A Thomson 11
Missed Penalties
Morton pen miss 10
Match Information
Attendance: 70,000
Referee: T Dougray (Bellshill)
Matchday: Saturday
Match Trivia
It was Celtics day at Parkhead, yesterday. Rangers threw away any when Alan Morton wildly kicked a penalty outside the post, and from then on to the end it seemed that Celtic could not possibly lose. A perfervid Rangers man thought his team should have made a draw of it! That is tantamount to saying that he admitted Celtic were superior. And indeed, they were. They moved with a silkiness and finished up with a punch that the Ibrox scattered forces could not equal, and yet Celtic were not a perfect team not by a very long way. The difference between the sides by in the fact that in the Celtic attack there were matchwinners, in the Rangers there were none. In previous Celtic matches this season I have pointed out that the return of McGrory would have made all the difference. After what happened yesterday, I think it must be agreed that my opinion was the correct one. Jimmy did not do a great deal off his own bat he got in but one telling shot in the whole game but he inspired confidence by his whole-hearted assaults on the Rangers goal, and for once the Celtic wingers sent over crosses in the sure knowledge that they would not be wasted. It was not McGrory, however, who took the honours of the game; it was Celtics Thomson clan. The two Fifers were great, but it was Test Case Bert who outshone them all. The new Adam McLean has taken a long tone to materialise, but he has arrived at last in the person of this Glasgow Perthshire boy. Coll and collected, he found a way past R Hamilton with comparative ease, while has quick acceleration I would respectfully pass on as a new advertising slogan for a well-known petrol form! Along with Alec he formed the best wing afield, and it was but justice that these two should score the goals. Had the other Celtic wing been half so efficient Rangers demoralisation would have been even more complete. Fortunately for them, Scarff and Napier failed to fit in; the former lay too far back, and the latter by hesitating, gave the Rangers defence just that time to recover which meant the saving of a goal. Rangers, especially in the second half, had a lot of the game, but there was not the same snap and fight in their work to carry them through. In attack, McPhail, who had to call off through injury was badly missed, and although McMillan played as wholehearted a game as any man on the field, he had not the craft of the old Airdrie man in bringing his wing into play. Archibalds play suffered in consequence. At inside-left, Marshall was nit at all comfortable, and had the two changed places, a big improvement might have been effected. It was only on rare occasions that the Celtic defence left it to John Thomson to clear the situation, but the keeper was in such fine form that he might have had three times the work to do without being seriously troubled. Once certainly he was beaten, and that was when he stopped Fleming after he had bustled past the defence, and then McGonagle came to his rescue by resorting to handling out a scoring shot. Much as this action has been criticised in the past, and will be in the future, there is no doubt that the backs action saved Celtic. Had Morton plunked home that penalty as Jacky Robertson says he should always do, Rangers might have been the team to mount the pedestal. Instead of that one minute of Celtic pressure was enough to send the greens on their way to victory. A grand goal by Alex Thomson did the trick. On play that goal was deserved. Celtic from the start had been the better team, Rangers only attack in the first ten minutes was the one in which McGonagle and Morton figured so dramatically. Up to half-time Celtic, with a better-balanced attack, would have scored again. Napier at this period was frankly a misfit. Twice a pass to McGrory would have given the centre his first goal of the season. Rangers put their backs into it later on, and at times in the second half they had Celtic groggy, but lack of penetration let them down. Finally, Bert Thomson put the tin-lid on it by accepting a clever pass from Alec, beating Hamilton with a pile-driving shot. The Celtic forwards were a dandy lot at the start, and McGrory received two passes in the first few minutes from the right that might easily have been goals; on each occasion his hook was only a matter of inches off the mark. Rangers struck a bit of form after this and from a free kick taken by Brown, Marshall headed in for Thomson to save. Celtic returned to the attack, but Napier, quite at sea on the wing, missed his chance by holding on too long. A quick recovery and a pass up the middle, let Fleming clear away. The centre ran on and Thomson, running out, blocked the shot. Fleming recovered quickest and banged the ball for the net, but he was not there before McGonagle, who