Aberdeen 1 - 1 Celtic

The visit of Celtic, the Scottish League leaders, attracted a crowd of nearly 20,000 spectators to Pittodrie Park on Saturday. The crowd was treated to game which abounded with thrills, although the high wind rendered ball control difficult, and neither team really surmounted its handicap.
Aberdeen opened against the wind but were first to become dangerous, Yorston threading his way through the defence, only to shoot narrowly past the far post.

Smith Safe.

Clever play by Wilson set the Celts on the aggressive, but a great shot by Napier was confidently fielded and cleared by Smith.
Aberdeen returned to the attack, and Yorston, Hill, and Dickie had all commendable tries, which were, however, either wide or too high.

Aberdeen's Narrow Escape.

A thrill followed at the other end, where Cooper headed out R. Thomson's cross from the goal line when Smith was beaten after Jackson had failed to clear.
The home goal underwent another narrow escape when Cooper, in attempting to clear, shot against Cowan, and the rebound just grazed the bar with Steve Smith out of position.
Both goals ran narrow escapes in the subsequent exchanges, and Aberdeen had to thank Smith for a miraculous save when Scarff headed towards the corner of the net from Napier's flag kick, but the interval arrived with the score sheet blank.
Aberdeen resumed in dashing fashion with the aid of the wind, but apart from a drive from Hill, Thomson was seldom troubled.
Still Aberdeen pressed, but McStay kept a tight grip of Yorston, and Thomson seldom had to deal with a direct shot. Celtic at last got going, and Smith was applauded for saving a hot shot from Napier after he had fisted away from R. Thomson.

Quick Scoring.

Fifteen minutes of the second half had gone when Aberdeen took the lead, McDermid scoring from close range after Yorston and Love had had shots blocked.
The cheering had hardly died away when Celtic were on level terms. R. Thomson broke away, and crossed a harmless looking ball, but bad covering on the part of the home defenders allowed Scarff to push the ball to Cowan, who equalised from point blank range.
The crowd exhorted the home team to further effort, and Aberdeen were certainly unlucky when Yorston shot against the underside of the crossbar with Thomson hopelessly beaten.
Aberdeen continued to hold a territorial advantage, but Celtic's occasional raids were dangerous, especially when Thomson who had the measure of Jackson, was on the ball.
Excitement reigned until the end, but no further scoring took place.

A Good Result.

A draw was quite a good result, as, although Celtic were fortunate when Yorston shot against the bar, Aberdeen were just as lucky on at least one occasion.
Smith was quite good in the home goal, but Cooper was easily the better of the backs, Jackson's kicking being 'fluky" and his tackling indecisive.
The home half line was strong, Hill being best, but the front rank was not convincing. Yorston was well "policed" by McStay, but still contrived to be the best forward, being elusive and dangerous when he got an opportunity. Love and McDermid were fairly good, but the left wing was definitely weak.
Celtic were a good side, but their lack of punch in attack seems to indicate how much McGrory means to them. Thomson was a class 'keeper, McGonnigle the better back, and Wilson, R. Thomson, A. Thomson, and Scarff the best of the others.

Source: Press & Journal, 26th January 1931