Motherwell 2 - 1 Aberdeen

At Motherwell. Motherwell in the first half kicked against the gale and rain, but succeeded not only in keeping Aberdeen out, but in scoring, the point being taken by Murray from a cross from Robertson. Only occasional glimpses of form came from the Aberdeen side, chiefly from the left wing, where Murray and O'Hagan did some fine manoeuvring. The second half consisted chiefly of a duel between Motherwell forwards and Mutch, who kept out some fine shots. Aberdeen from a breakaway by their centre scored, after Motherwell had secured a second point, Robertson going right through the defence, and beating Mutch close in. Colman, the Aberdeen back, was chiefly responsible for keeping down the score against his side. Result :- Motherwell, two goals, Aberdeen, one.

Source: The Scotsman, 10th January 1910

The elements were dead against the visiting team at Fir Park on Saturday. The pitch is naturally a bit heavy at any time, and on Saturday the rain, which fell in torrents, made it exceedingly difficult to get good going. Another misfortune to Aberdeen was the absence of Lennie in the front line and Wilson in the middle line, the latter being specially missed for his sound defensive tactics. It could not be said that Aberdeen were in any way enamoured with the conditions under which they were playing, nor could we assert that they gave a wonderful display under very adverse surroundings, and may be excused for the drop they made of a couple of points. To begin with, their attack did not settle down to their usual methods of progress, and the halves did not always follow up their clearances with the feeding of the forwards. Motherwell discarded fine methods, and kept swinging the ball across field in the hope of getting a chance of rushing it through by any accident or force of numbers. By a free kick, they had their first goal after half an hour's play, Mutch being powerless. In the second period Aberdeen faced the elements, and were more aggressive, but their new centre found Taylor far too cute and speedy for him to get away. It was not till after the home side were two up that Aberdeen displayed a thorough determination to get something tangible, and by this time the attack were working better together, Mackay getting through with a burst and putting on the only goal for his side. Motherwell, on the run of play, deserved the points, for the reason that their attack had more sting in it, and but for some fine work by Mutch, they might have had more goals. It was not a day for good football, and the most that could be done was to clear at any price and trust to an opening cropping up somehow. Had Aberdeen?s front line been well known to each other they would have done better, as there was evidence at the finish that with a little longer to go, goals might have come. The halves and backs found the pitch too heavy to their liking, and but for the mud, Mutch had a good chance of saving the first goal, though his display was faultless otherwise.

Source: Bon-Accord, 13th January 1910

Aberdeen travelled to Motherwell on Saturday, and met the Lanarkshire team at Fir Park in their return league fixture. Lennie and Wilson were unable to turn out for Aberdeen, H. Murray and Macfarlane filling the vacancies. The ground was very soft, and in certain places was almost unplayable. A high wind and drenching showers of rain handicapped the players considerably, the match being played under most depressing conditions. Teams:-

Aberdeen: Mutch; Colman, Hume; Davidson, Macfarlane, Miller; Soye, Simpson, Mackay, O'Hagan, H. Murray.
Motherwell: Macdonald; Gillespie, Taylor; Duff, McNeil, Nicol; Brand, Atkinson, Murray, Gray, Robertson.
Referee - Mr. Stark, Cambuslang.

