Aberdeen 1 - 1 St. Bernards

There was a large crowd of spectators at Pittodrie on Saturday, when the Whites met the St. Bernards in their closing Eastern League Fixture. The homesters introduced McErachen [sic] in centre, vice Mackie, who took up the inside right position. The Aberdeen won the toss and played towards the city. Immediately the game commenced, the Whites were down on the Saints' defence, and after a lot of "throw ins" a corner was forced. McAulay took the kick and landed the ball in a grand position, but eventually the visitors got the sphere away. After some uninteresting play, Shinner dashed down the wing and crossed nicely to Mackie, who put the ball in the net, but as that player was offside at the time, the point was disallowed. The homesters kept up the pressure and had plenty of chances to open the scoring, but the shooting was far from the mark. Hazelwood, the visitors' centre, tried hard to get his men going in the front rank, but Mackie and McNicol kept them at bay and out of reach of the home goal. At the other end, Grant and McCracken were having a lively time in keeping the home forwards out, and right well did they respond to the demands made on them. The former bad the better of the home left wing again and again, and played a really fine spoiling game. Shinner was the only Aberdeen forward who knew where the goal lay, and had sense enough to put his shots in that direction but even his were not on the mark. A shot from Wemyss was smartly held by Barrett, who, however, fumbled, and in no time Devlin was on his top. The ball came out to McGittigan from the scrimmage, and that player let drive at an open goal. Before the sphere reached the net, however, Low kicked it out with an overhead kick in an exceedingly smart manner. The Saints clamoured for a goal, and to our minds they were quite justified in doing so, as there is not a doubt but that the ball was over the line. The referee thought otherwise, however, and the home crowd breathed freely. Instead of this putting the Whites on the alert, it did otherwise, as it was the visitors who took up the aggressive. On this occasion they opened the scoring, but to their surprise the point was disallowed for offside; The referee was entirely wrong in this decision, as McNicol put the player who scored, onside by heading the ball, but of course in the excitement he may not have noticed this.

Half-time arrived with the score sheet a blank. Although the visitors in justice ought to have had two goals in hand on crossing over, yet the Aberdeen had, up to the interval, by far the most of the play, and only weak finishing kept them from finding the net. On resuming the St. Bernards came away with a rush, and looked very dangerous, but McNicoll relieved with a big kick. Both teams had an equal share of the game for a good period, but at length Devlin got a nice pass from the centre, and made no mistake by beating Barrett with a fast low shot. This was just what was required to put life into a very dull uninteresting game, and in keeping up the excitement one or two players got laid out. None of these injuries were of a serious kind, and all the players were able to resume after a little attention. Five minutes from time C. Mackie, who was playing centre during the second period, scored twice in rapid succession but unfortunately one was deducted for off-side. This decision was quite in order, but the one which counted was a goal of the "class" sort, and could not possibly be challenged. Rough and dirty play was the rule of play when the whistle sounded with the score standing - Aberdeen 1, St. Bernards 1.

Points from Pittodrie

Good gates are still the order of the day at Pittodrie, The amount drawn on Saturday was £110.
The ground was in good condition, and we trust the roller will be kept in use in future.
It would not be a bad idea to get an Ambulance Corps to attend Pittodrie regularly. After Saturday the matter is worth thinking about.
Everybody was looking for two points on Saturday, and it was bad shooting that was the cause of the failure. Some practice is required in this line.
Stanners in goal for the Saints was never seriously tried except in a scrimmage or two. He generally came out on top in these melees.
Grant and McCracken gave a splendid exposition of back play, which was only marred by a tendency to kick out of play rather frequently. The former showed signs of temper during the close of the game, which was not exactly good taste.
All the three halves played a hard and good game, and it would be difficult to spot the best of the trio.
Hazelwood is a fine go-ahead centre who seems to know no fear. He was the cause of a great deal of trouble to the home defence, and kept it rather lively.
The two outside wing men were next in order of merit.

Barrett in the home goal, made one slip, which proved however, unproductive for the visitors. The shot which beat him was unsaveable.
Mackie and McNicol were a long bit behind the opposing pair in point of understanding, but otherwise held their own.
The home halves all were in fine form, and at present playing splendidly.
Low's overhead kick, which saved the goal, was a masterpiece, and was worth seeing.
The forwards to a man were off. Shinner did not get many chances and when one did arise he parted with the ball too soon. We should be pleased to see this player try and dribble the ball up the field now and then.
C. Mackie's shooting was painful, and the left wing's ditto.
We have never seen, McAulay shoot so wildly. McErachen could not be described as a success. He is, however, worthy of another trial, and ought to be persevered with as he is an artistic player. What he wants is to put more spirit into his play.

Mr. McArthur, who had charge of the game, kept the men well in hand. His decisions were very fair as a whole, and any favours that were agoing, the home team got the benefit of them.
The crowd, or a certain section of them, thought otherwise. It is this section which talks loudest, and knows least about the game, but it is always so - worse luck.

