Heart of Midlothian 4 - 0 Aberdeen

Aberdeen visited Tynecastle, Edinburgh to contest the semi-final of the North-Eastern Cup. The drawings amounted to £287, including £35 at the stands, which represented an attendance of well over 10,000. All through the Hearts were easily the superior team, and were well worth their win by four goals, all of which were scored by their young centre, Wilson, who played a clever game. Indeed all the forwards, backed up well by Nellies and Mercer, were in capital form, and where all were good Sinclair, Wilson, and Macpherson caught the eye most. The Aberdeen defence were kept on the stretch all the time, but were no match for their opponents. Within three minutes of the start Wilson hooked a cross from Sinclair into the net, and later capped this with another from a more difficult position, the ball on this occasion coming to him from Abrams. Milne, the visiting centre, got a fine opportunity to reduce the lead when Taylor missed his kick, but Allan saved easily when he ought to have been beaten. The second half was quieter, but Wilson added two more goals, his last one occurring just on time, and was the best of the four. Soye and Lennie were more prominent during this half, but were unable to make much impression on the home defence. Result:- Heart of Midlothian, 4 goals; Aberdeen, 0

Source: The Scotsman, 16th September 1912

To be decisively beaten by 4 goals to 0 was the fate of the Aberdeen football team on Saturday when the opposed Hearts of Midlothian in the semi-final of the North-Eastern cup at Tynecastle Park, Edinburgh. The game was witnessed by fully 12,000 people, who sought game spoilt by its one-sidedness. The home team showed great dash and precision, and from start to finish they ran Aberdeen off their feet, and completely demoralised them. The feature of the match was a magnificent play of the Hearts' forwards, and the notable success achieved by their centre forward Wilson, who scored all the four goals. This young player was one of the outstanding players in a side his play assured victory from the start. He opened the scoring at the end of five minutes' play after Sinclair had crossed, and he obtained his second goal after Hume had failed to clear with his head. At the interval Hearts' stood two goals up, and on play they were quite value for a stronger lead. The Aberdeen defence was repeatedly tricked, and only brilliant work by Colman saved them from a crushing defeat at this stage. He repeatedly charged down or blocked shots which would have counted, and once Hume kicked the ball from below the bar after King had missed.

There was no improvement in the play of Aberdeen in the second half, and try as they might, the players could not pull themselves together. Wilson, the home centre forward, repeatedly threatened danger, and there was little surprise when he added other two goals. The last 20 minutes of the game the Hearts did not force the pace to such an extent as previously, but even then the Pittodrie team could make but little headway, although Milne and Walker both missed favourable chances to score. In the end Aberdeen were well beaten, having been mastered in every department. Never at any time during the game did Aberdeen play with any confidence, and could scarcely have been seen to worse advantage.

Source: Aberdeen Daily Journal, 16th September 1912