Hamilton 1 - 2 Aberdeen

An attendance of 5000 spectators witnessed the match between the above clubs on Douglas Park, Hamilton. The Academicals introduced a new centre forward in Wallace, of Raith Rovers. They faced the sun and wind in the first half, which ended without either side scoring. Shortly after the exchange of ends Lennie scored the first goal of the match for Aberdeen, and the subsequent play was very fast. McLean eventually, with a clever shot, secured the equaliser for the home team. The Academicals now pressed in determined fashion, but failed to find the net, while from a cross by Lennie, five minutes from time, McNair registered a second goal for the visitors. Result :- Aberdeen, two; Hamilton Academicals, one goal.

The Scotsman, 21st September 1908

According to the original list of League fixtures, Aberdeen should have played Third Lanark at Glasgow on Saturday, but owing to a rearrangement of the matches, Aberdeen had to travel to Hamilton to meet the Academicals. Aberdeen were represented by the same team as against Airdrieonians, while the Academicals were strongly represented. There were fully 5000 spectators on the ground when the teams lined up as follows:-

Aberdeen: Mutch; Colman, Hume; Wilson, McIntosh, Low; Simpson, Muir, McNair, O'Hagan, Lennie.
Hamilton Academicals: Rollo; Brownlee, Roxburgh; Menzies, Watson, Anderson; McLean, Main, Wallace, Glasgow, Horne.
Referee - Mr. Stark, Cambuslang.

Colman won the toss for Aberdeen, he took advantage of a slight breeze, while the Academicals had also to face the sun. Aberdeen took the game in hand at the start, and were awarded a free kick close to the Academicals' goal. Brownlie cleared with a strong punt, and soon the home forwards were hovering round Mutch. Horne shot hard for the corner of the net, but the Aberdeen goalkeeper caught the ball, and had little difficulty in clearing. Lennie, O'Hagan, and McNair were prominent for Aberdeen, the three forwards named being responsible for some pretty play. The inside left shot past from close-range, while next minute the Hamilton right winger put in a capital run, finishing with a centre which landed a few yards from Mutch. Offside against Horne, however, brought relief to Aberdeen. Play, or the whole, was not particularly bright, the great heat affecting the players, while the narrow pitch was not to the liking of the Aberdeen team. The visitors, however, played the better football, although the Academicals were a occasionally very dangerous when they came away with their strong kick-and-rush style of play. Lennie was closely watched, but the left winger was in his best form, and almost opened the scoring 15 minutes from the start. He ran fully half the length of the field, and finished with a fast drive, which just missed. Again the left winger broke away, and this time crossed to Muir. The inside right, however, put little force behind his shot, Rollo clearing with little difficulty. Gradually the game became more interesting, with Aberdeen frequently in the vicinity of the Hamilton goal. There was a marked absence of sting in the Aberdeen shooting, however, for on the run of the play they ought to have been at least a goal up. Still, Brownlie and Ross Perot a set up a strong defence, particularly the right back, who tackled and kicked with splendid judgment. Indeed, the backs on both sides were seen to great advantage. A foul off McIntosh close to the Academicals' goal brought relief to the home team, but Aberdeen returned to the attack. Good work by Wilson enabled Lennie to get in one of his characteristic runs along the touch line. O'Hagan joined in the movement, and ultimately the ball was crossed to the right. A capital opening was lost, however, owing to Muir being pulled up for offside. Simpson was conspicuous on the right wing, several of his crosses being cleared by Brownlie, although on one occasion McNair almost beat Rollo with a hook shot. Following upon a corner finally placed by Simpson, Wilson headed the ball to wards the corner of the net, Rollo effecting a clever save. Aberdeen played desperately hard for goal, but were met by a trio of sturdy defenders in Brownlie, Roxburgh, and Rollo. McNair kept his forwards well supplied with the ball. On one occasion the centre dashed away by himself and then passed well out to Lennie on the wing. The outside left went straight ahead, but was just a second too late, Rollo rushing out and falling on the ball when Lennie was on the point of shooting. It was a daring bit of play on the part of the goalkeeper, but it was his only chance of saving his goal. The game open doubt after this incident, played being equally divided. The Academicals, however, were poorly served by their front rank, and were easily held in check by the Aberdeen backs. As a result the Hamilton half-backs indulged in shooting, one effort by Menzies being smartly cleared close to the upright by Mutch. Lennie and O'Hagan carried the play to the other end, the first named being brought down just outside the penalty area. Following upon the free kick, the Hamilton left half almost headed the ball into his own goal, Rollo clearing under the bar. A left-foot drive by McNair - the best shot of the match so far - was brilliantly saved by Rollo, who reached the ball with the tips of his fingers, giving away a corner. Towards half-time the game became very fast, and keen play was witnessed on both sides. A surprise shot from the Hamilton centre was cleared by Mutch, while Rollo was cheered for an equally good save after Lennie had beaten the backs in a sprint down the field. Lennie followed with another good attempt near goal. Brownlie failed to get the ball away, and struck it with his hand, but the referee did not observe Brownlie's action. A fast drive by the Hamilton centre struck the outside of the net. Close to the interval McNair rushed right through the backs. Near the penalty line the Aberdeen centre was tripped, but from the free kick Macintosh and just failed to beat from low, the ball skimming the crossbar. Half-time arrived with a game level - no scoring.

