Aberdeen 5 - 0 Hibernian

The Hibernians sustained their sixth successive defeat at Aberdeen, but that was not surprising considering the make-shift nature of the Easter Road team. The margin of victory for Aberdeen was the large one of 5-0, but had their players shown more opportunism the defeat of the Hibernians might easily have been much heavier - so poorly did the Easter Road players perform. While the forwards, who were led by Ritchie, by no means shone, it was the Easter Road defence men who had to accept the responsibility for the heavy defeat. There Miller, at centre-half, was the only regular man on duty, and though he and Templeton both played with resolution, they had poor backing from the others. Sharp, in goal, did bring off one or two good saves, but he also foozled some shots badly, and frequently affected clearances more by luck than anything else. Mellon was a poor back, shaky in tackling and irresolute in kicking. Murray was always a worker, but Halligan, at left-half, was out of his usual element. That defence, as the men played at Aberdeen, will stop no team whose forwards have the slightest bit of dash and enterprise. Certainly they completely failed to hold the Aberdeen men, who were presented with many chances they might have turned to better advantage than they did. That the re-shuffled forward line met with no success in goal-getting was scarcely to be wondered at. They got few openings, and with Dunn and Clark frequently helping in defence, the forward line was scarcely ever in united action. Dunn was the liveliest of the Easter Road players. The goal-scorers for Aberdeen, to whom the victory was very acceptable, were - Reid (2), Smith, W. Jackson, and McDermid. The attendance would be about 13,000.

Source: The Scotsman, 12th October 1925

Aberdeen brought a run of failures to an end by easily defeating a weakened Hibernian team at Pittodrie by 5 goals to 0. To achieve this decisive success the team was never stretched; indeed, had the forwards accepted the chances that came their way the margin might easily have been doubled. Hibernian took the field without their usual goalkeeper, backs, and wing halfbacks, and it cannot said the players who did duty were very capable substitutes. Sharp, who took Harper's place in goal, never inspired confidence, but it is only fair to say he was not well supported by his backs. Of the latter, Templeton, the club manager, was the better, but that is not saying much. The wing halfbacks were unable to cope with the speedy Aberdeen wingers, and Miller at pivot was only seen to advantage in a defensive capacity. Ritchie, the international outside right, who operated at centre forward, was easily the best in his division, but Dunn at inside right occasionally took the eye with smart individual touches and one or two good attempts at shooting.
Although immeasurably the better team, Aberdeen were far from being brilliant, and although live goals constitute a rich harvest, they had not a great deal of credit by the big win, considering the weakness of the opposition. Blackwell, while having one or two ticklish shots to deal with, had an easy time. Hutton was easily the outstanding back on the field, and while Bruce tackled well, he made a few mistakes in kicking. The halfbacks were very effective, especially Pirie at centre-half; and forward the honours went to McDermid, Reid, and Smith in that order. Twelve thousand spectators were delighted at the turn of the team's fortunes, but were disappointed at the game being so one-sided.

STORY OF THE GAME.

TWO LATE GOALS.

There was some end-to-end play when the game resumed. Walter Jackson had a raid beaten back, and at the other end Walker shot badly from Ritchie's pass. Play quickly veered round again in favour of Aberdeen, who practically did as they liked in the outfield, but their finishing left a great deal to be desired. McDermid shot over following a well-placed flag kick by Smith, and there was a period when the ball was crossed and recrossed several times in front of the Hibernian goal without attacker or defender getting a really decisive kick. Serveral corners fell to the home attackers, by this time the Edinburgh defenders had found their feet, and in a scrambling sort of way continued to clear their lines. A long sprint by Walter Jackson came to grief when Sharp practically threw himself at the centre-forward's feet. Ritchie and Dunn occasionally made progress for Hibernian, but the backs were equal to the calls. Walter Jackson again burst through the home defence, and Sharp just managed to stop his finishing shot. Following this the visitors' goal survived a series of narrow escapes, but later on apparent slackening off by the home team allowed the Edinburgh forwards to become dangerous. Dunn missed with a free kick, and when that player shot hard against the woodwork the-Aberdeen goal was fortunate to escape. Blackwell had to save in quick succession from Clark and Dunn, but following this Aberdeen rallied again, and their attack suddenly developed a dangerous thrust. Unmarked, and with only Sharp in front, Walter Jackson accepted a ground pass from the left to crash through a fourth goal, and immediately afterwards an oblique ground shot by Reid found the Hibs' defence unprepared and the ball landed in the net. This goal completed the discomfiture of a Hibernian team that never was a match for the home side.

Source: Press & Journal, 12th October 1925