Unknown (3)
Match Information
Attendance: 7,000
Referee: unknown - to be confirmed
Matchday: Saturday
Match Trivia
Not the Rangers, not the Airdrieonians, or any of the six thousand spectators who were at Broomfield Park will, I should say, readily forget the worsting of the champions nor the manner of it. On more than one occasion, Rangers have found model Broomfield a burying ground for great hopes, and so again this time, when they fell unlucky and easy prey for the bold Lanarkshire team. The day was miserable, and play began in drenching rain. There was little wind to affect the play, and Rangers went off with a bang, suggesting that they had fully recognised that here were foes worthy of their steel. Rafferty and Williams matched Smith and Bennett, and had their sides all right, but Paterson’s smart moves in conjunction with Bowie were palpably too much for the left side of Airdrie’s defence, and it was from here that danger threatened again and again. Bowie, Paterson, Logan and Reid all had tries, but those on the mark – and one snap by Reid was good enough to worst most goalkeepers – were safely held by Brown. For well-nigh half an hour play ran strongly with the Rangers, varied only here and there by short, sharp dashes by the Airdrie attack, minus any trouble to Hempsey save one effort by Williams which was handed past the goal. It was here that luck turned her back on the Rangers. Bennett, as a result of a collision between him and Williams, had to be carried off with a badly bruised ankle, which kept him in the pavilion for the rest of the time of play. That marked Airdrie’s time of coming forward, and the remainder of a hard first half was even, though Rangers were still the more dangerous in attack, especially by Paterson, whose close dribbling and elusive play was delightful to watch. On change of ends there was a change of supremacy. It was now Airdrie’s turn, but when Logan foozled the ball and gave Reid an open goal to badly miss, that did not augur well for the Broomfielder’s success. The dashing home centre made amends almost at once, for from his next chance Hempsey was beaten with a shot that no keeper could have saved. Play was barely resumed ere Airdrie were at goal in a body again, and when all interest was directed at the Rangers’ goal. William Reid, the Rangers centre was seen to collapse to the ground at mid-field, and he, too, had to be assisted off as the result of a thigh accident sustained when tackling Mackie a few minutes before. The rest was a debacle. Campbell went forward, and the one-back game kept Referee Humphries, of Maryhill, busy till the Airdrie forwards tumbled to it, after which it was one long siege on Hempsey. Airdrie’s half-backs and forwards tried their cunning, and Reid got other two balls into the net, thus finishing a fair day’s work with all three goals. It could hardly be called a great victory. Under the extraordinary circumstances in which the Rangers had to finish, it was not. The best praise than can be given to the victors related to the manner in which they held off eleven Rangers for near half an hour, and anon gave suggestions of their intention to win the game. After Reid went off, the Rangers were in a tangle. Campbell had a spell in centre, then went back, sending Robertson to half, and Gordon tried his luck (with little of it) in centre. They were hopelessly beaten and under the circumstances will find much sympathy in that they were compelled to lose two pinots at a time when victory to them meant very much. I do not say that eleven Rangers would have turned the tables, but to lose under such circumstances is a matter for commiseration to them
