IT WAS a nostalgic afternoon at Pittodrie yesterday with the home supporters pouring through the turnstiles in their droves wearing an array of Aberdeen strips from down the years as part of the Retro Day promoted by the club.

Much of the pre-match chatter centred around days gone by when the Granite City men fought their way to the top of Scottish and European football under the bullish leadership of Sir Alex Ferguson.

The current crop of players may have fallen some way short of the standards of their predecessors, even as they moved back into second place in the Ladbrokes Premiership, but the manner in which they came back from a losing position to claim an eventually comfortable three points was still a joy to behold for the Pittodrie faithful.

It looked very unlikely after Craig Curran put the visitors in front after 14 minutes and the home side were jeered off as they traipsed towards the tunnel at half-time. But the match had been turned on its head by the time eight second-half minutes had elapsed, as Adam Rooney slammed home an equaliser, and Jonny Hayes put the hosts in front.

The two sides exchanged chances towards the end as the game stretched out and Niall McGinn made the points secure with a tidy finish 10 minutes from the end.

Aberdeen supporters of a certain age bracket could probably not help but let their minds wander towards the days of Gordon Strachan and Alex McLeish during the opening 45 minutes when their team looked firmly stuck in the rut that has plagued them these last few months.

County took the lead when Liam Boyce collected the ball after a poor defensive clearance and slipped in Curran who took the ball wide past Danny Ward and slotted into the net.

The home side were struggling for creativity but should have equalised when Hayes, a standout for Aberdeen, whipped a free-kick into the perfect spot for Rooney but the normally reliable striker fluffed his header when he looked certain to score.

It did not take Rooney long after the break to redeem himself, however, and he owed a great deal of gratitude to McGinn for laying the chance on a plate for him. On his day, McGinn can give any full-back in the league a headache and he left Marcus Fraser for dead with a well disguised dummy before driving into the box and squaring for Rooney to slam high into the net.

Less than two minutes later Aberdeen found themselves in front and McGinn was involved again. His pass released Hayes into space on the left edge of the penalty area and the winger floated a cross towards the back post but was soon turning away in celebration as the ball sailed over the head of Gary Woods and into the goal via the inside of the post.

The tension could almost be felt evaporating out of the stadium as Aberdeen took great confidence from the goals. Manager Derek McInnes was left delighted by the determination of his players to get the three points and hoped that in doing so they will have silenced some of their detractors.

“It would have been easy for the players to duck the responsibility at the break but they were determined to win and I am delighted for them,” McInnes said. “We still feel we can have a successful season. We are one point better off than we were this time last year. We are back up into second place and that is no mean achievement. Hopefully we have shut a few people up as well.”

The league table certainly makes better reading for Aberdeen followers than it did 24 hours ago as their side have regained second place after Hearts' draw at Motherwell and, last night at least, sit four points behind leaders Celtic.

Three points could very easily have been one, however, but for a stunning save from Ward in the 77th minute with the score locked at 2-1. The on-loan Liverpool goalkeeper somehow clawed a Boyce header out of the top corner after good wide play by substitute Jonathan Franks.

It proved pivotal as just three minutes later Kenny McLean fed the ball into the path of McGinn who kept his cool and poked the ball beyond Woods to put the result beyond doubt and give the Aberdeen faithful hope that their side is back on track and ready to challenge at the top end of the table.

County can take plenty of positives from their performance and even more from the progress they have made from last year. The Dingwall outfit are 12 points and five league positions better off than they were this time last year.

Manager Jim McIntyre said: “The two goals in quick succession knocked the stuffing out of us and Aberdeen had their tails up but after a sticky 10 minutes we came back into it and could have got a point."