Crystal Palace 3 - 0 Aberdeen

Dons Played the Football - Palace Got the Goals
From NORMAN MACDONALD

IF Aberdeen F.C. are satisfied to beat their opponents in football and lose matches in goals, then they had a successful day in London on Saturday.
The fact remains, however, that they were beaten 3-0 by Crystal Palace, an English Third Division club, who occupy a position midway in the League table.

Results are the thing that count in all games, and in this respect the Dons were a poor advertisement for Scottish football.
Crystal Palace were not a good team. They showed plenty of dash and indulged in first-time tactics, but in football craftsmanship and ball manipulation they were not comparable with the Dons.
The one thing the Englishmen possessed that the Pittodrie forwards lacked was the ability to put the ball in the net.
The Aberdeen front line was good up to a point, and that point was reached when they got inside the penalty area.

Frills?No Thrills

Main responsibility for the defeat must rest with Harris, McIntyre, Kelly, Baird and Pearson. As a match-winning combination they failed completely. They provided an enthusiastic 15,000 crowd with frills without thrills.
Crystal Palace, with half their ability, half the play and half the scoring chances, netted three times. While the Dons moved at three-quarter speed the English players were travelling at full throttle.
If Aberdeen intend to make a come back next season it is absolutely essential that they introduce a more adventurous spirit into their forward line before August.
Shooting has become something of a lost art at Pittodrie.
To mention Johnstone, McKenna and Roy is to name Aberdeen's three best players; and the centre half was too fond of beating his man in the penalty area - a dangerous practice.

Too Clever

Pearson delighted the crowd with his cleverness and ball control, but he overdid it after the first twenty minutes.
Crystal Palace were obviously overawed by the opposition, but after the left winger, Gaillard, a Belgian, had given them the lead in thirteen minutes from a corner from Clough, they began to realise that the Dons were throwing away the substance of goals for the shadow of clever football.
Twelve minutes after the start of the second half Gaillard repeated the performance after Russell, the Palace inside right, had pulled the Aberdeen defence out of position.
The best goal of the game, in thirty minutes, fell to Kurz, the centre forward, who dashed in to head a free kick from Lewis (J.) into the net.

Source: Press & Journal, 3rd May 1948