And the teams turned out after the interval the weather was very hot- indeed, the conditions were far from favorable to the players. However, play was on the whole much improved in comparison with the first half, and it was quite evident that both teams were very anxious to gain full points. This was particularly the case with the Academicals, who have not won a game this season. Although facing a strong sun, Aberdeen were the first to become dangerous. The forward play of the Pittodrie men was in direct contrast to that shown by the Hamilton front line, Aberdeen excelling in combination, will the Academicals depended upon individual efforts. Lennie, O'Hagan, and Mcnair were clever to a degree, the although their cleverness in the open was not backed up by effective work near goal in the first half. However, when they made amends by opening the scoring 5 minutes after the restart. Simpson got away on the right wing, although he appeared to be offside when he got the ball. After dribbling a short distance, the right winger crossed to the left wing. Brownlie tried to get the ball away but failed. Lennie rushed in, and just managed to get the ball on the bounce with the side of his right foot. Rollo was completely taken by surprise, for Lennie's shot went clean over the goalkeeper's head before your time to clear. It was a smartly-taken goal, and well worked for. Aberdeen continued to have the best of matters, but the Academicals responded with an determined attack on the Aberdeen goal. A hard drive by the Hamilton centre half was finely saved by Mutch. The game was fought out on very keen lines, Hamilton improving in all departments. Colman and Hume were for a time strictly on the defensive, while Wilson, McIntosh, and Low had to fall back in order to keep the Academicals' forwards in check. What they lacked in need footwork was made up for by their strong rushing tactics, and only the sound defence of the Aberdeen backs kept the Hamilton team from scoring. Colman tackled with great skill, while Hume's punting was quite a feature of the game. Low, too, was prominent in defence, while Wilson was equally successful at close quarters. A corner to the home team was followed by Main losing an easy chance of equalising the game, the inside right fouling the ball in front of goal. Maine, however, had a capital shot immediately afterwards, the ball skimming the crossbar. Aberdeen had to defend for all they were worth in order to keep their one-goal lead, although the Hamilton men showed poor judgment in their shooting, otherwise they would have drawn level a quarter of an hour after the restart. However, the game was equalised when Mclean beat Mutch after 25 minutes' play. Aberdeen's slackened down, and their weakness at this stage was fully taken advantage of by the Hamilton men. Anderson forced to play on the left, passed across to the right, and Mclean rushing in scored with a terrific left-foot drive, the ball landing high up in the corner of the net. Mutch had no chance with the shot. On an equal footing, the players on both sides renewed their energies, and as a result some very exciting play was witnessed. The Academicals were particularly active, and played better at this stage and they had done at any time during the match. A burst away by Simpson was followed by a fine cross to the left. Lennie sprinted along, caught up the pass, and banged the ball against the crossbar - a rare opening being thus lost. Interest was maintained right to the close of the much. First one side and then the other came very near scoring. Twice the Hamilton forwards lost comparatively easy openings. Mcnair got clean through for Aberdeen, but was fouled, while next minute the Academicals were all over Aberdeen. Seven minutes from time Lennie broke away from midfield, raced past the defence, crossed the ball to the centre, and McNair finished the movement by placing his side a goal up. Just before the whistle was blown for time, the Academicals' made one last effort to draw level, but the Aberdeen defence held out and the game ended - Aberdeen, 2 goals, Academicals', 1.

