Motherwell 1 - 2 Aberdeen

Aberdeen succeeded in doing away from home what they failed to do at Pittodrie, on Saturday, viz., oust Motherwell from the Cup. The Northern team started off in brisk fashion, their attack showing dash in raiding the home lines. Play was characterised by great intensity, and a mistake by defenders on either side was bound to be fraught with important results. So it turned out as Craig, running back to his own goal to assist the goalkeeper, got in the way of a centre by Smith, and tapped it into the net. A second visitors' goal was scored by J. Jackson with a grounder from far out. Before the interval Ferguson reduced the lead by diverting the ball into goal with a header from a corner kick taken by White. In the second half Motherwell struggled hard for the equaliser, but in vain.

Source: The Scotsman, 26th February 1925

At Fir Park, Motherwell, yesterday, Aberdeen defeated Motherwell in the replay of their tie of the third round of the Scottish Cup competition by 2 goals to 1.
On a fine afternoon, it was a thrilling tussle witnessed by 12,000 spectators.
Aberdeen deserved their victory, but it was a game in which anything might have happened, so many thrilling incidents being crowded into it.
At a comparatively early stage of the game, Aberdeen got a two-goal lead, and its retention afterwards became their main object. This prompted their policy into being that of an essentially defensive combination, but they were quick to seize opportunities of making ground, and there were occasions when they looked likely to again get past the Motherwell defence. Aberdeen took the lead in nine minutes. Smith gathered the ball after Greenshields had failed to head clear, and racing on, cleverly beat Martin in a tackle. He crossed the ball just off the ground, and Craig in attempting to clear deflected it into his own goal. Aberdeen's second goal materialised after 28 minutes' play. James Jackson, following up an Aberdeen attack, got possession, and shooting on the run from 25 yards range, beat McClory with a fast ground shot. Five minutes from the internal, Motherwell made up part of the leeway when off a well-placed corner kick by White, Ferguson headed past Blackwell. Previous to this, and in the second half, both defences were severely tried, and each had narrow escapes. Midway through the period Ferguson netted for Motherwell from an offside position. The referee disallowed the score, and the official was afterwards the object of a hostile demonstration.
In the later stages the game was fought out at a fierce pace, and although the Aberdeen wingers often raided the home territory, Motherwell accounted for most of the attacking. They, however, encountered a stone-wall defence which held out grimly until the end.

Players Who Excelled.

On the Aberdeen side there was not weak link. Blackwell was brilliant in goal, and in a defence that withstood a terrific gruelling, Forsyth and Hutton were outstanding; but D. Bruce, MacLachlan, and J. Jackson were also at the top of their game. The last-named, who appeared in a new role at right half, not only kept the opposing wing in check, but repeatedly forced the game. The forwards, especially in the first half, kept the game open, and if A. Jackson and Smith the extreme wingers, had not been roughly treated by the opposition, they must have had even better results to show for their work. Pirie, W. Jackson, and R. Bruce played a hustling and worrying game throughout, the latter two getting in a power of defensive work when circumstances called for this.
As at Pittodrie, Motherwell were better served in attack than in defence. McLory kept goal finely, although Jackson's counting shot might have been saved by him. Frame was a more reliable back than Martin, who deputised for Little, who was on the injured list. The half-backs did their work well, and in attack Ferguson and Ferrier, as at Pittodrie, proved most dangerous to a defence that was aIways brilliant.
The tie was witnessed by fully 12-000 spectators, and the divisible "gate" amounted to £456.

Source: Press & Journal, 26th February 1925