Aberdeen 1 - 2 Queen of the South

Veteran Winger Was Brain Behind Queen's' Victory
By NORMAN MACDONALD

THIS morning Aberdeen is a town in football mourning. The man who passed the death sentence on the Dons was veteran left-winger Charlie Johnston, of Queen of the South.

Standing very little over 5ft. in height, this football will-o'-the-wisp, who is in the twilight of his soccer career, was the brain behind "Queen's" appearance in the Scottish Cup semi-final.
Not only did he score the winning goal, but I have a shrewd suspicion he was behind the forward switch between Houliston and Charlie Brown thirteen minutes from the end, which transformed Queen of the South into a winning team.
There can be no complaint about the Dumfries club's 2-1 victory. The Dons beat themselves. They were a diffident team from the time they took the field. There was a lack of confidence in defence and attack alike.
The Pittodrie players were haunted by that remarkable Queen of the South recovery that turned what seemed certain defeat into a replay at Palmerston Park last Saturday.
They were never happy, in spite of the fact that they held the lead from the twenty-seventh to the eightieth minute. The Dons were but a ghostly replica of the team that have carried all before them in the past two months.
All credit to "Queen's," and good luck to them in the semi-final. In imminent danger of relegation today they find themselves live candidates for the Scottish Cup, awaiting the winners of the Rangers-Raith Rovers tie.
They are by no means a brilliant team. They go hard, they never give in, and they have abunance of fighting spirit. Had the players produced the same indomitable spirit as their rivals, they would not now be numbered amongst the Scottish Cup also-rans.
There were few successes amongst the nerve-racked Dons. Pat McKenna played strongly at left back, but it was a sliced clearance by the left back that led to the equaliser.
George Hamilton was the lone ranger in attack. It was no fault of the centre forward that Aberdeen were beaten. He tried hard from start to finish. The trouble was he received little support from his inside men.

OUT OF TOUCH

Baird and Yorston were out of touch. Seldom have I seen the inside right less effective. We saw only occasional flashes from Pearson, and Stenhouse, although he waged total war against James, was no more than moderate.
The half-backs, all three of them, were disappointing, and Emery was never master of Johnston.
The excitability of the Aberdeen forwards simplified the task of the Queen of the South defenders. McBain and Hamilton played well at wing half-back for the Dumfries club and, in addition to Johnston, nuisance No. 1 so far as the Pittodrie rearguard was concerned, Jackie Brown and McAvoy were lively raiders for "Queen's."
McAvoy missed the ball and a grand scoring chance for the visitors before George Hamilton netted for the Dons. When Baird headed on a free-kick from Emery, Hamilton made the job of guiding the ball into the net look simple.
It looked as if Aberdeen would hold on to their slender lead, until Queen of the South produced another blitzkreig finish. The revival coincided with the switching of Houliston and Charlie Brown.
After missing a chance from six yards Houliston snatched the equalising goal when McAvoy swung the ball into the middle. Before the Dons could recover, the inside left again snicked the ball through the middle, and the diminutive Johnston raced after it to score the golden goal for Queen of the South.

Source: Press & Journal, 16th March 1950