Taken all through, Aberdeen deserved their win, although the losers made a praiseworthy effort to save the game.

The gate amounted to £102 14s 3d.

Source: Aberdeen Daily Journal, 21st September 1908

A Reversal.

Last season when Aberdeen visited the neat little enclosure of Hamilton Academicals they were whacked to the tune of 3-0, but there was one man distinctly off form on that occasion and he was absent on Saturday. After the process of being photographed Aberdeen took the field at advertised time, the crowd being larger than was expected. The weather was ideal from a spectator's point of view, but a trifle warm for the players when the start was made. By strong wing passing the home forwards made progress, Coleman relieving after a good save by Mutch. Aberdeen then had a look in ; their forwards working smoothly together, kept Hamilton's defence busy. O'Hagan tried a longish shot which Rollo only got away with difficulty. A long spell of pressure by the visitors brought no result, the ball either striking the bar or an opponent in transit. Aberdeen were playing in fine liaison, while their opponents were simply spoiling play. A fine drive by Wilson deserved to score, and in the opinion of many the ball was over the line before Rollo got it away, but the referee ruled otherwise. There were the makings of a penalty when one of the visiting forwards was badly grassed inside the line, which went unheeded by the official, and shortly after half-time was reached.
The home side worked better together on resuming, and the pace was a bit faster. It looked as if Aberdeen were to lose grasp of the game, but a fine run on the left settled the point. The goal came from the foot of Lennie, the point being hotly disputed, owing to an apparent breach of the off-side rule. Mr. Referee allowed the point, and some clever play was seen, Hamilton striving hard for the equaliser, Which came from McLean, who tricked Hume and scored very cleverly. It was now pull devil, pull baker, for the lead, and the little left winger was the cause of McNair beating Rollo with an unsavealdle shot. Aberdeen kept the upper hand till the end and won the points by 2 goals to 1.

Play and Players.

The play of Aberdeen was value for more goals than they actually got. Their forward play was far superior to that of their opponents, and they had the vilest of luck in the first half, when, calmly speaking, they were due a couple of goals on play. Lennie was bright, O'Hagan elusive, and McNair kept the wings going nicely.
We have seen the right wing play better. The halves were good, the trio doing splendid work, and it would really be unfair to say that one was better than the other. Coleman was slightly the better of the two backs, and we think Mutch could not be improved on. Rollo put in a lot of tine work for the home side, and, but for his cleverness, they would have gone down badly. They have a fine pair of backs, and the halves work hard, but lack placing powers. McLean was the rest forward, none of the others calling for special notice. The game was pleasantly contested throughout.

Chatty Bits.

The re-arrangement of fixtures in the League last week had better financial returns than was expected.
The weather played an important part in the attendances, for it was an ideal day for spectators.
Aberdeen came out of the tangle with a couple of good points and a fair share of the money, though it would have been larger had Airdrie been from home.
The forwards were going great guns on Saturday and seem to have touched last season's form.
If they keep it up there is no reason why they should not go a great deal farther up the League table.
They have a few stiff games in front of them in the immediate future.
On Saturday week they have to travel to Parkhead to play the Celtic, where they will meet opposition that should test their staying powers.
The Qualifying ties produced some surprises on Saturday, the most notable being the defeat of the finalists and cup holders.
There is some excuse for St. Bernard going under to Leith Athletic, the latter being considered a strong side this season, and the Saints were only beaten by 1-0.
But the Raith Rovers to fall to an outside team altogether requires some explanation, and shows how uncertain the game is at times.
The Kirkcaldy club will drop a bit money by being out of the ties thus early, and this is not all, as they will have no part in the Scottish ties.

Source: Bon-Accord, 24th September 1908