The Aberdeen 1 - 1 Orion

The Orion and Aberdeen teams met at Pittodrie Park in a Rhodesia Cup Tie, before a large turnout of spectators. Owing to the heavy rain in the forenoon the pitch was in a very soft condition. Teams:- Aberdeen: Bisset; Douglas, Thomson; J. Mackie, Sangster, Brown; Brodie, Davidson,, C. Mackie, Fullerton, Shiach. Orion: Ritchie; Thomson, Brebner; Currie, Willox, Grant; Thomson, Livingstone, Lindsay, Prophet, Ritchie. Referee, Alex Macleod, Cowlairs.

Aberdeen won the toss, and Orion kicked off. The homesters went off in fine style, and Thomson, the Orion's right back, had to kick into touch to avoid disaster. End to end play followed, neither side showing to advantage. The shooting of the forwards of both Orion and Aberdeen left much to be desired, and several splendid opportunities were lost. Half=time arrived without any scoring having taken place.

On resuming, the Orion forwards, by good passing tactics, got in front of the Aberdeen goal, and from a scrimmage, Lindsay shot strongly into the net. The Whites now played with great dash, but a strong sunshine hampered them considerably. From midfield, Fullerton rushed off with the ball at his feet, and succeeded in breaking through the Orion defence, and compelled Ritchie to runout from his goal to avoid disaster. Once more aberdeen got down. From the the right wing Brodie crossed smartly to Davidson, who beat Ritchie with a long slanting shot. Once more on equal footing, both teams strove hard for the lead, and the game became fast and exciting. Towards the close of the game Aberdeen showed excellent form, and but for Ritchie they would have scored several times. A keenly-contested game ended in a draw.

Source: Aberdeen Journal, 16th April 1901