The tournament which is kindly sponsored by Katoni Engineering saw a young Aberdeen team, led by the coaching partnership of Liam McGarry and Stephen Boddie join last year’s winners Celtic, as well as Hearts and Ross County in Group B.

Aberdeen enjoyed a perfect start to the tournament, defeating Celtic by seven goals to nil. David Okoro scored a hat-trick as a healthy Dons support watched on from the balcony.

The goals continued to flow for Aberdeen, Hearts the next team beaten, by four goals with no reply, The Dons looked in a confident mood, the pick of the bunch a great acrobatic volley after a great searching ball from Finn McCulloch in goal to pick out the young Don.

The last game of the group saw another 4-0 victory for Aberdeen against Ross County. The visitors from the Highlands had a positive start to the game and contained the Dons team that were playing straight after the Hearts clash, the goals coming nearer the end of the 15-minute game.

After a well-earned break Aberdeen were back in action against Dundee for a place in the final. Dundee had notched up high scoring victories against both Hamilton and Hibernian before losing out against Rangers in their final group game. The Dons picked up where they left off, winning 4-1. Goals from captain Rory Phillips, who had a great tournament, and Jack Johnstone set Aberdeen on the path to victory, with Okoro chipping in with another double. Dundee scored late on, but it was the Dons who would be playing in the final.

Rangers defeated their Old Firm opponents 5-1 in the other semi-final, setting up a tasty clash to see who would be leaving the Sports Village with the Katoni Cup. Unfortunately, Rangers raced into an early lead and the Dons were unable to recover. Okoro got his last goal of the tournament which briefly inspired a fight back, but two more Rangers goals ensured they would be the winners.

Finn McCulloch was voted the best goalkeeper of the tournament, a fitting reward for the young Aberdeen keeper who had only lost one goal prior to the final.

Aberdeen’s Finn McCulloch is presented with his Goalkeeper of the Tournament award by Katoni’s Mark Reynolds and Blair Yule.

All in all, the 2023 edition of the Katoni Cup was a great afternoon enjoyed by the players and all in attendance. Thank you once again to Katoni Engineering for their continued support of the Aberdeen FC Youth Academy.