Aberdeen 1 - 0 Heart of Midlothian

In what will rank as one of the most stirring cup ties ever seen on the ground, Aberdeen defeated Hearts at Pittodrie but one goal to 0. The game throughout was fought at the terrific pace, and excitement, both amongst the players and the spectators - of whom there were 21,000 - was intense. Taking the game generally, Aberdeen were worthy of their hard-one victory. In the opening 20 minutes they promised to run the Hearts off their feet, and although the scoring of the all-important goal put an end to their mark superiority in attack, and the visitors later on several occasions the new to equalising, and each side in turn held the superiority over the other, at no time did the ascendancy of the Hearts equal that held by Aberdeen in the thrilling opening stages.

The Aberdeen forwards, and inside duo in particular, repeatedly swooped down on the Hearts' defence, which it time showed signs of faltering, and shots by Connon, Hutton, and MacLachlan, came near to counting. Lochhead, for the Hearts' had a brilliant grown from midfield in which he beat Wyllie, Hannah, and Colman in succession, only to finish up by sending wildly over. There had been further sustained pressure on the Hearts' defence, and at the end of 17 minutes Wright slip the ball forward to Connon. The inside right made ground, and was a side-tackled by J. Wilson inside the penalty area. He lost possession, but Archibald, following up almost on the goal line, drove hard across the goalmouth. Kane, who had left his goal, was only able to knock the ball up as it soared over his head, and before the keeper could recover, Hutton had headed into the net. An indescribable scene of enthusiasm greeted the home team's success. Hearts went all out for the equaliser, and Anderson saved finely from Nellies, Graham, and Sinclair.

Desperate Hearts

For 25 minutes in the second half Hearts maintained severe pressure on the Aberdeen goal, which are run to the date narrow escapes. Lochhead from short range shot from a crowd of players for Anderson to make a brilliant save and crawl along the goal line to concede a corner. On another occasion Lochhead was through and Anderson, running out, threw himself at the forward's feet to save a certain goal, and both players being injured as the result of the impact. Later the Aberdeen goal was again in danger when Lochhead harassed by Colman, was forced to send behind. Having shaken off the pressure, Aberdeen came again, and if his work was less dangerous, Kane had a busy time in the Hearts' goal. He had to accept himself to clear from Yule, Wright, and Archibald, and in the closing stages his goal was fortunate to escape downfall following upon a corner kick. Hearts were the clever and more methodical side for work, but the Aberdeen held a marked superiority at half-back and were the equal of the visitors at back. The winners adopted the better cup tie style. Having got their goal they stopped grimly to their lead, and while adopting defensive tactics they seldom failed to make ground when the opportunity offered in the second half.

Players Who Excelled

Anderson, in goal, which brilliant for the winners, and Hannah, at left back, was the outstanding back on the field, but the safe partner in Colman. In a superior half-back line, Wyllie excelled in vigorous tackling and hefty head work, but Wright was the most polished half-back of the six. The forward owners were divided by Connon, Yule, and Hutton, who were always harassing the visitors' defence. On the Hearts' side Kane acquitted himself well in goal. Crossan and J. Wilson, two breezy cup-tie backs, showed signs of stress under pressure, but nevertheless they played well. Nellies was the best of a half-back line that fell short of the Aberdeen trio, and forward W. Wilson and Lochhead were best, and it was from these the most danger came to the home goal. The players on both sides gave themselves wholeheartedly to the struggle. Stoppages for injuries to players and files were numerous, but this was not surprising considering the terrific pace at which the game was maintained.

Source: Aberdeen Daily Journal, 23rd February 1920

N.B. The crowd at Pittodrie was the second biggest in Scotland on the day and drew £1086.