Aberdeen 1 - 0 Heart of Midlothian

ABERDEEN "A" BEAT HEARTS "A"

LEAGUE FLAVOUR IN BOTH TEAMS

A speculative shot by George Scott two minutes from time gave Aberdeen "A" victory in their Alliance League match with Hearts "A" Pittodrie on Saturday.
The goal came most unexpectedly when everything pointed to a draw, and certainly on play Hearts deserved at least one of the points.
There was little to raise enthusiasm in the play, and this was all the more surprising in that both sides were nearly at first team strength.

HIGH WIND,/p> Hearts had only two reserves in their team while Aberdeen had five. Yet, despite the strong League flavour about the line-up, the game never rose to any great heights.
The high wind made playing conditions uncomfortable, and neither set of forwards were impressive in attack. Aberdeen combined well enough in the outfield, but when it came to the Hearts goalmouth Armstrong got little or no support.
Little was seen of the Hearts forward line in attack. Apart from flashes of brilliance in opening up the home defence with judicious cross-field passing, Walker was very subdued and Black was rarely in evidence.
Biggs lacked craft in everything he did and could make nothing of Nicholson, the home pivot, who dominated the midfield throughout.
Thomson did well in defence and occasionally was to be found up-field combining well with Ritchie Smith in attack. Currer, who was making his first appearance for some time, was not very impressive. McGill and Erskine were both guilty of faulty positioning and were saved time and again by Nicholson's ubiquitousness.
Johnstone in goal had easy afternoon and was rarely troubled.

HOME GOAL ENDANGERED

The first real danger to the home goal came from Black. Erskine, by a too fast pass back to Johnstone, had forced the 'keeper to concede a corner, and from the flag-kick the Hearts inside-left fastened on to shoot high over the bar.
Aberdeen made good headway in attack, and a neat bit of inter-changing between Ritchie Smith and Armstrong almost brought results. The Dons centre, when challenged by Anderson, smartly tricked him and sent over an inviting cross, but neither McKenzie nor C. Smith accepted the chance.
Armstrong again came near to bringing the opening goal when he shot hard for goal, but Ritchie Smith, when attempting to turn the ball into the net, headed clear instead.
With the high wind behind them the Dons were lively enough in attack but failed miserably at close quarters.

STRUCK UPRIGHT

McKenzie almost opened the scoring with a well-placed shot but it struck the upright and rebounded.
When faced with the wind in the second half, Aberdeen fared better than they did with it. They were more aggressive in attack but met solid Hearts defence in which Grant, Miller, and Anderson were outstanding.
It was Hearts, however, who came nearest to a score. McGill fumbled a clearance and Biggs fastened on to get clear of the defence but shot wildly past.
Hyslop was injured in a tussle with Charlie Smith and had to leave the field. He returned a few minutes later but subsequently retired for good.
Ritchie Smith was seldom seen in attack against Anderson, but occasionally he got away to send over fine crosses. From one of these, C. Smith got away but the right winger bore too far out and Waugh cut out his shot.

UNEXPECTED GOAL

Two minutes from time. Nicholson cleared heftily and George Scott wheeled to send the ball into the corner of the net. The unexpectedness of the shot took Waugh by surprise.

Source: Press & Journal, 4th April 1938