Aberdeen 0 - 1 Heart of Midlothian

Feckless Finishing by Dons Forwards.

Hearts were a trifle lucky to take both points from Aberdeen at Pittodrie. Aberdeen, however, have themselves to blame. It was the old tale of polish without punch.

The Edinburgh side had the advantage of a strong wind and sun in the first half, and the additional benefit of a goal in the first minute. Johnstone forced a corner off McGill, placed the flag kick to perfection and Coutts headed the ball over Smith into the net.
Despite this early reverse and the fact that they faced the wind and sun, Aberdeen had as much of the play as Hearts. When the teams retired at the interval, with the Tynecastle men leading by a single goal, it was expected that the Dons would quickly wipe out the deficit in the second half.
These hopes, however, proved unfounded. Aberdeen certainly took the game in hand, and the Hearts attack was only seen in action at rare intervals, but the homesters attempts at goal-getting were pathetic.
They were perhaps unfortunate to have that goal of Mills' disallowed for offside, but numerous chances were missed, and the climax was reached when the inside left failed to beat Waugh with a penalty.
Aberdeen's defeat was entirely due to the impotency of the forwards at close quarters. Time and again they took the ball downfield with well-conceived movements, but in the vicinity of the penalty area players would persist in hanging on to the ball, with the result that the work of the Hearts defenders was simplified.
Some idea of Aberdeen's lack of punch may be gained from the fact that during the game Waugh had probably no more than half a dozen real shots to deal with.
Beynon, on the left, was the one bright spot in the Aberdeen attack. He was the most enterprising of the quintette, and it was a pity to see so much of his work wasted owing to the ineptitude of his colleagues.
The work of the Aberdeen half-backs was good. Fraser was the best of the trio. He revealed top form in the second half, when he lent much valuable assistance to the attackers.
Thomson did well without being outstanding, while Falloon was a grand defender until he was injured in the second half and had to go to outside-left.
Smith, Cooper, and McGill were a sound rear trio, with Cooper the most polished back on the field.
Hearts have their defence in large measure to thank for their victory. Waugh, in goal, was brilliant at times, while Anderson could have done no better than Herd. Hearty, too, played a big part in the holding of the Aberdeen attack.
Reid, at centre-half, was a tower of strength in defence, while Massie, although not touching his best form, was the better wing half.
The Tynecastle attack, like that of Aberdeen, lacked penetrative power. Coutts was the most enterprising the quintette. Johnstone, on the right, was prominent with Walker at times, but Battles and Munro were well held Falloon and Cooper respectively.

Source: Press & Journal, 23rd April 1934