Burnley battle back to earn Aberdeen draw
Burnley were back into European football after 51 years and they earned a 1-1 draw at Aberdeen in their Europa League second qualifying round.
The scoreline, with the potentially crucial away goal, gives Sean Dyche's Premier League side the upper hand for next Thursday's return leg at Turf Moor, but for the travelling supporters the game was about much more than the result.
Over 2,000 Burnley fans made the 330-mile trip from Lancashire to the East Coast of Scotland, packing the away section in the stadium, with a large number of supporters left without tickets in the bars in the centre of the city.
Games between Scottish and English teams are often billed as 'Battle of Britain' clashes with the Scots looking for an upset.
However, given Burnley's history in the decades since their last European game -- in the Fairs Cup in 1967 - it was the Scottish club who could claim the greater pedigree.
That rich history was recognised before the game when the crowd paid tribute to Aberdeen's former midfielder Neale Cooper, who died in May at the age of 54.
Cooper was part of the team that won the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1983 under the management of Alex Ferguson.
While the port city celebrated the triumph of a formidable team featuring the likes of Gordon Strachan and Alex McLeish, Burnley were dealing with relegation to the third tier which was to be followed by the fourth division two years later.
By 1987, Burnley need to win on the final day of the season to avoid dropping out of the professional ranks altogether and it was a slow and often painful process for the club to get back to the top flight in this decade.
The Clarets finished seventh in the Premier League last season earning a return to UEFA competition and the excitement has certainly been more evident among the supporters.
Published: by Radio NewsHub