Aberdeen 2 - 1 Hamilton

At Aberdeen, before 4000 spectators. Play was fast in the first period, but Aberdeen, although having the best of matters, failed several times to take advantage of easy chances. Just before crossing, the visitors made a combined attack on MacFarlane, and Forrest scored. The home side asserted their superiority all through the second period, Ward opening the scoring with a swift shot, and MacDonald securing the lead immediately afterwards. The Academicals made a rally at the close, but the home defence stood up well. A hard game ended:- Aberdeen, two goals; Hamilton, one.

Source: The Scotsman, 18th February 1907

Hamilton Academicals were the visitors at Pittodrie on Saturday, and it was a bad augury for the match at the locals were under strength to a certain extent. Wilson, of the Aberdeen 'Varsity, was drafted into O'Hagan's place on the left wing, and Davidson took Halkett's place at right half. There were about 3000 spectators present when the teams lined up as follows:-

Aberdeen: Macfarlane; Boyle, Gault; Davidson, Halkett, W. Low; Macdonald, H. Low, Ward, Wilson (Aberdeen University), Lennie.
Hamilton Academicals: Edmonds; Brownlee, Davie; Pritchard, Macfarlane, Gildea; McLean, McGettigan, Forest, Tomlinson, Garrett.
Referee - Mister J. Wilson, Broxburn.

A brief invasion was made by the homesters to start with, but the keeper's punt out cleared the attack, and Macfarlane had all the fun for a time. The pressure, which was only slight, finished in Davie sending in a long drive which Macfarlane held in his bosom without difficulty, and returned to Lenny, who raced down the wing with Brownlee in close attendance. A few minutes later, a grand burst through by the home fan looked promising, but Lennie made a mistake, and Davie caught the recovering cross and sent well up two wards the sea. It was pretty much a give-and-take game, but both sets of backs strong, but probably the best of the tussle lay with Aberdeen, and a double try was made, first by Macdonald and then by Ward. Lennie was closely watched, and could make little headway, but he beat his men on the run and forced a corner. Nothing accrued, however, and the first real try of the game came from Wilson, at inside left. The 'Varsity youth accepted a find open pass, and drove for goal, but his shot was just a little high. The next incident of note was a huge bungle on the part of Ward, which lost Aberdeen the leading point. Macdonald came down the right wing like a flash, leaving his opponents practically at a standstill, and centred beautifully. The pivot had only to accept and drive home, but he seemed to dally too long in preparation for the final shot, and when he did try his shot when weekly past the post on the outside. Macdonald was particularly keen, and a flash from his margin once more brought danger to the Hamilton citadel. The custodian just caught the ball a second too early for Lennie, but even greater excitement was to come. The players were all bunched within the penalty area, and Edmonds was fisting out continuously, when Wilson picked up a rebound and banged hard against the uprights. This hard work was followed by heavy pressure at the other end, where Macfarlane had to pick up on the line. The clearance was only temporary, however, and after a brief struggle, McGettigan forced the ball into the net. This had a somewhat dampening effect on the local men, and the Hamilton halves played a forcible game, which kept the home backs continually on the qui vive. Again two wards half-time the Pittodrie brigade came away, but although Macdonald sent in a pretty corner kick, the equaliser did not come at the interval.

The second period was marked by a quiet opening, and no excitement prevailed till cute operations on the right, by Macdonald and Ward, gave Lennie a chance close in. The ball was bounding, however, and Lennie lifted it over the bar. Another attack was initiated on the left, but Wilson was weak in finishing, and the result was an easy clearance by the keeper. After a fruitless corner to Hamilton, a series of long shots by Lennie off, and the little winger crossed to the goalmouth, where Ward had little more to do and slipped in the equaliser. Enthusiasm now reached a fever pitch, and a continuous roar was kept up when it was seen that the home lot were once more attacking strongly. The Hamilton backs seemed to be surprised at this sudden turn of the tide, and the ball seemed to glance into the goal of MacDonald's head, without any of the visitors realizing what was happening. There was no lack of fast play after this, and it was quite apparent that the home lot had considerably improved, although bad finish was also painfully in evidence. There was no doubt that Aberdeen was the best site, any little faults in the first period being more than counterbalanced by their strenuous, effective play in the second half. Up to the very end Aberdeen maintained the pressure, with the strangers only getting down at rare intervals, and at the finish the score stood - Aberdeen, 2; Hamilton,1.

