Aberdeen 1 - 1 Rangers

Anti-climax After Dons Great Display at Parkhead
RANGERS DISAPPOINT

A VISIT by Rangers to Pittodrie invariably means a carnival day for north enthusiasts. On Saturday the setting was perfect - brilliant sunshine and a crowd of more than 43,000 ready to cheer at the slightest provocation.

The only thing which didn't come up to expectations was the match itself, which resulted in a 1-1 draw. Taken at its face value, Aberdeen's effort in taking five points out of a possible six within eight days is very good after the early set-backs the team received.
But quite frankly their performance against Rangers was an anti-climax after the grand football they showed against Celtic at Parkhead.
The Light Blues were also disappointing, and if this is the best they can do it will be a sad commentary on Scottish football if they repeat last season's cup and league successes.
Both teams tried hard enough, but it must be a long time since so much negative forward play was seen in an Aberdeen - Rangers match. Findlay had a good opening half-hour for Rangers, but Waddell was the only forward of ten who maintained mastery over the ball and his opponents.
But for all Waddell's superiority over McKenna the champions could not cash in. It was sad to see Gillick squander scoring chances which formerly he would have taken in his stride.
The Dons' attackers were never given the chance to develop a combined game, so complete was the domination of the Rangers' halfbacks, who did show a touch of championship class.

Passes Wasted

Pearson was the one Aberdeen forward with ideas. He paid due respect to Young's ability at full back, but his shrewd passes were often wasted.
Most successful players in the Aberdeen team were Curran, Anderson and Roy. Curran compared favourably with Brown, and one save from a Williamson header in the first half was particularly good.
Chris Anderson makes his supporters cheer and groan alternately. His destructive work is immense, but he appears to be unable to rid himself of the habit of making a faulty pass after originating an attack.
McColl and Cox were streets ahead of him in this respect, and it was usually a shrewd pass from one or other of this pair that put the Dons on the defensive. Cox, for instance, supplied the pass from which Findlay got the equalising goal.
Roy, if he was not so polished as Woodburn, had another good game at centre half for the Dons. His play would be more profitable if he kept more of his clearances in the pitch.

Emery Again

Rangers were much the better side in the first half, but they failed to get the ball past Curran. There were a few near misses at both ends during this spell, and Aberdeen made a half-hearted claim for a goal when Brown dropped on a shot from Yorston, who had cut out to the left wing.
The first goal came ten minutes after half-time, when Woodburn made a vigorous protest against a free-kick being awarded when Kelly went down in a tackle. Emery came up to hammer the ball past a line of defenders and it seemed to strike Brown's arm on its way to the net.
The equalising goal was simple in execution. Cox fastened on to one of Curran's bye-kicks and coolly pushed the ball forward to Findlay, who was unmarked and scored easily.

Source: Press & Journal, 5th September 1949