AS a proud member of the Palestinian national team as well as the Aberdeen side, Oday Dabbagh plays for more, much more, than most footballers whenever he takes to the field.
The Jerusalem-born forward is acutely aware that the outcome of a match is inconsequential in comparison with the plight of so many of his countrymen and women in the Middle East.
Still, the 45-times capped 26-year-old, who netted the winner in the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup semi-final against Hearts at Hampden on Saturday afternoon with two minutes of extra-time remaining, also appreciates that his compatriots are heartened whenever he does well.
The man who helped Palestine to record a historic 2-1 win over Iraq in Jordan last month to keep their hopes of reaching the World Cup finals in Canada, Mexico and the United States next summer alive knows from personal experience that sporting success can lift spirits.
So the Charleroi loanee had many reasons to be satisfied with his opportunist late strike in Mount Florida at the weekend.
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“I was very, very happy to score the winning goal and to be in the final,” he said. “It was a really incredible feeling. I was so, so glad. To be honest it was maybe one of the most special goals I’ve scored in my career. It's a very good moment.
“The atmosphere was so nice. The fans, they deserve everything for supporting us the way they do. So, yeah, they deserve everything. I was very happy for everyone supporting me from here and from Palestine.”
Dabbagh, who has now scored four times in nine appearances since moving to this country back in February, will continue to focus on pleasing others during the remaining weeks of the 2024/25 campaign.
Aberdeen have an option to sign a man who has previously played in Kuwait, Portugal and Switzerland, whose parent club extended his contract until 2026 this month so they can bank a transfer fee, permanently in the summer if they are prepared to meet his asking price.
However, the player is going to concentrate on helping Jimmy Thelin’s men, who take on Hibernian in the William Hill Premiership at home on Saturday, finish as high up the top flight table as possible in the weeks ahead and put discussions about his future on hold until after the Scottish Cup final.
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Dabbagh has been grateful to his team mates for helping him to settle in Aberdeen and revealed how they were instrumental in him grabbing a dramatic winner in a tense last four encounter with Hearts on Saturday which appeared destined to go to penalties. “I had a shot in the first period of extra time and their keeper pulled off a really good save,” he said. “My team mates came to me and said, ‘Just keep going, it will come’. And sure enough it came, I scored. “To be honest, we have to keep going every time. It's not just about my work, it’s about teamwork. We are like a real family. All of my team mates are very nice. They helped me to be in the team very fast. Without my team mates, I cannot have this chance to score. We are a team. We play as a team, we win as a team and we lose as a team.”
“To be honest, I don't know a lot about the history of the club, but I had it explained to me,” he said. “The Dons supporters, they deserve this cup, so we’ll give it everything. Until now, everything has gone well. I hope to continue like this until the end of the season.”
Aberdeen will have to perform far better than they did against Hearts to prevail on their next visit to Hampden. The Tynecastle club went down to 10 men just before half-time and were reduced to nine players towards the end of extra-time. But they very nearly forced spot kicks.
At no stage did Graeme Shinnie and his team mates look like falling behind or losing. However, they struggled to break down rivals who defended in numbers and sought to attack on the counter. They very much remain a work in progress and more signings will need to be made by Thelin in the summer.
But with a predator as clinical as Dabbagh at their disposal they can certainly give their fans, and supporters looking on from Palestine, a day to savour.
