Aberdeen 2 - 1 Hibernian

ABERDEEN ATTACK LACKS PUNCH.

Good Outfield Play Spoiled by Weak Finishing.

Aberdeen beat Hibs at Pittodrie more easily than the score of 2-1 suggests. Yet, the Easter Road men almost snatched the equaliser in the last minute, when a terrific drive by Walls flashed over the bar.

Two factors combined to prevent the Dons from winning by a bigger margin. One was a stubborn and hard-working Easter Road defence, and the other was the inability of the home forwards to put the finishing touches to good outfield play.
Territorially, Aberdeen held a decided advantage, but without the necessary finishing power this was of little account. There will have to be a big improvement in attack if Aberdeen, are to be the first team to take a point from Motherwell.

Mills Outstanding.

Mills was the only Pittodrie forward who displayed any real initiative on Saturday. He was responsible for Aberdeen's goals, and both were well-taken points.
Moore was only a shadow of the Moore of old. Admittedly he was opposed to a great defensive pivot in Watson, but, nevertheless, his old speed and opportunism were absent.
Armstrong, who came in for Warnock at inside right, is lacking in the finer points, but he counterbalanced this to some extent his wholeheartedness.
Beynon was the better winger, although he is slow getting the ball under control at times. Gall, on the left, had a poor afternoon, and this was all the more disappointing considering that Mills, his partner, was in such good form.

Half-Time Improvement.

There was a big improvement in the Aberdeen half-back play. Fraser and Thomson were strong tacklers and combined splendidly with the forwards, especially in the first half.
The return of Falloon has strengthened the defence. He kept a tight grip of Flucker and lent the backs assistance when necessary.
It was pleasing to note that there was an improvement, too, in the play of both Cooper and McGill. Smith, in goal, had a fairly quiet afternoon.
Hibs have strong defence. Blyth, in goal, had no chance with the shots that beat him, and Wilkinson and Urquhart were a pair of sound and reliable defenders.

Watson Shines.

Watson, at centre-half, lent invaluable assistance in defence and played a big part in the holding of the Aberdeen attack. McFarlane was the better wing half.
The attack was too well held to be really dangerous. Moffat, the former Motherwell forward, who was making his second appearance for the Easter Road side, was the most dangerous of the quintette.
Aberdeen did the bulk of the attacking in the first period, but they were inept near goal, and it was four minutes from the interval before they took the lead.
A hard cross from Gall went to Beynon, and from the latter's clip Mills eluded Watson and banged the ball past Blyth.

Second Goal.

Twenty minutes of the second half had gone when Mills notched the second goal. Gall headed a Beynon cross Into the goalmouth, and after the ball had bobbed about Blyth's charge it came back to Mills, who smashed it into the net.
Immediately afterwards, in a Hibs' breakaway, McFarlane found the net with a terrific drive from twenty-five yards.

Source: Press & Journal, 25th September 1933