Aberdeen 2 - 2 Heart of Midlothian

MOST of the 17,000 spectators at Pittodrie on Saturday went there primarily in search of tickets for the Aberdeen-Hibs match, but they had more than their money's worth in football thrills in the Scottish 2nd XI. Cup first-round tie between Aberdeen "A" and Hearts "A."

It was a ding-dong battle between two smart teams in true cup-tie style. Both sides kept the frills to a minimum and preferred the short route to goal.
A notable feature was the readiness of the half backs and forwards to shoot for goal at every possible opportunity.
Curran, Aberdeen, and Watters, Hearts, were kept on their toes and both acquitted themselves well.
There was little between the teams and over the piece a draw, 2-2, was a fair result.
An early goal by Fordyce, Hearts right half, had an unsettling effect on the Aberdeen defence, but Stenhouse's equaliser helped to restore their confidence.

Thomson Shines

Kenny Thomson had an outstanding game at centre-half for the Young Dons. He repeatedly broke up Hearts' attacks, kept a tight grip on Allsop and found time to cover up for his colleagues.
Alan Rodger was the better of the two backs. He had a lively opponent in Durkin.
Merchant and Baikie both put in a lot of hard work at wing half, and Stenhouse and Glen both did well at inside forward.
The star of the attack, however, was Ian Rodger. With better luck he might have figured among the scorers.
With play concentrated mostly down the middle, the wingers, Kiddie and Pearson were not brought into the game much, though both had their bright patches.
Pearson, in particular, was unusually quiet. Towards the end he went looking for the ball, but the quick-tackling defenders gave him no scope to work it.
The left winger got Aberdeen's equalising goal with a lob which Watters palmed into his own net.
The 'keeper atoned for this lapse in the second half, however, when he brought off a magnificent save from a penalty kick by Bruce. Hearts' second goal came from Urquhart.

Source: Press & Journal, 11th September 1950