Aberdeen 0 - 1 Kilmarnock

This match was originally scheduled for 18th December 1909 but was abandoned in the second half due to the touchlines being obscured by snow. The decision led to a riot. See match report for that date.

At Aberdeen before 5000 spectators. Playing against the wind in the first half Kilmarnock early assumed the upper hand, and during the first fifteen minutes' play the visitors were by far the more aggressive side. Wilson intercepted a pass from Chalmers to Allan, and at the same time fouled the ball inside the penalty area. Howie took the free kick, and scored for Kilmarnock. The game was keenly contested, but the quality of the play never reached a high standard, the forwards on both sides being weak, both in combination and shooting power. Interval :- Kilmarnock, one goal; Aberdeen, nothing. In the second half Aberdeen improved on their opening display, but there was a pronounced weakness in the front rank. Indeed the local forwards failed miserably in front of goal, while Kilmarnock with far less openings came near adding to their score. Result :- Kilmarnock, one goal; Aberdeen, nothing.

Source: The Scotsman, 28th March 1910

Between 5000 and 6000 spectators witnessed a poor game at Pittodrie on Saturday, the visitors being Kilmarnock, whom Aberdeen had defeated earlier in the season at Kilmarnock. The weather was fine, but there was a breeze across the field from the south. Aberdeen had to play Harper and Scott as substitutes for Hume and Simpson, and Kilmarnock were without Cunningham, and played Armour in the centre. teams:-

Aberdeen: Mutch; Colman, Harper; Davidson, Wilson, Miller; H. Murray, Scott, T. Murray, O'Hagan, Lennie.
Kilmarnock: Glover; Kirkwood, Mitchell; Halley, Barrie, Anderson; McAllister, Chalmers, Armour, Howie, Templeton.
Referee - Mister J. Rennie, Falkirk.

Kilmarnock set the pace at the start, and by the vigour of their movements and their bustling tactics kept the Aberdonians from getting into anything like their usual combined play. Colman and Harper, however, assisted by the half-backs, kept the attackers at bay, and play was transferred to the Kilmarnock end, where Herbert Murray had a good try at goal, and a corner was forced by Scott. In the Aberdeen attack, the Kilmarnock backs were hard pressed, and they were quite equal to the attack. Templeton, on the Kilmarnock left, early caught the eye, but he was surprised when Tom Murray, the Aberdeen centre-forward, heaved him over as he was cutting in to dodge the tacklers. The first good try came from Lennie's foot, a long drooping shot causing Glover a moment's uneasiness, although he got it safely away. In a sustained Kilmarnock attack Harper was found wanting, and it was good for Aberdeen that Colman was in his best form, and capable not only of holding his own wing but of covering up Harper. Kilmarnock scored the only goal of the match from a penalty kick given against Wilson, whose arm the ball touched on a rebound inside the penalty line. The touch was purely accidental, and should not have been penalised. Later, however, and intentional handling by an Aberdeen player inside the penalty area was adjudged by the referee to be afoot outside, and so Mr. Rennie, in a way, made amends for his previous mistake. Charmers, who was inclined to use his weight too freely, had a word of caution from the referee, after which he toned down a bit. On both sides the defence was stronger than the attack, but all over Kilmarnock were undoubtedly the better side in a poor game in which the more attractive kind of football was seldom seen.

Kilmarnock again started briskly in the second half, and forced a corner, but after that Aberdeen's turn came, and so well was the attack pressed that Mutch, stationed at mid-field, made a return into the Kilmarnock goal. Misdirected passing by Aberdeen, and slowness of movement were responsible for the weakness forward of an attack which was well backed up from behind. Kilmarnock again attacked, and Colman, stoutly defending, had to do more than his own share of the work. At last, an awakening on the left wing aroused some enthusiasm among the spectators. Lennie dodged past Kirkwood, but his cross was lost. Offside nullified a rare centre by Templeton after a clever outwitting of Davidson by the Kilmarnock outside left. In the outfield, Aberdeen were now playing better than the visitors, and they were all right until they got up against Kirkwood and Mitchell. Tom Murray from the penalty line shot past, and again he was like scoring when Mitchell took the ball from him. One of the hardest workers at this stage was O'Hagan, who after drawing the defence, was placing the ball with great judgement. One of his movements sent the ball to H. Murray, who tapped it in to Scott, the Peterhead man causing the crowd to groan with a hard drive over the bar. Mutch held shots from Templeton and Chalmers, and at the other end offside against O'Hagan, and then Tom Murray spoiled dangerous raids by Aberdeen. The Kilmarnock defence was good, but several times it was shaken by the Aberdeen attack, and the crowd again groaned when Tom Murray missed with his head a high cross from O'Hagan, the centre-forward, making a splendid attempt to reach the ball. Tom Murray strove hard to get the equaliser, and once when he took Glover down, as the goalkeeper was playing the ball out, support from his inside men would have brought the desired goal. A long drive from midfield by Harper almost beat Glover, who had difficulty in clutching the ball high up in his right hand corner. In the closing 10 minutes Aberdeen played with splendid determination to save at least one of the points, and here was seen a most exciting play of the game, the Kilmarnock goal continuously trembling in the balance, but never falling. Lennie shot past, and getting a chance again, out-sprinted Kirkwood, and was on the act of shooting when Glover darted out and snatched the ball from his foot, bringing off a daring and clever save. Aberdeen should have scored in the second half but didn't, and so Kilmarnock won by a lucky penalty goal.

The gate amounted to about £130.

Source: Aberdeen Daily Journal, 28th March 1910

In the meetings of Aberdeen and "Killie" at Pittodrie, the Ayrshire team have failed to get a point till Saturday, when they took away two from the home side. Until the day - 18th December to be correct - when the snowstorm made further play impossible, they had never scored a goal against Aberdeen at Pittodrie, so that they have broken two records for this season in the Granite City. Saturday's play was the worst served up by the Aberdeen for many a day, and it is a good job for the club that such does not occur frequently. With the exception of Mutch, Colman, and Davidson, the others, every one of them, were off colour, and playing under form. The excuse put forward is that the penalty granted against Wilson upset some of them; and if that is all that can be put forward in the way of palliation, it is a very poor excuse indeed. We readily confess we thought the penalty too hard a punishment for the offence, but it was there, and the team should have made the best of it. That incident was the only one in the game that calls for serious comment, for the ball never got inside the net again, and it was the only time Mutch was called on to save his charge from danger. On several occasions Templeton made some pretty crosses, but only once brought Mutch to save. The shooting in both sides was bad and the openings missed were numerous, too bad altogether for the abilities of the men engaged. One side was as bad as the other is the respect, though we considered Kilmarnock worst, in view of the fact that Aberdeen's defence was not so sound as usual. Hence they had a better chance to score, while Aberdeen's attack were running up against a solid defence, and found they could not get through, though Lennie and O'Hagan both had hard luck. We expect to see a different state of things this week when they meet Morton.

Source: Bon-Accord, 31st March 1910