without compunction put out his hand and stopped the shot. Morton took the kick and blazed it past the left-hand upright. Celtic, who had been the better team, immediately showed their appreciation of Alans miss. Alec Thomson steadied himself just inside the penalty area and let go a low drive for the corner of the net. I rather fancy Tom Hamilton didnt see the shot until too late. Ten minutes had gone. This put Rangers all at sixes-and-sevens for a while and Napier should have put Celtic further on the lead. He shot high over the bar when a pass to McGrory, who was unmarked, would have done the trick. Brown, in Rangers half-back line, was the Light Blues start artist, and his hard graft paved the way for Marshall to ger in a telling shot to the corner of the net, but Thomson, in his very best fashion, dived and saved at the expense of a corner. Another taste of Celtic sting followed, but Gray stepped into the goalmouth and saved a raking shot from R Thomson. As the interval drew near there was little to choose between the teams. A touch of the real McGrory enlivened matters. The centre turned round quickly and belted a great drive against the cross. At the other end J Thomson clutched a high ball from Archibald and saved a certain score. The interval score, 1-0 was a good reflex of the run of play. Although Rangers should certainly have scored first from the penalty, Celtic were the team who had been guilty of missing the glaring chances. The restart was lively. Scarff must have had half-time instructions, for he came up to support Napier and dropped the half-back role, but this did not last for long all too soon he was back amongst his defenders. R Thomson whizzed one against the outside of the net, and then Rangers came away with a special effort. Fleming drifting towards the right wing set the machinery in motion, but it was ten minutes before a shot got the length of John Thomson. During this period Celtic lacked their first-half enthusiasm, and only a lone raid by McGrory had the Rangers defence in any sort of trouble. Celtics right wing, however, was temporarily subdued, and R Thomson set Napier and McGrory away in clever fashion. Rangers returned to the attack, and McStay hooked the ball away from Morton in the nick of time, while McMillan and Meiklejohn had rare shots from outside the area. The latter effort was tripped over the bar by John Thomson. The defences were well on top after this, and although Rangers were impressive in their outfield play, they rarely threatened to do anything when near Thomson. Their best try was a header from Fleming, which went into the keepers hands. McGrory was not doing much, but he was paying his way by his tearing tactics. Ten minutes from the end the Thomson wing broke forth in all its power. Alec worked his way past Craig, and instead of returning the ball to the wing, passed it forward. Bert was after it like a flash, beat R Hamilton on the run, and without a moments hesitation smacked it into goal. Tom Hamilton was in its way, but he could not stop the smasher, which went into the net off his shoulder. From then to the end Celtic carried all before them. The main difference between the teams was in attack. The Celtic defence had no great pull over their Ibrox rivals for on both sides I saw weaknesses. The Rangers left side was up against hot stuff, and the efforts of Craig and R Hamilton to curb the Thomsons was but a half-hearted one. I do not blame Bob for this. He was left too much to do by his colleague, who was rarely at his side to give a helping hand in time of danger. On the other side, Brown and Gray always were pulling over Scarff and Napier. I would say that Brown was the star man on the Ibrox side. It was no fault of his that the Rangers attack did not get going. On the Celtic side, McGonagle and Peter Wilson were correspondingly better than Morrison and Geatons, but the difference between these pairs was not so apparent as on the Rangers side. McGonagle cleared with decision, and was rarely at a loss, but Morrison, a one-foot expert, did not like it when the ball came to him the wrong way. The result was a lot of sliced kicks. In comparing the two centre half-backs McStay takes the honours, Meiklejohn was shaky in the first half, and it was only in the second period that he struck his true form. While Thomson was brilliant in goal, there cane be little complaint against Hamilton; for the most part his saves were clean, quick and sure. I dont think he had a chance with either of the goals that beat him. On the day, McGrory was the better centre. Two headers was the sum total of Flemings activities. At all other times he was well watched by McStay. Morton was perhaps the best of the Rangers attack, but not one of them came up to the standard of the Celtic Thomsons. If I say that Celtics victory was the Thomsons victory, I dont think I am far off hitting the spot
