Gentleman - and General - George Hamilton kept Aberdeen going in the right direction for the first five minutes and with one really cute touch Leggat sent the ball whistling into the Clyde net but the right winger was palpably offside when he made the final touch and there was no consternation on the terracing. Aberdeen were turning out all the bright play, but in nine minutes Clyde produced a matching movement - Brown to Robertson, Robertson to Ring, and a shot from the outside left which would have come in very nicely at Wembley last week. Martin made a desperate dive, was beaten by sheer speed, and as he was flying through the air watched the ball hurtle past his right hand post. But in 12 minutes Aberdeen were a goal to the good after five amazing seconds in front of Hawkins.
Paying the Penalty
From Leggat's corner kick Hamilton had a perfect header cleared on the goal line by Haddock. The ball came out straight to Wishart's head, and it was flying straight to the back of the net when Murphy did the last possible goal-saving act, he stuck up a hand and very deliberately pulled the ball down. A penalty kick was the obvious and only outcome, and GLEN, with the minimum of fuss, hit the ball over Hawkins' shoulder. In Clyde's retaliation Freddy Martin all but made another Wembley goal losing blunder. He mistimed a clearance and the ball flew straight to Robertson. From twenty yards the inside right took deliberate aim and the ball was well on its way to goal when Martin, still off balance, threw out a foot and saved the situation in the last half second.
Hamilton Genius
There was action, purpose, and a lot of skill in every Aberdeen raid and most of it was coming from the genius of Hamilton. But there was always the odd moment or two of danger when Clyde moved over the half-way line, especially as Martin still seemed to be suffering from the "Wembley Wobbles." Another miskick landed at the feet of Divers, and it took half a minute of cover-up work from the rest of the Aberdeen defence to clear up the danger which followed. With half-time coming up Clyde started a real search for the equaliser, but although Robertson tried hard, he lacked a spot or two if finesse - the other forwards brought no great danger to Martin. The Clyde attack, in fact, looked so harmless that one fan in the enclosure wanted to know - "Are you handing the flag to Aberdeen?"
Second Half
Clyde made their big effort to save the game from the moment of the restart, but the nearest they came to any success was a twist and a header from Ring which found Martin right in the path of the ball. Exactly the same thing happened when Divers went darting down the right wing and cut a low ball straight into the path of the incoming Ring. The outside left had the whole goal framed before him, but battered the ball straight into Martin's legs, and another danger moment for Aberdeen was cleared away. Then Aberdeen missed a great chance of putting the final touch to their championship bid. Hamilton and Leggat both had a hand in the move and finally Hather was left to put in the final effort. He hit the ball hard and straight, and it flew over Hawkins' arms, hit the bar and came bounding down into play again. The Clyde supporters had barely time to sigh out their relief before Ring was dashing in in Martin and forcing a two-handed, over-the-bar, save from Scotland's goalkeeper. But as the minutes went on Aberdeen looked set for the championship. Hather hit one shot an inch or two over the bar and Aberdeen made a loud appeal for a second penalty when Hawkins brought down Hather. The outside left was carried from the field on a stretcher - and Aberdeen were awarded a corner but no penalty kick. Shortly before Hather was injured Robertson limped off the field and returned to hirple along the touchline. But he did touch one ball on to Divers, and the outside right took two paces past Glen before banging the ball straight into Martin's knees.
Summing Up
Aberdeen won their first-ever league championship without requiring to produce any great football flourish. And, strangely enough, it was George Hamilton, the "discard" who did most of the damage behind the Clyde front line. Clyde had no player in the "outstanding" class in the forward line, and but for Haddock and Anderson, the score would not have been kept to the bare minimum.
Source: Gair Henderson in the Evening Times, 9th April 1955