Hansen 48
S Archibald 56
Match Information
Attendance: 50,000
Referee: Tom Dougray (Bellshill)
Matchday: Monday
Match Trivia
I cannot recall a more dismal setting for the New Year battle between Rangers and Celtic than that at Ibrox Park yesterday. Fiend ‘fog’ dominated the picture, and the spectators had to rest content with fleeting glances at the players, whose worries were intensified by a treacherous footing on the front-bound pitch. Surely the most unsatisfactory ‘Old Firm’ New Year’s Day battle of all time finished with the Rangers winning by a couple of second-half goals registered by Carl Hansen and Alec Archibald. It was impossible to follow the play at Ibrox for the reason that every few seconds the players were swallowed up in the fog. Anything might have happened. Let me tell you right away how the goals were scored. These were the things that mattered, and I was fortunate enough to be on the right shot, on the cinders on the south side of the field, to see what happened. Only three and a half minutes had gone after the cross-over when Hensen set off on a glorious run. Carl collected the ball from Cunningham just over midfield. Trapping it, the Great Little Dane flew ahead, and rounding McStay, he deftly avoided the onrushing Murphy. Hotly pursued, Carl saw Shaw coming out to meet him, but before Charley could make up his mind, what to do, the ball went whizzing past him low into the right-hand corner of his net. It was a brilliant goal – it was also one of the few thrills in the match. And how the crowd cheered. The thousands who could not see through the murky curtain quickly joined in the chorus with those who could, and they can take it from me Hansen fully deserved every cheer he got. He careered along for a good forty yards. Archibald’s goal came up eight minutes later. There was nothing spectacular about it. ‘Sandy’ getting the ball just outside the penalty area, tricked McStay and let drive, and to the consternation of his Celtic colleagues, Shaw let the ball roll under him into the net. Careful Charley was at fault here. He may have slipped as he went down to clutch the ball or was a victim of the fog. Either of these things may have happened, but the Ibrox flying ‘Fifer’s’ cross shot did not look a particularly dangerous one. Rangers were, of course, on velvet after this, but two goals’ lead at this time was hardly due them on play – that is, so far as I could make out from what I saw. But I confess it was not a day to be too certain of anything. For the greater part of the time the players flitted over the pitch like spectres clearly visible the one second and vanishing into the fog the next. It was a weird spectacle. Matters were made worse, too by the treacherous footing on the frost-bound pitch, which caused ball and players to cut many unorthodox cantrips. Yet, in the circumstances, it was a wonderfully good game. Alan Morton livened up the play with several old-time solo runs, and in the second half he had Murphy guessing pretty often. At least I think he had from the sounds which came from the direction of the north stand, the outline of which I could sometimes discern – when the ball came across, we had to take it for granted that it came from wee Alan. To my mind, the Rangers were the more solid company; they kept the ball moving faster than the other fellows, and their open movements proved the more profitable. There was a link missing in the Parkhead attack, but it did not require a mechanical specialist to spot the flaw. Gallagher was as far from being his real self as night resembles day. Poor Patsy! He told me before the match and at the finish that he was feeling anything but well. Yet he showed us some nice football early in the game, but shortly after the interval, he had almost to give up. In the last half-hour he changed places with Adam McLean and swung out time on the left touch-line. Yet now and again he tried a spurt – the ‘mighty atom’ could not be entirely subdued. But if Celtic were not so sprightly or pushful as the Ibrox confederacy, yet they were by no means ‘second fiddlers’ at least up to the time of Archibald’s goal, and in the closing stages they came near to reducing the margin. In the opening half Cassidy missed a glorious chance of drawing first blood, after McLean had shoved the ball into the middle. Joe let fly in a hurry, however. Willie Robb on his knees, had the satisfaction of seeing the ball bounce off his cheat. Again, Cassidy got clean away, and again Robb won. Willie threw himself at the ball and scraped it away from Joe’s feet. In the matter of attacking the Ibrox crowd showed to advantage, yet their front line was streaky. The best bits of real combined play were put on tap by McLean and McFarlane, but neither could find his way to goal, and Dixon was always there or thereabout to catch up their crosses. And ‘li’l Arthur’ also kept a very watchful eye on Cassidy. Cringan, too had to treat Hansen with great respect, even when the little fellow was going lame. The Dane’s speed and jerky side-slips to right or left were a constant source of worry to the Parkhead defenders. Once Carl rounded McMaster, Cringan and Murphy in turn, but found Shaw in the direct line of his shot. McAtee was, I should say, the least effective of the Celtic vanguard, but for once in a way Andy was not too lavishly purveyed by the half-fit Gallagher. Patsy’s handicap enabled both Muirhead and McCandless lots of time to deal with the touch lineman. Everyone was a worker in the Ibrox attack, with Morton and cairns the finest wing afield. Alan, I fancy, was the ‘star.’ I saw him now and again through the gloom, doubling alone the adamantine and slippery surface as if it were the Grosvenor ballroom. If Cairns was not quite so dashing as usual, he took precious good care that his partner was always attended to. If there were no outstanding middlemen there were certainly no weaklings. I liked Gilchrist best because of his superior placing. Jock Nicholson also took the eye, even if he lacked the artistic tough of the old St Anthony’s Celt. Cringan was a worker all the time, and but for an occasional lapse into hesitancy. Muirhead did well. Reid did all right as deputy for Bert Manderson. His kicking was always clean and powerful; he made few mistakes. I liked the Ibrox pair better than Jamie Murphy and Willie McStay both of whom were rounded too easily at times. Shaw was much the busier keeper, and right well did Charley perform, despite the loss of that Archibald goal.
