Aberdeen 2 - 4 Clyde

Scottish League. Played at Pittodrie before 4000 spectators. Clyde scored four times in the first half, and Aberdeen three (sic). Final Result :- Aberdeen, two; Clyde, four.

Source: The Scotsman, 2nd January 1909

Pittodrie presented an unusual appearance yesterday with walls of snow piled up round the pitch, and forming a sort of Arctic arena. The ground, however, appeared to be in good condition, but before the game commenced it was liberally spread with sound. The crowd turned out well, and there was an attendance of about 9000 when the teams lined up as follows:-

Aberdeen: Mutch; Colman, Hume; Halkett, McIntosh, Wilson; Blackburn, Simpson, Niblo, Murray, Lennie.
Clyde: McTurk; Watson, Blair; Walker, McAteer, Robertson; Stirling, McCartney, Chalmers, Travers, Kirwan.
Referee - Mister J. Rennie, Falkirk.

It was nearly half-past twelve o'clock when the teams turned out, but a start was made without further delay, Aberdeen kicking off. Chalmers broke up an attempt at invasion by Aberdeen, and Travers banged past. Clyde kept to it, and Kirwan delivered a fine shot from the wing, which Mutch caught on the line. Lennie made an effort to run down, but he went sprawling on the snow bank. Chalmers was pulled up for offside. Wilson sent in nicely, and Blackburn tried a pot at McTurk, but the ball was sticky, and his delivery was weak. Travers had a fine solo right down the centre, and after mutch had returned weakly, the Aberdeen backs bungled the final clearance, giving Chalmers the ball at his foot, and an open goal. The Clyde pivot made no mistake with his simple task, and 5 minutes from the start, Clyde were one up. The pitch was exceedingly sticky, and traveling was hard. Lennie initiated a rare attack, but the ball went behind. After some midfield play, Wilson, who was playing strong, took matters into his own hands, and raced down the centre. He passed out to Lenny, and the winger, after eluding Watson, centred again. Wilson got the ball on the run, and directed it neatly into the side of the net. Clyde pressed for a bit, and had the ball in the net, but a previous offside ruling nullified the point. Aberdeen came down strong, and after Murray had had a try, Blackburn sent in nicely to the centre, where Simpson tried to head in. His direction was accurate, but the heavy ball almost seemed to stick to his head, and the effort fell short in front of McTurk. Clyde put in a deal of hard work, and their half-line as a whole operated in greater harmony with the front rank and the Aberdeen trio did. Watson fouled Lennie close in on the penalty line, and this incident led up to Aberdeen securing the leading goal. A series of touches ensued, and from one of these Niblo run down to the line near the corner-flag. It seemed that the ball was to go behind, but the pivot caught it up, and dropped a lovely cross square in front of McTurk's charge. Blackburn caught the sphere on his back and literally carried it into the net. The goal was beautifully taken and it was the enthusiasm of the crowd, while it appeared also to have an inspiriting effect on the players. Aberdeen came down on the right, but Simpson elected to play solo instead of in conjunction with Blackburn, and the effort went for nil. At the other end, McCartney missed a glorious a opportunity with an open goal before him. Clyde were showing the better touches, and the game travelled rapidly from end to end. Aberdeen came down in the centre, and Niblo looked like running in on his own, but he was brought to earth by Watson, and rose like a nigger. A dangerous scramble ensued in the vicinity of the Aberdeen goal and the home defence contrived to miss the ball on several occasions. A pass back from the left gave McCartney the chance, and he drove hard into the net. The Clyde end of the pitch was now are little better than a quagmire, and some comical scenes were witnessed. Kirwan was always dangerous, and, following up a run in which he beat Colman, only a huge punt by Hume relieved the situation. Blackburn had a out with th Blair, and a foul by the Clyde back spoiled the winger's effort. Up on the left, the ball travelled at a great rate.the Kirwan always shown on the run, and he flashed in a lovely ball, which Chalmers caught and drove home. Clyde were by far the better lot, and their weight assisted them on the heavy pitch. Their right wing suddenly sprang into prominence. Stirling sped up the margin, and shot direct for goal. Mutch failed to get the ball away, and Chalmers and McCartney pounced upon it. The Clyde men rushed the leather into the line, and the pivot dived into the net in the operation. With two goals to the bat, Aberdeen played better in combination, and a great centre by Blackburn was just missed by Lennie.

