Main 20
T Craig 65
Match Information
Attendance: 8,000
Referee: M.C. Hutton (Glasgow)
Matchday: Wednesday
Match Trivia
Rangers preserved their unbeaten League certificate at Muirton, but in the process experienced a few shocks. In the end they deserved to win, but only by a goal margin. Saints died game. Their first-half exhibition was something of a revelation for doggedness and persistency, but in a purely football sense the ‘Light Blues’ were their masters. The first half opened and ended on a fiery note, so much so that Buchanan and McPhail were spoken to. The real fun started after Main had defeated Hamilton twenty minutes after the kick-off. Ferguson paved the way for this goal. Rangers played with vigour, and McLaren was continually in action, first clearing one or two of Alan Morton’s famous lobs, followed by great clearances from Fleming and Marshall. Marshall, however, threw away a very simple chance. A sterling defence enabled Saints to cross over on the lead, and their tactics were repeated in the second half. Time and again Rangers swarmed around McLaren, but their shooting was not in keeping with the champions’ reputation. They were getting more than a trifle anxious when Craig, with 25 minutes gone, scored from a free kick, McLaren’s vision being obscured. With eight minutes to go, Rangers’ pressure took effect. Fleming adroitly, placed a header to Marshall, who made up for a rather indifferent display in his unaccustomed position by notching the leading goal, which was succeeded by another from McPhail. McLaren, much the busier keeper, never made a mistake. As a pair, Steel and Forrest were ahead of Gray and Simpson, the ex-Hearts’ man tying up Marshall time and again. At half, Rangers enjoyed marked superiority. Imrie barged into his opponents with reckless abandon, and while Ferguson and Bolton hung in like terriers, they never rose to the constructive heights of Buchanan and craig, who slipped up numerous fine balls. Meiklejohn shone in a defensive capacity. All the Saints’ forwards paid their way with the exception of Stevenson. Paterson was the best of the line, but Webb would have done better with more of the ball. Fleming did well, even if he returned a blank. Muirhead and Morton were just what one would expect, dainty, clever and practical in their every move
