While Aberdeen fans might not look back too fondly on the recent run of fixtures, it's fair to say the second half of 2024 has been truly outstanding for the Dons.

A new manager and plenty of new players have arrived, and the huge change in results came with it as the Reds soared up the Premiership table during an unbeaten run and even enjoyed a return to Hampden.

But the tail end of the year has been a difficult watch, with Jimmy Thelin's men now winless in eight games and needing a big victory to kickstart 2025.

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Compared with where the club were at the start of the year however, things are looking much brighter in the Granite City than they were under the likes of Barry Robson and Neil Warnock.

And there's been plenty of memorable fixtures along the way, and you can take a look back through the final six months of 2024 below.

July

Thelin's first match in charge of the Dons swiftly arrived as Aberdeen's season got underway in the Premier Sports Cup group stages - providing what would essentially become some good pre-season fixtures with a bit more purpose.

His managerial reign began in Dumfries with a comfortable 3-0 win against Queen of the South, before going on to breeze past Mick Kennedy's East Kilbride with a 4-0 victory.

Kennedy had been in charge of the Darvel side that humiliated Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup in January 2023, but there was to be no repeat of any cup upsets.

Thelin then made his Pittodrie bow with a 2-1 win over Airdrie, before closing the group stages with a thumping 6-0 victory at the expense of Dumbarton.

It was the perfect start, and fans were quickly buying into the manager's tactics and the performances of the squad, but bigger tests were on the near horizon as the Premiership season approached.

Losing Dante Polvara to a long-term injury after the American damaged his hamstring in training looked to have been the only dampener on the month, but then, after seemingly not getting his summer exit, Duk went AWOL.

The winger failed to report for training, and the club confirmed they would be taking disciplinary action against the absent Cape Verde international.

It was bizarre and unexpected, but it would become Thelin's first off the pitch problem to resolve.

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August

Aberdeen's first task in the Premiership was a trip to St Johnstone, and for Thelin he wanted to make the perfect start under the lights on a Monday night in front of the Sky Sports cameras.

It certainly wasn't as comfortable as the big League Cup victories, but the 2-1 scoreline was enough to secure the three points and make a winning start.

His first home league victory came days later as Stephen Robinson's St Mirren fell to a 3-1 defeat at Pittodrie, and Pape Habib Gueye who had struggled in his first season at Aberdeen was fast becoming a lethal striker under Thelin.

He was however going to have to fill a huge void, as after an emotional farewell, Bojan Miovski's time at Aberdeen was over and his £7million move to Girona was complete, bringing an end to his Dons career that had been littered with goals and big moments.

Topi Keskinen, signed by the Dons for £860,000, needed to make his mark and he did just that by scoring the only goal against Queen's Park to send his side through to the Premier Sports Cup quarter-finals.

It was by no means a thriller, but the unbeaten start continued, and soon came the battle of the Dons bosses, with Thelin getting one over ex-Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes and his Kilmarnock side.

Again, Gueye proved to be a huge asset, but then came the arrival of another striker as former Hibs forward Kevin Nisbet joined on loan from Millwall.

He too would soon prove his worth when the Reds visited Dingwall, and after a brutal 90 minutes of football, nothing could separate the pair even with Ross County getting a penalty which Dimitar Mitov saved superbly.

But deep into injury time, Nisbet sparked celebrations that will be remembered as some of the best in 2024, as his late winner downed the Staggies and triggered a roar like no other from the Red Army.

Four wins from four in the Premiership, the Dons were flying high and hot on Celtic's heels - something special was beginning under the Swedish manager.

September

After the international break, the Dons were back at Pittodrie to face Motherwell in a bid to make it five out of five, and they did just that with more Gueye heroics in front of goal.

It had been an outstanding start, but it was back to cup duties in the following fixture as they faced Spartans in the last eight of the League Cup.

They proved to be little match for Aberdeen who fired in four goals that afternoon, and within just a couple of months of Thelin's leadership the Dons were booking themselves a return to Hampden.

It had been a kind run to the semis, but they soon learned it would be Celtic that they would face in the final four, a daunting task but one Aberdeen were heading into with a new found belief.

The last game of the month was a trip to Dundee, and it was at Dens Park where they had last lost a league game back in March when Peter Leven took charge as caretaker manager.

Tony Docherty looked to end the winning run, but ultimately despite a battling display he couldn't lead his team to victory, as Keskinen and Nisbet did the damage needed to extend the perfect start.

October

Aberdeen had been yet to receive a major scare in any of their league games, but Hearts gave them an almighty fright in October's first Pittodrie fixture.

Keskinen gave the Dons the lead, but Frankie Kent and Blair Spittal turned things around for the Jambos to lead 2-1 after an hour, only for Nicky Devlin to reply almost immediately with a goal of his own.

