Aberdeen 1 - 1 Falkirk

Falkirk Snatch a Point at Aberdeen

Aberdeen and Falkirk had an unsatisfactory drawn game of one goal each at Pittodrie Park, Aberdeen. This was to a considerable extent accounted for by the miserable weather and ground conditions, the heav rainfall having made the centre of the field something like a quagmire. A quarter of an hour from the start Glancy, who took Puddlefoot's position at centre-forward, opened the scoring for Falkirk with a well placed shot. The Aberdeen players tried hard to equalise in the first half, but were unsuccessful though having the greater part of the play. Ten minutes from the close of the match the equaliser came from Rankine with a header from a well-placed corner kick by Smith. On account of the bad weather and inconvenient hour of the match at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, the attendance was much below the average, only some 3000 being present.

Source: The Scotsman, 28th February 1923

At Pittodrie yesterday afternoon Aberdeen and Falkirk repeated last season's performance when, in their return league fixture, they divided two goals. On a flooded pitch, the play at times touched a high standard, especially in defence, but in the second half at any rate the spectacular element was somewhat spoilt by the adoption of off-side tactics, which caused too many irritating stoppages for the three thousand people who turned out in the rain.
Falkirk took the lead after twenty minutes' play, when a centre by Thomson, the visitors' outside right was deflected by McBoyle to the foot of Glancy who beat Blackwell at close range. An overdue equaliser did not materialise until fourteen minutes from the finish, Smith placed the ball from a flag-kick, and Rankin headed past Ferguson.

Strong Falkirk Defence.

On the whole, if not so nippy, Aberdeen were more aggressive than the visitors, whose fine defence was the feature of the game. Aberdeen repeatedly attacked, and if at times genuinely unfortunate, their lack of shooting ability nullified clever outfield play. Many shots were blocked or charged down, and on one occasion, after Ferguson had missed a centre by Middleton, and was out of his goal, Scott was lucky to get in the way of what must been a counting shot by Robertson. Neither goalkeeper was seriously tested, and apart from the balls which counted, Smith and Moore on their respective sides were responsible for the attempts that came nearest to scoring.
The Aberdeen forwards never combined well and, although individually each accomplished something smart at different periods of the game, they were inconsistent, Rankin being the most effective. The half-backs did their part well, although it seemed at times that Milne and MacLachlan overdid the dribbling touches. Forsyth was the better back, showing much coolness and resource. McBoyle, after being shaky in the first half, gained in confidence later, and Blackwell, who had no chance with the shot that beat him, did all that was asked of him.
Ferguson in the Falkirk goal acquitted himself with credit, and Scott and James Hunter at back were the backbone of the side. They showed a fine understanding, and both kicked strongly, Hunter's display being really brilliant. The half-backs showed much cleverness, Townsley being best and, in an attack that lacked finishing power, Moore and Glancy were most worthy of mention.

Source: Aberdeen Daily Journal 1st March 1923