Source: Bon-Accord March 31, 1904

A big crowd of football enthusiasts congregated at Pittodrie, Aberdeen on Saturday, to witness play between the local team and St Bernard, Edinburgh, in an East of Scotland League fixture. Between 3000 and 4000 spectators witnessed the game. The weather was excellent, and the pitch in fine condition, and fast. Aberdeen tried McEachern, the Peterhead player, as centre forward. the teams were:- Aberdeen: Barrett; Mackie, McNicol; Sangster, Strang, Low; Shinner, Mackie, McEachern, McAulay, Johnstone. St Bernard: Stanners; Grant, McCracken; Bogie, Morrison, Oates; Wemyss, Giblin, Hazelwood, McGittigen, Devlin. Referee - Mr. McArthur, Stirling.

Aberdeen started in dashing style, and worked their way up the field so efficiently that the Edinburgh goalkeeper had his first taste of the leather before the game was two minutes old. From the ensuing corner kick the ball was got away, only to be returned by McNicol, Aberdeen's dashing left back. A bright piece of play followed. Getting a pass from Low, Charlie Mackie, lying close in, deftly turned the ball into the net with the inside of his foot. The referee, however, ruled Mackie offside, and did not allow the goal. Aberdeen continued to force the pace, greatly helped by McNicol, who was in rare form. Dribbling round several opponents, and bounding ahead with the ball when free, McNicol gained a lot of ground for the Whites. He did not part with the ball until he was able to place it with little Johnstone, who was in a good position for shooting. The shot, a stinger, was a little bit wide of the mark. The homesters realised by this time that they were opposed by a defence of more than usual soundness, the St Bernard backs in particular tackling fiercely and cleanly. The Saints paid a visit to the other end, and found the Aberdeen defence when closely pressed somewhat shaky, the half-backs in particular failing to stop the onward swoop of the Edinburgh forwards, who, cleverly led by Hazelwood, worked the short passing game cleverly and effectively. In the open the Whites more than held their own. Feeding the left wingers, Johnstone and McAulay, seemed the order of the day, and certainly so far as keeping the ball in Edinburgh territory was concerned it proved very profitable. The close attention of the Saints' right and centre half and right back kept Johnstone and McAulay from becoming very dangerous, and with the Aberdeen centre forward, McEachern, a cipher, the pressure of the Aberdonians was of little avail. A swift dash by "Fairmer" Mackie was capped by a lightning shot which McCracken nipped out of danger's way at the expense of a corner. Sangster centred nicely to Low, who let drive for the Saints' goal. The bullet was just a little off the billet. By hustling play, the big, burly Saints speedily carried the ball to the other end, and forced Barrett to kick out. The Stripes hung around the Aberdeen goal for a few minutes, until McNicol, by a tricky piece of play, aided by his weight, had a sinuous run all to himself which he finished off neatly by placing to the left wing. Johnstone and McAulay cleverly carried the ball up the wing, and ultimately Johnstone centred. The fine effort was wasted, as McEachern was simply useless. He appeared to be cool enough, and played the game of waiting for something to turn up, but when he made for the ball, on its coming his way, he invariably ran up against some of the big Edinburgh men. He is too short, too light, and too slow for the centre forward position of a team like Aberdeen. McAulay, closely attended by two opponents, had a splendid try for goal, but being pressed, he failed to get sufficient screw into his kick, and the ball went wide. The Saints next paid a visit to the other end, where a glaring error of judgement on the part of Strang nearly cost Aberdeen a goal. Strang, hotly beset, on the spur of the moment thought the safest move was to pass to McNicol, but the pass was weak and much too slow. McNicol, with rare generalship, instead of rushing in to tackle, swung off to the right to intercept the man who was likely to receive the pass. His manoeuvre was right, for when the pass came he raced alongside his man, knocked him off the ball, and punted up the field. Shinner next distinguished himself by sending in a rocket shot, which struck the side of the net.
The bustling way of the Saints was very dangerous, as it completely upset the calculations of the Aberdeen half-back trio, who had a very clever line of forwards to hold in. Wemyss, beating McNicol for once, raced away with the big back at his heels bothering him, and sent in a low shot. Barrett got his fingers on the leather, but he overbalanced himself, and only scraped it out for a couple of feet. Fortunately, in falling, he took the St Bernard forward with him, and Strang, dashing up in the nick of time, punted up the field. A well placed kick from a foul gave McEachern a chance, but the Peterhead man missed his kick. Still maintaining their intermittent pressure, the ground team strove to score, but their efforts served only to bring out the sterling nature of the St Bernard defence. The shooting of the Aberdeen forwards was poor, but this was due to the attentions of their opponents, who were not inclined to allow the Aberdeen sharpshooters too much time to settle. "Pot shots off the barrel, but no taking aim," was the motto of the Edinburgh defenders. After Sangster had given McNicol some very necessary aid in clearing his lines, there was an exciting moment in front of the Aberdeen goal. In a scrimmage the ball was sent in by the Edinburgh outside right, and rebounding off McNicol's head, it was popped into the net by one of the Stripes who was lying handy at McNicol's side. To the chagrin of the Edinburgh players, and the delight of the crowd, the referee ruled that the Saint who scored was offside. At the other end a raking cross pass from Johnstone's foot was a trifle too fast for Shinner, who, despite a mighty sprint, was a second late in reaching the crucial spot. Then came the sensational tit-bit of the game. It happened at the other end. Getting a hot shot to hold at close quarters the Aberdeen goalkeeper got flustered and tumbled, the ball bonding over his head. Henry Low, grasping the danger and difficulty of the situation, darted underneath the crossbar, and, with lightning rapidity, cleverly twitched the ball overhead. So smartly was the movement executed that the referee was completely deceived, and, despite the protestations of the Edinburgh players, no goal was awarded. The ball was two, if not three, feet inside the posts when Low got in his marvellous kick. Not a little nettled, the Saints played very vigorously after this, and had a spell of the pressure. When the fray was once more carried to the other end of the field Strang and Shinner both had tries at goal, the latter's shot striking the post. Aberdeen continued to press hard. Mackie gave Stanners a shot to hold, which was only turned aside at the cost of a corner, and from the kick which followed there was a fierce scrimmage in front of the Edinburgh goal, McAulay and Johnstone both having pot shots. There were too many legs blocking the way, and the ball was banged about from foot to foot until it was ultimately got away. Some pretty passing by the Saints' forwards took the ball to the other end. Midfield play followed, with runs and counter runs. McEachern again distinguished himself by failing to take advantage of an easy chance, his shot being not only too weak, but too high. At the other end McNicol, running back within the danger zone, was tripped, but from the free kick nothing resulted, the Saints hanging dangerously around. Barrett had to punt out, and Strang gave away a corner, while in a predicament. Again Barrett fisted out, and the ball falling at Wemyss's feet, that player kicked weakly over the bar. The game was stopped for a few minutes owing to one of the Edinburgh half-backs stopping one of Shinner's cross drives with his stomach and getting winded. Half-time sounded shortly after, there having been no scoring.