Jorge Grant saw red, and in the dying minutes it would be summer arrival Ante Palaversa that would slam home the winner and once again spark wild scenes of jubilation among the Red Army.

Another international break came along, but for the first time in a long while, two Aberdeen players were called up by Steve Clarke, as Devlin and Jack MacKenzie joined the Dark Blues for their Nations League fixtures.

A brief appearance by Devlin against Portugal was the highlight, but soon it was back to Premiership action for the international Dons and they faced their biggest test yet upon their return.

Going to Parkhead has been a nightmare for Aberdeen in recent seasons, but on this afternoon no one predicted just how bonkers the game would become.

Celtic stormed into a 2-0 lead through Reo Hatate and Kyogo Furuhashi, but Ester Sokler and Graeme Shinnie incredibly pulled the Dons level after the restart.

They even came painstakingly close to a third and a first victory in Glasgow's East End since 2018 when Duk put the ball beyond Kasper Schmeichel, only for VAR to deny the winger.

It had been a long time since he'd been in action after going AWOL in the summer, but he was back with a bang and fighting to remind fans just how good he can be on matchday.

In the end the Dons had to settle for a point, with both sides' 100% starts being ended, but they were still neck and neck at the top of the table, and there looked to be an intriguing title race on the cards.

The month would bring yet more thrilling drama however, as Peter Ambrose's late strike against Dundee United saw Aberdeen down Jim Goodwin's terrors in a pulsating fixture.

And then, on the eve of Halloween, Aberdeen handed Rangers boss Philippe Clement his biggest scare yet as a 2-1 victory at a packed Pittodrie left the Belgian fearing for his job, with the Light Blues nine points behind the Reds in the table.

Devlin and Shayden Morris were the heroes that night, with the latter looking a revived player under Thelin and hitting a new high in his Dons career.

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November

October brought a testing run of fixtures, but they only continued in November as Aberdeen travelled to Hampden looking to go one better than their last clash with Celtic.

But this would be where the unbeaten run would come to an almighty halt, and it proved to be an evening that would bring the Red Army crashing back down to earth.

They had been riding high on their superb start to the season, but six goals from Celtic without reply killed off their cup run and left the team deflated.

They had gone from being a foul away from a winner at Parkhead to seeing Daizen Maeda terrorise the defence and bag a hat-trick in days, and it was now time to see how Thelin's team could bounce back.

In the end, they did so in excellent fashion, beating Dundee 4-1 at Pittodrie to keep their unbeaten Premiership run alive, but even that would soon come crashing to a halt.

St Mirren did the damage after the international break with a 2-1 victory in Paisley after an hour's delay to kick-off due to heavy snow in Renfrewshire.

That defeat would start what would become a nightmare run for Thelin and Co as they would fail to win a single fixture for the rest of 2024.

A first meeting with Hibs was up next, and in a bonkers fixture, Aberdeen went from 2-1 up in the 90th minute to being forced to settle for a point after three injury time goals.

Sokler's stunning bicycle kick made it 3-2 with two minutes to go, but Rocky Bushiri landed the final blow, and suddenly the confidence and form looked to be draining out of the Dons.

December

December began with another trip to Edinburgh just days after the Easter Road thriller, but again it would be just a point picked up as Leighton Clarkson's goal was cancelled out by a Devlin own-goal.

Aberdeen then returned home after three consecutive away games, but once again they would face Celtic knowing they had to do better than the humbling Hampden defeat.

But the game was pretty much ruined by the weather, with strong winds and pouring rain making it a tough watch for both managers and both sets of fans.

The Hoops would be the ones celebrating however, as Hatate's goal was enough to take the points back to Glasgow and leave Aberdeen falling further behind the champions and winless in four games.

A draw with St Johnstone followed, and then came their third league defeat as Hibs ran out 3-1 winners thanks to Martin Boyle's dominant performance.

The striker scored one and set up two more to leave Thelin reeling, with the final home game of 2024 ending without much festive cheer.

Boxing Day was the chance to restore that pride however, but in the end it was calamitous as Kilmarnock scored four to leave the Dons boss furious with his players for their performance.

The fans had travelled a long way to Ayrshire the day after Christmas for little joy, and now they had to go to Tannadice to face a Dundee United side beaming with confidence from their good run of form.

In a near carbon copy of their previous meeting, the game was still goalless in the dying minutes, but Kevin Holt would end the year for Aberdeen with a sucker punch as his goal in the final minute snatched victory for United.

The second-half of 2024 had just about summed up the year as a whole for Aberdeen, a rollercoaster that is full of ups and downs, but the Reds will be looking to make sure it's now only onwards and upwards in 2025.