Partick Thistle 1 - 1 Aberdeen

Ken Thomson May Not Be Missed
By NORMAN MACDONALD

IF unity is strength then the Dons were united in defence and weak in attack at Firhill on Saturday.
The defenders did a good job of work against Partick Thistle, and to them goes the credit for the draw. They fought with vigour and determination.
If the Firhill display was a fair sample of what Alec Young means to produce every week Thomson will not be so badly missed at centre-half as many people had imagined would be.
Young's play against Partick had the same incisiveness about it as was the case two years ago when he was right at the top of his form as a defensive pivot.
Young and Fred Martin were the personalities in a courageous Aberdeen defence.
Ledgerwood, who kept goal for the Scottish League at Belfast last Wednesday, played soundly enough on Saturday but he did not inspire the same confidence as did the clean, crisp goalkeeping of Martin.

Will Hold Their Own 
Mistakes were made by the Aberdeen defence but over the ninety minutes they played well enough to suggest that they will hold their own in most company.
Mitchell is settling down at right back. He tackles with determination and has good powers of recovery. Smith found Howitt a lively opponent in the second half, but the word defeat does not appear in the former Aberdeen junior’s vocabulary.
He is gaining valuable experience with every match.
Youth an Asset

Anderson was the better Aberdeen wing half. His tackling was strong and purposeful. He seems to be recovering his best form.
Wallace was not so impressive at Firhill as he was in the Rangers game, but in his case, too, he has youth on his side and will learn with experience.
There are bright possibilities about the Dons' defence.

Still Unsolved

But the problems in attack are still unsolved. Against Partick they did not possess a player who was capable of holding the ball and drawing the defence. The return of Hamilton may help to eliminate this fault. The line lacked unity.
Dunbar was a willing enough leader, but his lack of pace and experience were obvious at times.
Certainly he did not get much support from his inside men. Rodger faded after a lively first half, while Yorston has still to recover the form which made him a £2O,000 player a season ago.

Buckley Doubt

No player deserves be condemned on one display, but I am doubtful if Aberdeen will get the best out of Buckley on the right wing. He was keen enough but did not seem to be happy on the touchline.
To return from Firhill with a point was quite a good start to the Dons’ Scottish League campaign. They can aspire to even better results if the club can find an answer to their forward problems.
The greatest need in attack is cohesion.

Source: Evening Express, 8th September 1952