Hibernian 2 - 1 Aberdeen

The 15,000 or so spectators who gathered at Easter Road, Edinburgh, witnessed a rather disappointing display between the Hibernians and Aberdeen. No were matters helped when, near the finish, two players, Hutton (Aberdeen) and Kerr (Hibernians) came to blows and were ordered off. The Hibernians were the better side, and, over the whole run of play, fully deserved their narrow win. Both sides were well served by strong defences, and in the first half neither goalkeeper was seriously tested, but afterwards, when Stevenson had only one really difficult shot to stop, Anderson was kept fairly busy. The Aberdeen forwards never got going, though the goal they scored was smartly enough taken. The other five were also patchy, but combined better, and with Williamson scoring twice the Hibernians stepped up to fifth place in the League table.

Source: The Scotsman, 8th September 1919

In a game brimful of the legalities Aberdeen sustained their second defeat of the season at Easter Road, Edinburgh, where Hibernian gained the verdict by 2 goals to 1. Never at any time did the play rise to any Heights of brilliance, and if Aberdeen were a bit unfortunate in the actual manner of losing the goals that beat them, the play was never convincing, and if only on their more nippy work in the forward line, Hibernian were just worth their win without having anything to boast about. It was a game which was spoilt to the spectators by the adoption of over-robust tactics, for which both sides were to blame. The game supplied one more instance of the need for firmness on the part of a referee. The official who had charge of the Easter Road game did not keep a grip of it, especially at the start, when many infringements were either on notice or ignored, with the result that as the game developed rough play was on the increase. There were too many hard knocks to be comfortable, and the incident that culminated in Hutton and Kerr being sent to the pavilion did not in the least check the dirty work. Aberdeen started off like a winning team, but when it came to the pinch the defence for once was found lacking, and they were fortunate not to have lost a goal before Williamson first beat Anderson after half an hour. The half-backs never touched their real game, although in the closing stages they were certainly more in the picture, and the backs were shaky, and once beaten had no recovery. The Hibs were much the faster side, and their superiority in this respect was especially marked in the forward line. The Pittodrie half-backs were a graphic in their tackling, and although there were periods when it appeared they had struck their game, they were not consistent. The backs could not cope with the speed and trickiness of the Hibs' forwards, and when beaten they frequently invoked the offside rule to the eight, not always with success. The forwards flattered at times, but there was once more that lack of unity which means so much for success in first-class football. On their part there were one of two well-conceived movements, but generally the execution was bad, and insufficient provision made for the ability of the opposition. Hibernians are by no means a formidable side, but they showed plenty of speed and dash, and, like Aberdeen, over-robust. They or their victory entirely to Williamson, their dapper little centre-forward, who, like a flash of lightning, was on the top of the two accidental chances he had to score.

A Plucky Back

In view of the circumstances under which the game was played, it was not surprising that there were many stoppages for injuries to players, but the hammering was purely incidental which resulted in Aberdeen losing the services of McRobbie for quarter of an hour in the second half. He and Williamson jumped to head the ball, and on landing Williams and fell all McRobbie staggered about the fields with blood flowing freely from above his left eye. Williamson recovered after treatment, but McRobbie, who was dazed, had to be assisted off. After an absence of 15 minutes he pluckily returned and played out, with his head swathed in bandages. During his absence Aberdeen resorted to the one-back game as against Clyde the previous week, but the Hibs quickly tumbled to this, and his side, who were at sixes and sevens, had a severe gruelling. After the dismissal of Hutton and Kerr in the second half, Wylie moved over to incite left, and J. Wright remained on the right wing himself, while Hibs played one back. The Aberdeen change did not improve matters, and when on several occasions they looked like getting through for the equaliser but found their efforts nullified by offside.

Play in Brief

In the opening minute Wylie sent a plunging ball against the side net, and later he tested Stevenson with a fast grounder. This was followed by Hannah charging down William some in the act of shooting, and then Kilpatrick sent in a great shot, which hit the crossbar and went behind, and later Williamson sent behind when well placed. Connon wriggled through and the other end, but harassed by Dornan, he just missed the goal with Stevenson at the other end of his charge. After a spell of uninteresting play, in which neither side claimed any advantage. Kerr worked his way past McRobbie and sent into goal. Anderson threw himself at the ball, but Williams and got their first and netted. In his effort to avert disaster, Anderson was injured, and had to be attended to. Aberdeen were on level terms immediately. Hutton slipped a nice pass through the centre, and Connon, fastening on, gave Stevenson no chance with a fast shot. Towards the interval the pace was very fast and each goal was visited, the Hibernians facing a series of corners, but there was no further scoring, and the teams crossed over on equal terms.

Ordered Off

Having played against sun and breeze in the opening half, Aberdeen's prospects were bright when the teams resumed, but the advantage was less pronounced after the sides had crossed over. Hutton, from well out on the left, sent in what was the best shot of the match. The ball carried such force that Stevenson dropped it and had to turn round to gain possession, it being fortunate for him that he was clear of his goal had a time. Aberdeen attacked for a period, but the robust defence of the home side prevailed, and there were stoppages for injuries to J. Wright and Williamson. After Hutton and Connon had sent behind, Williamson word past Hannah and Anderson, rushing out to meet him, just reached the ball with the tips of his fingers and it appeared to be going into the empty goal when McRobbie cleverly intervened and cleared from almost below the bar. Just after this, Hannah missed his kick, and Williamson was past in an instant and put on the winning goal, which gave the goalkeeper no chance. Following upon this came the accident to McRobbie, and while he was absent the Aberdeen defence had a trying time. Anderson effected some good clearances. Twice while out of his charge he was molested, and lost possession, on one occasion recovering in miraculous fashion. He got no rest from such as Williamson and Kilpatrick, and the referee's whistle ought to have come to his assistance on more than one occasion. After he had knocked down a hard shot from Williamson, he had to follow up right outs to the corner flag, twice losing and twice regaining possession before he got rid of the ball.
There was an unfortunate incident at this stage. Hutton and Keller were at loggerheads as the result of a strong tackle by the Aberdeen player, and as a result the referee sent both to the pavilion. With their side rearranged Aberdeen made great efforts to equalise, and in the last 10 minutes of the game they did the most of the aggressive work. Connon and Wylie both had shots which just failed, one McLauchlan and Brewster between them on several occasions unsuccessfully tried to forge their way through, while A. Wright had one fast drive which was just high of the mark. Offside tactics saved the Hibs, in the closing stages, and Aberdeen did not show too much skill in beating down the game.

Source: Aberdeen Daily Journal, 8th September 1919,/p>