Aberdeen 2 - 0 Arbroath

Arbroath provided the opposition at Pittodrie on Saturday afternoon, when they met the second string in a Northern League engagement. It was a tribute to the qualities of both teams that there were about 1000 spectators present, so miserable were the weather conditions. Mr. Ramsey, Kirkcaldy, lined up the following:-
Aberdeen A: Barrett; Willox, Gault; Sangster, Thompson, Robertson; Knowles, Cruikshank, Smith, Macdonald, Jaffrey.
Arbroath: Johnstone; Clark, Ferguson; J. Petrie, R. Petrie, Brown; Black, Middleton, Malloch, Dorward, B. Murray.

The strangers immediately flashed eastwards, Murray and Dorward being the operators. Sangster was defeated, and things look rosy for "Swankie" when gold, who on account of the treacherous nature of the ground sprang at the ball and missed. Further progress, however, was barred by Willox, who cleared well, and play was transferred. There was not a sound foot of ground on the field, and good play was at a discount. The game was uninteresting for a time, and some questionable tactics by the visitors' defence did not improve the filling of the crowd. The Aberdeen halves subsequently opened out, Sangster and Thompson being conspicuous. The forwards, however, did not take advantage of all the chances that came their way, and several hazy decisions of the referee on the offside rule spoiled any break-away that did looked promising. Unfortunately Jaffrey was being neglected too much. He was the wing man who would have succeeded on such a heavy turf. Malloch eventually distributed play well, but the home defence, with an admirable trio in front, could not be pierced. It was a game between the backs throughout the greater part of the initial period, Clark and Ferguson being as good as their vis a vis. A breakaway by Cruikshank looked well for the "A's," but the latter erred in passing weekly to Knowles. The "Red Lichties" gave as much as they got before crossing over, when there was no scoring.

Th the first 10 minutes after the restart was desultory, hard kicking being the order. The visiting backs could not be toyed with, and several of the Aberdeen attacks were extremely ineffective. The homesters, however, stood the pace better than their opponents, and refreshing work from Knowles and Jaffrey gave the home crowd hope. Both bothered of the visiting backs sorely by their smart outfield work. Knowles opened out in surprising fashion. He picked up several fine passes from Thompson and Sangster, Ritchie contrived to make the best use of. At last Aberdeen's chance came in the shape of a penalty, justly granted one of the backs for deliberately holding Knowles. Thompson made no error about the kick, and Johnstone had not a ghost of a chance. Inspired by the success the "A's" kept up the pressure, and some fine touches were seen. Smith led the attack with increased vigour, and several times Clark and Ferguson were overpowered, although Johnston was not found wanting. After a continued spell of aggressive work, Macdonald scored a second time for Aberdeen. A concerted run by the home quintette was capped by a fine shot by Cruikshank. The custodian diverted the course of the leather, but there was too much force behind it, and it found its billet. The Maroons struggled gamely for an opening, and played rolled very fast. Willox and Gault, however, were no spent force, and scored Malloch and company could not. Two wards the close of the visitors bombarded determinedly, and Barrett had to fist out repeatedly. The whistle sounded, however, with the scores standing -Aberdeen A 2, Arbroath 0. The gate amounted to £20.

Source: Aberdeen Daily Journal, 3rd April 1905