The club's first-ever game was a 1–4 defeat at Coupar Angus. The club was the first from the Granite City to play in the
Scottish FA Cup, its first Scottish Cup tie being against
Harp in
1882. It was also the first Aberdeen side to win a Scottish Cup tie, beating
Lindertis in the first round in
1884–85, turning a one goal deficit at half-time into a 4–1 win; and its run to the fourth round in
1889–90 (last 24) was the best of any Aberdonian side before the merger. The fourth round tie with
Queen's Park at the Chanonry was considered such an event that other matches due that day were postponed, but, as expected, Aberdeen was outclassed, scoring its only goal (through Thompson) when already 8–0 down, Queen's Park finally settling for 13. With no hard feelings the clubs supped together afterwards in Hay's Café. The club won the first edition of the
Aberdeenshire Cup in 1887–88, and retained the title for the next two seasons. It finally lost its grip in 1890–91 in controversial circumstances. At the quarter-final stage, Aberdeen was drawn at home to
fellow Aberdeen side Caledonian, and, in front of a big crowd, won 6–4. However the Caley protested on several grounds, blaming the referee, Mr Curran (a late replacement for the engaged official) for allowing Aberdeen 2 goals which should have been disallowed, and costing Caley one goal which should have ben given; Curran had some recent history with the Caledonian, which had protested about his expenses claims for an earlier tie. The Aberdeenshire FA upheld the protest, and ordered a replay of the tie on Boxing Day. The Caley turned up, but Aberdeen had already resolved not to turn up on the basis that the protest was not merely improper, but was not heard under the Association rules; and the Caley was awarded the tie. Aberdeen gained a revenge over the local association by hosting a lucrative friendly with
Arbroath on the day of the final, and duly drew a 25% bigger gate. In 1891, Aberdeen became a founder member of the newly formed
Northern League. Although it beat the two other major sides in the town (
Orion and
Victoria United) as a member by some years, unlike its two rivals, it never won the title; its best finish was 4th in 1899–1900. At the end of the 1901–02 season, the local council wrote to the three main town clubs in relation to the unsafe conditions of their grounds. The financial difficulties led to Aberdeen looking to lease out the Pittodrie ground to
Hibernian, which was facing eviction from
Easter Road, and the shock of the proposal led to local discussions about forming a single Aberdeen club to join the
Scottish Football League, led by Orion's George Alexander. Following discussions between the club and the Crescent Cricket Club (which owned Pittodrie), a deal was signed on 10 April 1903 to merge the three clubs under the Aberdeen name. ==Stadium==