T Cairns 10
Kyle
J Bowie
Paterson
Kyle
Stewart pen
Match Information
Attendance: 6,000
Referee: R.T. Murray (Stenhousemuir)
Matchday: Saturday
Match Trivia
At Douglas Park the local side completed their home League engagements in splendid fashion, and the Light Blues, for the first time in a competition match on the Academical ground, were found to leave the spoils behind them. The triumph of the Lanarkshire side was all the more welcome in that it followed a month of disappointments, and that, over all, it was thoroughly merited. It was hardly a brilliant match, but it was a desperately trying one for the players, a heavy rainstorm having made the going terribly heavy. At the start the Ibrox men moved sweetly, especially on the right, and it was from clever work by Bowie and Bennett that the first goal came, the outside man’s centre being netted by Cairns after ten minutes. In the next quarter we had some real trills. First of all, Hempsey stopped a header from Kelly just under the bar; then Husband sprinted along the left and centred beautifully. Muir made but a weak clearance, and Kyle, snapping up the ball, fired in a cross shot which, after eluding Hempsey’s outstretched hands, hit the post and went to the corner of the net. Nor was this all, for the Academicals showed rare dash, and for a time they had the Rangers’ defenders in Queer Street. Husband and Kyle out-manoeuvred Craig, and the old Burnley man swept over another beautiful ball. Kelly just failed to reach it, but it went to Hanlon, and the little right winger put it back to Stewart in the goal mouth, and Hempsey could only pick the ball from the back of the net. This was not to the liking of the visitors, and towards the interval they made a strong rally. After Watson had twice saved smartly, there was a hot scrimmage at the keeper’s left hand post, and the ball was scrambled through. The home lot appealed strongly against the granting of the point on the ground that Bowie, who was credited with it, had used his arm, and that the referee had sounded his whistle before the ball had gone into the net. The point stood, however, and considerable feeling was aroused over it. Worse was in store for the local men, for, from a free kick given against Paterson, for fouling Bennett, the Academical half-back’s namesake on the other side quietly put on the leading goal, a state of matters which prevailed at the interval. The story of the second half was a depressing one for the Ibrox followers. In the early stages either Paterson or Bennett might have made their side’s position secure, but both refused to accept seemingly easy scoring chances, the last-named especially missing the best opening of the match. Then the Academicals got a firm grip of the game, and in the last half hour they had all the best of matters. In the midst of a desperate attack one of the Rangers’ backs handled, and from the resultant penalty Stewart equalised. There was an exciting finish, the ground side playing with rare dash. Seven minutes from the end, Stewart served Kelly with a fine pass. The centre-forward dashed ahead, and drawing out the defence, put the ball to Kyle’s foot, and the veteran scored a grand goal amid much enthusiasm. I was disappointed with the work of the city cracks, although, of course, they were under strength. In no division were they really sound. Most of the forwards movement emanated from the right wing. In the first half Bennett was very successful and received admirable support from Bowie, but in the second half their play was not nearly so effective. We saw very little of Reid in the centre; frankly, he was the weakest man in the attack. Cairns played a hard, honest game, but I have seen Paterson doing much better. Joe Hendry was just about the most useful of the Ibrox middle men. Pursell found the Hamilton inside forwards too clever for him, while Brown lacked pace, although he played fairly well. Craig kicked a fine long ball, but neither he nor Muir impressed in tackling. Hempsey had small chance with any of the balls which beat him. I would like to congratulate the Hamilton team on their return to winning form. We have heard little of their forwards for a month; on Saturday they played with rare skill, and more important still, they shot with accuracy and force. Archie Kyle surprised and delighted his friends by his vitality and judgment. The ex-Rangers was the No 1 man in the Douglas Park attack, but the line as a whole gave a rare account of themselves. Husband shown by reason of his grand crossing; Kelly balanced the line better than he has done for some time; while Stewart and Hanlon formed a capital right wing, the ex-Liverpool inside man being a fine tactician. In the home middle line, McNamee gave a powerful display both in defence and attack. Purdie, after a long absence from the side, did really well, but Paterson had often been far more effective. Drawn back to fill the place of his absent captain and namesake, John Miller played a sound game at left back, while Robertson was nothing behind. Watson’s goalkeeping was without blemish.
