Aberdeen 0 - 1 Rangers

One of the Best Games Ever Seen at Pittodrie

REAL DRAMA IN LAST SIX MINUTES

This fourth-round Scottish Cup-tie was productive of pulsating and skilful football between two well-matched teams. There were thrills in abundance, but the real drama was crowded into the closing six minutes.
With four and a half minutes to go Turnbull scored the goal which brought jubilation to the Rangers' camp and smashed Aberdeen's hopes. This followed quickly on the heels of a penalty award for the Light Blues.
Smith, the Aberdeen keeper, failed to hold a Turnbull cross, and his namesake in the Rangers' attack was going through when Steve Smith tackled him Rugby fashion. Meiklejohn took the spot-kick, and pandemonium broke loose when the Dons' custodian saved brilliantly. It was unfortunate that the winning goal came after this great save.

A Grand Game Great

Great things were expected of the pairing of Aberdeen and Rangers, and enthusiasts were not disappointed.
It was a grand game, one of the best ever witnessed at Pittodrie. There was little to choose between the teams, and on the day's play the Dons did not deserve to be beaten. A draw would have been a more fitting result.
Aberdeen served up a high standard of football, especially in the first half. The forwards worked with speed and cohesion, and there was a good deal of clever interchanging of positions. On the other hand the movements of the Light Blues were more orthodox, but none the less effective.
An outstanding feature of the game was the number of times the woodwork prevented a score. Twice in each half the crossbar or the post came to the rescue of the keepers.

Plucky Defence

The Aberdeen defence gave a plucky display. Steve Smith, who returned to goal after a week or two's absence, was one of the outstanding personalities of the side. The keeper gave a brilliant display, revealing all his former coolness and judgment.
The backs were generally sound, with Cooper the more effective. McGill tackled strongly, but his clearances were weak on occasions. Falloon, along with Smith, shares the honours in the Aberdeen rear lines. Although at a big disadvantage physically, the centre-half more than held his own with the burly Smith, of Rangers.
The wing halves, and Thomson, got through a power of work, and were often seen in attack as well as defence. The former received a thigh injury, and this seemed to affect him in the closing stages.

Mills Aberdeen's Best Forward

Although he tired towards the end Mills was Aberdeen's best forward, his clever ball manipulation and slick accurate passes being a feature of the game. McKenzie was a strong inside right, and was always prominent In the attacking movements, but he might, with advantage, have shot more often.
Warnock, on the extreme right, showed any amount of pluck, and often threatened danger, but Lang, on the other wing, failed to impress except in the early stages. Armstrong tried hard to elude the vigilant Simpson, but Scotland's pivot saw to it that he got little room in which to work.

Rangers' Strength

Rangers are strong both in defence and attack, and now that they have disposed of Aberdeen there seems every likelihood of them retaining the trophy. Dawson, in goal, gave a first-class display, while Gray was the better of two sound backs. Cheyne, the former Fraserburgh player, gave a good account of himself.
The honours at half-back go to Simpson, who broke up many of the Aberdeen attacks. Brown combined defence and attack cleverly, but Meiklejohn did not impress in the first half, although he improved after the interval.
Venters was the No. 1 Rangers forward. A forceful type of inside man, Venters was a continual source of menace. Smith, like Armstrong, was well held by the opposing centre-half, but McPhail, although he has more prominent, got through a power of work.
Fiddes was the better winger. He had one or two nice runs and crosses. Turnbull gets full marks for the manner in which he accepted the chance that decided the issue, but otherwise he was seldom dangerous.

Dons Might Have Led

With a little luck Aberdeen might have taken the lead in the opening minutes. Armstrong, McKenzie and Mills went through in fine style and the inside right sent the ball against the post with Dawson beaten. Shortly afterwards Mills accepted a pass from Armstrong, beat Gray and tested Dawson with a fast, rising shot.
The first real thrill at the Aberdeen end came when Smith got his head to a corner and Steve Smith clutched the ball as it was going under the crossbar. Rangers' goal had another narrow escape when Warnock cut in from the wing to fasten on to an up-the-middle pass from Armstrong and sent the ball flashing past the post. Then came Dawson's best save of the match, when he dived sideways to grasp a cute Armstrong header from a McKenzie cross. Aberdeen's biggest escape came just on the interval, when McPhail leaped forward to head a Turnbull cross against the underside of the crossbar.
Aberdeen were again first to have the woodwork frustrate their efforts in the second half. Lang robbed Cheyne and left Warnock with a clear field. The winger cut in and hit the ball with terrific force, but it cannoned off the underside of the crossbar against the post and into play.
Rangers were equally unfortunate, however, a moment's hesitancy on the part of the Dons' defence saw Venters rush in to send the ball smashing against the upright.
With six minutes to go came the penalty, and one-and-a-half minutes later the goal. The all-important counter came about in the following manner. Fiddes broke away on the right, eluded McGill and crossed. Smith gathered the ball but, covered by Falloon and Cooper, he quickly pushed it out to Turnbull, who steadied himself and crashed the ball into the net.

Source: Press & Journal, 9th March 1936