pieces. They held their shape, kept their nerve, stayed in the game and awaited their moment.
'I was marking my man and looking at him,' Dorrington recalled of his own goal. 'At the last minute, I think it took the nick off someone, I can't really remember.
'But I thought we were comfortable even though we were one-nil down. They dominated the ball and got a lot of crosses in. It may have seemed a bit hectic, but we felt comfortable all the time and trusted what the gaffer said.'
Although Celtic were poor, they were still a constant threat. Had Arne Engels' strike gone in rather than hit the post, it would surely have been game over.
You had to hand it to Thelin's players, though. Playing a system that they'd only worked on for the first time last week, they earned their breaks and refused to roll over.
'You can think of systems and formations and tactics,' offered Dorrington. 'But I think it's just who wants it more, to be honest.
'Some of the boys were putting their bodies on the line, cramping and still playing on. It just shows how much it meant to us.'
Dorrington could only put his mind over matter for so long. When he finally succumbed with 11 minutes of normal time remaining, the enormity of what was at stake suddenly hit him.
'When you're in the game, obviously you feel it, but you don't really recognise how big of an occasion it is,' he said.
'Maybe being from down south, it took me a while to realise that this is the Scottish version of the FA Cup. It's probably the same in size. How many people there were on Saturday — 50,000?
'When I came off, looking around, I'm thinking, wow, I played in this. I'm just grateful for the opportunity.'
A slow burner of a game eventually became captivating. Mitov prevented Daizen Maeda winning it for Celtic in 90 minutes. Dante Polvara and Jeffrey Schlupp came within inches of doing likewise in extra time.
Thelin will be eternally grateful that Mitov still had two acts of heroism to come. First, he denied Callum McGregor from 12 yards then he dived to his right to thwart Alistair Johnston and win the cup.
Dorrington's loan move from Tottenham meant he wasn't part of the Europa League victory parade in North London. He might just live with that.
'I know it's been a long time since we've won this competition and hopefully we've given back to the fans and the city,' said the defender. 'Obviously, I watched the Tottenham one the other day. A few of my mates were there, they said it was crazy.
'They've kept in touch the whole time. Especially on Friday night and before the game, they were just messaging me good luck.
I think some of them watched the game.
'It's just nice to know that I have the support from Tottenham and nice to know that I have the support from Aberdeen as well.
'It would have been nice to experience that bus parade, but the Aberdeen one was just crazy too. It more than made up for it. There were so many people there — it was packed.'
He is unsure whether the final was his last game in a red shirt. If that's the way it transpires, it will be a memory to treasure all his days. And you suspect the many doubters won't forget it in a hurry either.
'Obviously, I knew this was the last game of my loan. I tried to go out with a bang,' said Dorrington. At just 20, and with a further four years to run on his contract, Tottenham may see the value in him continuing his footballing development at Aberdeen.
'There was a lot of emotions in the game, but you have to stay emotionless. You've got a job to do. When you do your job, it gives you a chance. One per cent is still a chance. Anything can happen in the game of football.
'Obviously, I love the city, I love the club, the staff, the players. I love Tottenham as well. They're kind of in charge of what I do.