Dunfermline Athletic 1 - 0 Aberdeen

The Aberdeen team travelled to Dunfermline on Saturday to play their return league game with Dunfermline. The match was played at East End Park on a hard pitch. The teams were:-
Dunfermline: Thomson; Pitblado, Parker; Strang, Innes, Anderson; McLeod, J. Wood, Livingstone, W. Wood, Morris. Aberdeen: Barrett; Macgregor, McNicol; Low, Strang, Ritchie; Barron, Dorward, Mackie, McAulay, Johnston. Referee - Mr. Hood, St. Johnstone.

The game on the first stages was very fast, Aberdeen doing most of the pressing, and giving Dunfermline offence plenty of work. Barron was in an excellent position for scoring, but offside was given against him. As the game went on the Aberdeen attack slackened, and the Dunfermline front line had many raids into the visitors' territory. Each team held the upper hand by turns, but the defence on both sides was steady, and at half-time there was no scoring.

Early in the second half the Aberdeen team attacked in determined fashion, but they failed to pierce the stubborn opposing defence. Dunfermline scored the first and only goal of the match about twenty minutes after the restart. A keenly-contested game ended - Dunfermline 1; Aberdeen o. The Aberdeen team don't appear to be a great draw down Dunfermline way, the gate money being stated at £9.

Source: Aberdeen Journal, 7th December 1903

The "gate" for this match was only £9, suggesting a very meagre turnout of spectators - perhaps even less than 500, but Jim Rickaby's excellent book puts it at 5,500 which seems unlikely. It may of course be that the home club understated the takings to save paying Aberdeen their due.