Aberdeen won the toss, and during the first half played with a strong wind in their favour. When Motherwell started the game, heavy rain was falling, and it continued to fall in torrents right up to the interval. The home team were the first to attack, Murray, centre, picking up a pass from the right, and running straight for goal. He shot from near the penalty line, but, unfortunately for his side, the ball struck the right hand corner of the upright and crossbar. Aberdeen next took up the running, and soon the Motherwell goal narrowly escaped downfall, a fast drive from Miller skimming the crossbar. Next minute Mackay ran right through between Gillespie and Taylor, but the ball bounced, and struck the centre on the harm, the free kick enabling Motherwell to clear their lines. Play continued very fast, with Aberdeen doing most of the pressing, mainly on the left, where Murray was particularly clever. Accurate play, however, was almost out of the question, the heavy downpour and sodden pitch proving a severe handicap to the men. Motherwell, however, were frequently dangerous when they broke away, their half-backs sending the ball out to their extreme wingers at every opportunity. A fast drive from Simpson was finely saved by the Motherwell goalkeeper, who had to clear the second shot from the same player the next minute. Robertson was generally the leader in the Motherwell attacks on the Aberdeen goal, and during one of their rates, the left pair got past Colman, but Mutch easily dealt with Robertson's shot. The field had by this time got badly cut up, many of the players being unable to keep their feet on the slippery turf. Soye had a capital try for goal following upon some good play by Simpson and Davidson, but Macdonald was always very safe in his fielding off the ball near goal. Fifteen minutes after the start Macdonald was cheered for a very fine save. Herbert Murray worked his way along the Aberdeen left wing, and when on the run he shot with great force, the ball being cleverly stopped by the goalkeeper near the upright. Aberdeen continued to monopolise the play. Soye, shooting hard along the ground, almost brought the first goal to Aberdeen, but Macdonald again saved his charge. Motherwell could make no headway in face of the strong breeze, and but for MacDonald's smart play in goal Aberdeen would have been on the lead in the first quarter of an hour. Nicol was prominent for Motherwell at this stage of the game, and it was mainly due to his efforts are Robertson eventually got away on the left. The winger got round Colman, and then centred, but Murray missed the ball, which alternately travelled to Brand at outside right. He steadied himself, and then let drive for goal, but Mutch was in waiting, and cleared. For a time the game was evenly contested, Motherwell showing up strongly on the left through Nicol and Robertson. The last named was always dangerous when he broke away, his shooting and centring being very accurate. Good work by the Aberdeen half-backs led up to a brisk period of pressure on the Motherwell goal. Shooting from far out did not improve Aberdeen's prospects, however, although Colman and Davidson both made good attempts at goal, only to see their efforts cleared by Macdonald. There was a tendency, however, on the part of the forwards to keep the ball too close, while the home half-backs were very keen in their tackling and frequently came to the assistance of their backs. Taylor, however, showed fine recovery powers after being beaten by Soye near the goal line, while later on Gillespie pulled up Mackay when the latter was trying to force his way through the defence. After half an hour's play the first goal of the much fell to Motherwell. Their defence had just come through a severe period of pressure when Murray, centre, was fouled near the penalty line at the Aberdeen end of the field. The free kick was taken by Gillespie, who sent the ball across to Robertson. The laughter in turn crossed to the centre, where Murray was standing unmarked, and that once turned the ball goalwards. Colman dashed in with the evident intention of clearing, but instead he diverted the ball into the net. Motherwell improved after gaining the lead, and twice Mutch was called upon to deal with shots from brand and Gray, while Murray, Motherwell, lost a fine chance of scoring when he got stuck up in the mud in front of goal. A smart bit of tackling by Macfarlane saved Aberdeen after Colman had been beaten by Robertson, while Hume checked Brand on the opposite wing when the latter was running straight for goal.

The weather cleared up when play was resumed, but the wind continued. Motherwell sent out to increase their lead from the kick-off. A burst away on the right wing and a center by brand enabled Murray to get past the Aberdeen backs, but Mutch rushed out and actually picked up the ball before Murray had time to shoot - a daring clearance attended with a good deal of risk. Murray again got past the backs and a minute later, but was upset by Colman - quite a legitimate charge, although there were loud calls for a penalty. Aberdeen, mainly as the result of strong play by Macfarlane and Miller, shook off the opposition, Mackay and Murray leading the way. The left winger crossed accurately in front of goal, O'Hagan meeting the ball with his head and almost scoring, the goalkeeper saving under the crossbar. About 10 minutes after the interval the weather again broke down, the rain falling in torrents - so heavy, indeed, that it was almost impossible to follow the game. The wind increased as the game went on, blowing almost with hurricane force right into the Aberdeen goal. The conditions were very bad for both teams, and the play suffered in consequence. Interest was only maintained by the fact that a single goal separated the teams, but otherwise there was little to arouse enthusiasm among the spectators. Several of the players met with slight to accidents - Colman, Millar, and Davidson on the one side being hurt, while Duff, Murray, and Atkinson all required the attention of the Motherwell trainer. The game however, brightened up considerably 10 minutes from the close. Robertson, who was prominent for clever play all through the game, good on Motherwell's second goal after a fine individual effort but, in which he beat several opponents on the run and finally landed the ball in the net. In the closing minutes Millar forced the pace for Aberdeen. Soye joined in the movement, and subsequently transfer the ball to Simpson. Last named slipped the leather on to Mackay, who beat Macdonald with a fine shot, the ball curling into the corner of the net.

The gate was estimated at about £70.

Up there was little to choose between the teams, Aberdeen being the better side in the first half, although Motherwell held a distinct advantage in the second period, and played the more open game, which was most suitable to the prevailing conditions. Mutch kept a good goals; the backs were uncertain in their kicking; while all the half-backs did well. In the front rank Murray played finely on the left wing, and got good support from O'Hagan. Mackay did little in the first half, but improved after the interval, and scored a clever goal. Soye and Simpson made up a good right wing. On the Motherwell side the most prominent were Macdonald, goal, Gillespie, right back, Nicol and McNeil, left and centre half, and Robertson, outside left, last named being the best forward in the game.

Source: Aberdeen Daily Journal, 10th January 1910