At the kick-off of the restart of the game, McAulay was tripped up, and in falling, twisted his knee. He had to leave the field, but after a few minutes with the trainer he returned. That the injury gave him considerable pain was apparent from McAulay's play during the remainder of the game, for the Aberdeen captain was decidedly off, and without McAulay, Johnstone was not so effective as he usually is. Charlie Mackie now figured in centre, with McEachern partnering Shinner, but the change did not do very much good. The game in the second half was peculiar from the number of accidents of which it was productive. The visitors were very aggressive for a time, and the Aberdeen half-backs and backs had to move about to some tune. McNicol, hard pressed in front of the Aberdeen goal, had to punt the ball straight above his head. Fortunately it fell at an angle, and only a corner resulted. Barrett, in saving, conceded another corner. The Whites then got away, and forced a corner at the other end. A scrimmage followed, and Shinner dashing in, sprang up, and with a quick twist to his neck, headed in with terrific force at short range. The goalkeeper fisted out with difficulty just on the post, which Shinner, in charging the back, violently collided with. After McAulay and Johnstone had tries for goal, one of the visitors was injured, and the game was stopped for a few minutes. On resuming, both sides worked hard, the game continuing to be stubbornly contested. Barrett was more than once called upon to show his powers, while at the other end Stanners had to negotiate shots from Johnstone and Shinner. Low, hard pressed, gave away a corner. Shinner was the next man injured. Thereafter McEachern nearly did what he had been watching and waiting so long to do. Darting through between the St Bernard backs with the ball at his foot, he had only the goalkeeper to beat. He hesitated to shoot until he got very near the net, and thus hesitating, was lost, for Grant, overhauling him about four yards from the goal-line, ruthlessly back-charged him and brought him down. Cries of "Penalty" came from all parts of the field, but the referee pointed to the corner flag.
Sangster was to blame for the goal that the Saints scored. Running back towards his own goal, and unable to turn to get his kick in, he failed to observe how closely he was pressed. He could have kicked into touch, or he could have conceded a corner, but he did neither, and before he knew where he was Devlin darted past him, pounced on the ball, and shot, completely beating Barrett. Exciting play followed this revers to Aberdeen, the Whites forcing the pace. The Edinburgh defence was, however, too steady to be rushed. A foul against McNicol looked dangerous for Aberdeen, and the danger was not lessened by McNicol punting the ball straight across his own goalmouth. With only five minutes to go, the Whites, loudly encouraged by their supporters, made raid after raid on their opponents' back division, and from one of their dashing runs Charlie Mackie dribbled round sever opponents and scored with a rocket shot which no goalkeeper could ever have stopped. It was a brilliant effort, and was loudly cheered. After this it looked as if the Whites would score again, so strenuously did they force their way through the St Bernard defence. A hot shot from Low was turned aside at the expense of a corner by Grant. Again the Whites passed through the opposition, and a piece of spirited play followed, Charlie Mackie scoring from a pass from Strang. The referee's decision of offside and the consequent disallowing of a very fine goal was inexplicable. The game end in a draw, the score being - Aberdeen 1, St Bernard 1. £110 was the amount of the gate.

Source: Aberdeen Journal, 28th March 1904