Aberdeen 2 - 0 Dundee A

The football season was opened the Aberdeen last night when the Aberdeen and Dundee reserve teams played a friendly game at Pittodrie. There was a small attendants when the teams lined up as follows:-

Aberdeen A: Mutch; Hay, Brebner; Bell, JJ Simpson, Morgan; Macdonald, Toman, McKinley, Ritchie, Lawrie.
Dundee A: Bernard; Dorward, Monteith; Watson, Ramsay, Marnie; McLeish, McDonald, Currie, Philip, Webb.
Referee - Mr. Russell, Aberdeen.

Aberdeen, playing towards the west goal, had the better of the opening exchanges, and the Dundee defence was called upon several times in rapid succession to clear their lines. Five minutes from the start Morgan, by a smart piece of play, provided McKinley with an excellent opening, which the centre did full advantage of and opened the scoring with a rocket shot which gave Bernard little chance to save. Following this success of the locals, Dundee came away strongly, and for nearly 10 minutes play was confined to home territory. The most dangerous work came from the right wing, but Brebner was equal to all demands made upon him, and repeatedly averted danger. Play gradually opened out, and after a spell of midfield play the Taysiders once more became prominent, but off sides on numerous occasions spoiled favourable chances. Aberdeen A in turn took up the attack, and for a time the Dundee citadel was in constant jeopardy. Corners succeeded corner, but the ball could not be got into the net through the inability of the home forwards to accept well judged crosses. From a free kick, Dundee got off and Currie all but equalised, his shot being only a few inches above the crossbar. The visiting forwards were persistent in their endeavours to secure the equaliser, but, like the home front rank, they were weak in shooting near goal. Two wards the close of the period, Aberdeen forced the pace, and McKinley again scored from a neat cross by bell.

Dundee resumed in promising fashion. The forwards were ably backed up by the halves, who kept the home forwards well in hand. Hay and Brebner were in splendid form, and had little difficulty in clearing their lines. A rundown on the right by Macdonald resulted in McKinley sending the ball behind. End to end play followed, and was very uninteresting. The forwards on both teams played well in the open, but near goal they could not do anything right. The Taysiders were the chief offenders in this respect. On one occasion Currie, with Mutch out of his goal, shot over the bar from about 10 yards out. Aberdeen's Macdonald was in splendid form in the second half, and his play was a feature of the game. The closing stages of the game were keenly contested. Both goalkeepers were kept busy, but on the call of time Aberdeen still led by two goals to nil. The game was stopped about seven minutes before time owing to darkness.

Source: Aberdeen Daily Journal, 16th August 1908