Aberdeen 1 - 0 Falkirk

At this point in the season the Dons topped the league. Falkirk were also doing well and had not lost a game since September. 19,000 saw a hard tussle with a penalty kick deciding the issue. A certain Alex Ferguson was involved in discussions with the referee!

"Safety first" seemed to be Falkirk's tactics in the early stages and they resorted to playing the offside move and the pass back to the keeper from up to 40 or 50 yards out. Steve Murray threatened and the Dons forced a couple of corners. In a Falkirk breakaway Andy Roxburgh's shot was deflected for a corner by Henning Boel. A Jim Hermiston ? Murray move looked promising but when the ball reached Arthur Graham he was tackled strongly. Some "needle" crept into proceedings and free kicks were awarded to both teams. Ferguson was one of the culprits and was spoken to by the referee. A foul by him led to Aberdeen's penalty goal when he conceded a free kick at the edge of the box. Boel's free kick struck Martin's arm and Joe Harper did his usual immaculate job from the penalty spot.
The Bairns responded and Hoggan forced Bobby Clark to make a good save. Jim Forrest, Dave Robb and Ian Taylor produced a smart move and then Taylor shot wide from Murray's pass. His goal apart, Harper could not get into the game and was caught offside on several occasions. He dummied a pass from Tommy McMillan to give Taylor an opening but his first-time shot rebounded off Rennie's body. Falkirk then had a good move which ended with Gibson testing Clark and it was obvious the visitors had no intention of surrendering. The half ended with Forrest and Martin Buchan having shots off target.

HALF TIME 1-0

It was Aberdeen's turn to set the offside trap as the visitors resumed on the offensive. Taylor and Murray were very industrious in midfield but the Dons just could not get into top gear. Robb and Graham both shot wildly past from good positions. Clark came to the rescue and kept the Dons in front when he had, a magnificent one-handed save from Setterington after a Ferguson back-heeler had opened up the path to goal. Next Robb, back helping in defence, cleared up a dangerous situation instigated by Hoggan. Aberdeen were soon at the Falkirk end again and shots from Forrest and Robb were cleared with difficulty. Graham and Boel both sent across a dangerous ball but, in the tangle of legs, nobody managed to score. Eventually Graham did have the ball in the net but the referee awarded a foul against Harper. Robb then missed an open goal when Forrest's shot bounced off Rennie's body.
The home team were having to fight to maintain their narrow lead and Boel, Buchan and McMillan all cleared desperately under pressure. Ferguson and Setterington went close to scoring in a storming finale by the visitors. From a corner in the last minute Shirra and Ferguson missed the ball a few yards out. The home team and the supporters were glad to hear the final whistle.

Source: Match Programme, 20th August 1994