Gate £100.

Source: Aberdeen Daily Journal, 18th February 1907

A Satisfactory Result.

Last week Aberdeen went under a scathing criticism for their failure at Johnstone, and no doubt this had an adverse effect on the gate, to a certain extent, when the Hamilton Academicals came to Pittodrie on Saturday. Since Aberdeen went down at Douglas Park by 4-2, Hamilton have greatly improved their position on the table, and came north with the avowed intention of securing the points, or a draw at least. Smarting under their recent reverse, Aberdeen went at their opponents with a confidence we would like to see every week, and then the results would be a long way better than they are. The "Accies" looked the heavier team when they appeared first, closely followed by the home side. Macdonald made Edmunds clear in the first minute of the game. Then Hamilton settled down, their left wing making lots of ground.
Shooting on both sides was wild, and off the target. Macfarlane had one or two difficult ones to hold. Aberdeen did not get settled down for a little, but once they got away Wilson let bang a hard one which struck the bar, immediately after which Ward missed an open goal. Penning the visitors into their own end, Aberdeen gave Edmunds no rest, and his goal underwent. several narrow shaves. It would have been nothing but their due had Aberdeen been two up at this time, still they were without a goal when Hamilton burst away. On the right wing man receiving the pass, in our opinion, he was out of play, but the referee ignored the point, and Hamilton's front line in a body were on Macfarlane's top, Forrest netting easily. A big effort to equalise before half-time was fruitless. There was no time to lose if Aberdeen were to get the points, and they had Edmunds beaten shortly after returning to the field. Ward had changed places with Low, and to our way of thinking, play seemed to get more evenly distributed, and there was a confidence behind. Ward scored the first one, which Edmunds might have saved, but there was some peculiar twist on the ball which made it difficult to hold. Then Macdonald worked hard for the leader, and his effort, prior to heading, deserved to count, but we are sure he was surprised when he got the ball round the corner. Till the finish Macfarlane acted as a spectator, Boyle and Gault being able to keep their lines clear. A splendid burst.by the visitors in the last few minutes looked serious like, but it ended with the score 2-I in favour of Aberdeen.

The Merit List.

Macfarlane did not get a lot to do on Saturday, but was there when called on, though, had he not shouted offsides and pulled his own men up, it is questionable if the ball would have gone past him. Boyle and Gault seem to have a better understanding than has been shown previously, and there was a distinct im¬provement here. Halket was the star of the middle line, and at centre played the best game he has done for many a day.
Davidson seemed to lose pace towards the finish. Macdonald and. Lennie shone superior to the others, because their shooting was true; next to them came Wilson and Henry Low. For a first appearance Wilson was a success. On the Hamilton side, the backs were good, the halves fair, and the forwards full of dash had they been let off. They are a promising lot, and, being young, will come a bit.

Chatty Bits.

O'Hagan was chosen to play for Ireland against Wales on Saturday.
The Aberdeen directors have agreed to let him off.
Wilson, who filled the gap on Saturday, has signed a League form for Aberdeen. He still retains his amateur status.
As a player we thought a lot of Wilson against Hamilton for a first appearance in League circles.
Fast and wonderfully quick on the ball, he never let an opportunity slip, and he ought to improve once he gets to know the play of the others.
We trust the directors will give this amateur a fair trial, and not cast him off in a week or so.
John Low, the old Orion centre half, and brother of Henry and Wilfred, was an interested spectator on Saturday at Pittodrie.
The Hamilton officials were quite satisfied they were beaten on their merits.
We heard on Saturday that Willie Lennie was contemplating crossing the Rubicon shortly. Congratulations!
Tom Strang expects to be fit for play this week. His rest has done his knee a great deal of good.
Halket proved a little gem at centre-half, and had a shot or two of his own at goal.
We are glad to hear that Brebner has all but recovered from his injuries, and expects to be able to play again in a week's time.
Henry Low has always been a favourite of ours for centre-forward position. On making the change in the second half there was a wonderful difference in the forward play. He ought to be kept there.
It's not an enviable job to be a director of the Aberdeen F.C. just now, but we suppose they are quite alive to their duties without all the gratis advice they have been receiving during the past week.
In a talk we had with one of the Hamilton officials we learned they have gone through the same mill and are still without success, but have got together a lot of players who, they expect, will improve.

Source: Bon-Accord, 20th February 1907