Aberdeen 1 - 2 Hamilton

At Aberdeen, where the pitch had been cleared of snow. In the first half, Aberdeen had several good chances which they threw away, and from a burst away Proudfoot put the Academicals one goal up. For a while in the second period the Aberdeen players gave Edmonds a lot of work. Ritchie equalising from one of the onslaughts. The Hamilton men then took the game in hand, and were easily the better team to the finish. Result:- Hamilton Academicals, two goals; Aberdeen, one.

Source: The Scotsman, 1904-12-12

Aberdeen had Hamilton Academicals as their opponents at Pittodrie on Saturday in a Second Division Scottish League fixture. On Friday night snow lay on the ground to the depth of several inches, but on Saturday the Aberdeen management employed a large staff of workmen from the Corporation Cleansing Department, with the result that the snow was cleared off the pitch, and the referee declared the ground playable. The game was started at 2:20, 10 minutes before the advertised time, in order to prevent a repetition of the stoppage on account of darkness which brought the game with St Bernards to an end 5 minutes before time on the previous Saturday. When the ball was kicked off there were not more than 1000 spectators present. Hamilton Academicals brought their full team, but Aberdeen turned out weak, Halkett being absent from the half-back line and Augustus Lowe from the front rank, which necessitated the introduction of two of the reserves, Wilfred Low and Edgar, and the reconstruction of the forward division. Edgar partnered Robertson, and George McNicol was entrusted with this centre forward position. The teams were as follows:-
Aberdeen: Macfarlane; Murray, D. McNicol; W. Low, Strang, H. Low; Robertson, Edgar, G. McNicol, MacAulay, Ritchie.
Hamilton: Edmunds; Brownlee, Thompson; Scholes, McIntyre, Kilday; Blackburn, McMillan, Proudfoot, Dargie, Curran.
Referee - Mr. D. Liddell, Glasgow.

In the first fifteen minutes play was of a very rugged nature, the hard, slippery ground and the bounding of the ball causing the players on both sides to be somewhat uncertain in their movements. Misses and falls were frequent. The visitors were the first to find their feet, and as the game preceded they played with a dash and precision which, in the circumstances, was, to say the least of it, surprising. Aberdeen had the first try for goal, but Edmunds cleared. About fifteen minutes from the start G. McNicol twisted his knee, and had to be assisted off the field, and although he returned about twenty minutes later, he was limping badly, and was of little use during the remainder of the game, the result being that the play of the Aberdeen forward line was seldom effective. The Hamilton men were much smarter on the ball than their opponents, and so swift and active were the forwards that the Aberdeen goal was often in danger. The Aberdeen half-backs worked hard, but the backs were at times very shaky. Proudfoot opened the scoring for Hamilton off a pass from the right. Aberdeen tried hard to equalise, but they could make no headway; in fact, they were hopelessly out played, and but for the steadiness of the half-backs would have been more than one goal down at the interval, when the score was - Hamilton 1, Aberdeen 0.

Hamilton maintained their superiority in the open in the second half. Aberdeen, in striking contrast to their opponents, continued to play in a listless, half-hearted fashion despite the frantic shouts of their supporters, who loudly or just them to play up. Owe Cajun Ali the Pittodrie men did show glimpses of the true form, and once or twice they made dangerous swoops on the Hamilton goal, but score they could not. The equaliser came at last, Ritchie finishing a brilliant run a completely beating Edmunds with a low, swift shot from 25 yards out. Hamilton soon got the lead again, Proudfoot slipping through between the backs and giving Macfarlane no chance with a fast shot. A few minutes later, Macfarlane was deservedly cheered for a cool, clever save, which he effected with no fewer and three opponents elbowing him. And the other end Aberdeen had hard lines in not securing the equaliser, the ball bobbing about in front of the Hamilton goal in the most tantalising fashion. Aberdeen never look like the winning team, and had to acknowledge the feet by a superior combination.

The gate amounted to £30.

Source: Aberdeen Daily Journal, 12 December 1904