Dixon og 1
Hansen 6
Match Information
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: P Craigmyle (Aberdeen)
Matchday: Monday
Match Trivia
A wonderful game for the conditions was this at Ibrox – and won by the better team. But right up to the last kick there was the chance of Dundee slipping one home to draw, and so the crowd hung on to a man. It wasn’t dainty football; there were many errors of commission and omission, but these were part and parcel of the conditions. It was a dramatic opening. In the first minute Troup got a long pass forward and, tricking Manderson, he heaved over a strong centre. Dixon either tried to clear or it was a simple accident, but, at anyrate, the ball flicked off one of his boots backwards and just got into the net out of Robb’s reach. Within five minutes Rangers were level again. Hansen and Cunningham worked through and were crowded well to the right. Just when it seemed impossible for either to get in a shot, Cunningham tapped the ball in front of the nimble Dane and, though he was still hampered. Carl got the ball away low, and it just squeezed in at the far post. Hammer and tongs after this! There was some teethy midfield play, but both Cunningham and Archibald had shots splendidly saved by Fotheringham, while at the other end, Bell once looked a sure scorer when McCandless arrived ‘from the clouds.’ Bell had one other glorious chance but was a trifle slow in shooting. Troup’s side-slip dodge was beating Manderson almost every time, and it was from the little fellow’s centres that most danger came to the Ibrox defence. If the first half had a thrilling start so had the second. The ball was tip-tapped by Cairns. Cunningham, Hansen, Cairns and Morton, being carried forward all the time. Allan centred on the run, Cairns was on the spot, and he ‘headed’ into the net. Not a Dundee player touched the ball. We saw a really good Rangers then. They forced the pace in fine style, Morton, who had been strangely out of it before the interval, coming bang into the business. Raitt and Thomson were on the grill for a bit, but they and the half-backs as well fought it out resolutely. Then the ‘Jute City’ forwards had an innings, but they were a half-spent force, and Robb was not troubled. When next Rangers took command, Hansen twice got clear, but Raitt, from behind, collared him round the legs in the good old-fashioned Rugby manner. Archibald, hereabout, was also going well and Morton too. The longer the game went on the more like winners were Rangers, although they had a really narrow escape in the closing minutes, when first Robb tipped the ball over the bar and then Manderson just managed to push it round the post when Troup sent across his corner-kick. Practically the last incident was a clinking shot by Hansen, who got a pretty pass from Cunningham and seemed annoyed at not netting. Both Robb and Fotheringham came well out of a match in which the goalkeepers’ job was difficult. Skipping about between the posts was out of the question; anticipation was the essential thing. McCandless and Thomson were most consistent of the backs, although Manderson came into his own in the second half. Raitt was best up till the interval, which period coincided with Morton’s inactivity; Willis was then playing a great spoiling game, but he got a bit of the real Alan in the second half. As a matter of fact, all the Dundee half-backs did their work before the interval, while the Rangers trio were most effective after the change-round. Hird, a Montrose boy, who was playing his first League game, had a warm baptism, but he stuck well into his commission even when Archibald was going well in the second half. Of the Rangers middlemen, Muirhead forced the game best. Dixon recovered well, and he often turned the edge of the Dundee attack by his head work. I did not envy any half-back on such a day. Nicholson had a heavy handful in Bird in the first half, but he had a big say afterwards in subduing the visitors’ attack. Archibald and Cunningham got some good passes from him. Rangers had the better balanced and more powerful forward line. The right wing, over the piece, was the more prominent, but it must be remembered that Cairns and Morton had stiffer opposition to face even allowing for Thomson’s excellence. Hansen kept the Dundee defence on tenterhooks. His goal was splendidly taken, and he was unfortunate to be twice pulled down when only Fotheringham was in front of him. Dundee’s vanguard was patchy. The finishing was not good, and Bell was a particular sinner. Bird and Troup were a grand left wing for half the game but had a long spell of obscurity after the interval. McLean was clever, as usual, with his footwork, but he lacked the necessary driving force. Nor did he give Lorimer enough of the ball; this lad seemed capable of doing something.