Clyde started the same bustling game on resuming, but there was a lack of finish about their work, and nothing of note occurred. Niblo initiated the first real attack by Aberdeen, but only a fruitless corner resulted. Back again came Clyde, and Travers made a strong effort to get a pot at goal, but the defence was too much for him. The siege was by no means raised, however, and McAteer flashed in a hot shot, which just skimmed the bar. Play was not nearly so fast as it had been in the initial period, but the movements of the players were retarded by the heavy ground at the Aberdeen end, where the game chiefly ruled. Lennie missed his usual partner, and for a long time he did practically nothing. The little winger made good headway up the line, and got in two lovely shots in rapid succession. His second attempt was tipped by Niblo, and then Simpson ran in. The Aberdeen man got on the ball, but McTurk effected a great save. The local halves worked strenuously, and Wilson was particularly prominent. The forwards were also combining nicely, and a number of creditable tries were made. After the rousing first half the play was disappointing, and mainly confined to the outfield. Aberdeen put in some good work, but when it came to getting goals the Clyde halves and backs were always sound. Kirwan came down on the left and crossed to the other wing, where sterling performed an acrobatic feat as a result of being tackled by Hume when on the shoot. The Irish internationalist soon returned to the attack again, and a cross from his side what charmers deliver the first direct shot of the half. Mutch was ready, however, and cleared without difficulty. The Glasgow men could afford to take things easy, and they did so. At the same time, Hume had to kick over his own goal on one occasion to avert disaster, Chalmers being in close attendance. A burst by the Aberdeen forwards looked promising, but Blackburn's final delivery was at long range, and lacking sting. Two wards the close there was an exciting period near the Clyde goal. Lennie got off on the run, and was getting the better of Watson, who was none too clean in his tactics. The Aberdeen winger, although fouled, worked into the penalty area, where he was brought down. The crowd called for a penalty, but the referee had signalled for the previous infringement, and accordingly Aberdeen lost their only chance of reducing the leeway.

SUMMING UP

There was no doubt as to which was the better team, but it may be stated, in extenuation of Aberdeen's performance, the Clyde had the advantage of weight, and this was a telling factor on a pitch such as it was at Pittodrie. The first half was crammed full of incident and scientific football on both sides, but Clyde had the best of matters throughout, thanks to the fine understanding that existed between the halves and forwards. In their front line Kirwan was probably the star, but Chalmers, in the centre, was all that could be desired. The middle line was sound as a whole, and backs were no better than they ought to have been. McTurk performed well in goal, and, apart from the points recorded against his club, he was never like being beaten. On the Aberdeen side Wilson was the most prominent, and it is questionable if Low could have done better. McIntosh and Halkett were solid enough, but the latter filled his lack of weight somewhat. Niblo lead the forwards with great dash, and was the pick of the line. Simpson and Blackburn showed frequent flashes of good football, but the left wing was seldom prominent. Colman and Hume had a difficult task to perform, and they, along with much, were probably responsible for the extent of the defeat. The drawings amounted to £165, including stands.

Source: Aberdeen Daily Journal, 2nd January 1909

A Bad Beginning.

Aberdeen began their New Year fixtures none too well from a local point of view. That they were unfortunate in many respects will at once be acceded, for they had a pitch all against their style of play; while Halkett early got into trouble with his leg, Low was off, and Mutch sprained his hand. All these troubles combined to let Clyde have a much greater run in play than they otherwise might have had. All the same, a team that can whack Celtic, Aberdeen, and Falkirk in one week are just a trifle above the average, and ought to command every respect from opponents. On the heavy-going pitch, Aberdeen did not play the game suited to the condition's in which they were placed. Clyde drove hard ahead, and even executed some clever bits of combination in front of goal which bewildered the home defence. Scoring was rapid in the first half, Clyde getting past Mutch four times, while Aberdeen only got two past McTurk. The going took it out of the players, who eased down considerably in the second portion of the game. The defence got the better of the attack, and neither side were able to score, a hot game ending - Clyde, 4 goals; Aberdeen, 2 goals.

It will be admitted that the better side won, and that, in spite of the misfortunes mentioned, Aberdeen were certainly not seen at their best. None of the home players gave an exhibition of his true form while the Clyde were on the top of theirs, and anxious to keep up their reputation.

The Clearing of Pittodrie.

The storm did not overlook that fine open space near the Links, where thousands gather on a Seturdiay afternoon to witness football being played. With a fine programme arranged everything looked well till Monday came, and then the enclosure filled up, till on Tuesday there was not a vestige of woodwork to be seen round the enclosure. On Weduesday it was decided to abandon all the games and the clubs were notified to this effect. The thaw which came on the same night had a wonderful clearing effect and on Thursday it was decided to have the pitch cleared, It took up till Friday at 12 o'clock before this was accomplished with the aid of 100 of the unemployed under the superintendence of Manager Philip, Trainer Simpson, and Groundsman Munro, who spared neither time nor labour to have the work done. It was a stupendous task, well done, and earned the highest praise from the Southern officials who were present on Nwe Year's Day.

Source: Bon-Accord, 7th January1909