Stevenson
Missed Penalties
B McPhail pen miss 44
Match Information
Attendance: 26,000
Referee: M.C. Hutton (Glasgow)
Matchday: Saturday
Match Trivia
The 26,000 spectators who attended this important League match at Motherwell yesterday witnessed a terrific struggle for supremacy, fought out at a very fast pace, between two of the best football teams in the land. In the first half, taking into account the treacherous state of the ground, the football served up by both teams was a positive delight to watch. The second half saw both teams tiring a little, and no wonder, for the first half had been such a tense, breathless struggle, with the result that play deteriorated slightly. Motherwells goal, which came midway through the second half, was smartly taken by Stevenson. The inside-left followed a lovely header from Dowall in to Hamilton, and when the goalkeeper palmed the ball down, George drove it into the net. It was pretty tough luck on Rangers, but in a way they had only themselves to blame. There was too much bunching together by the inside men, and too much trying to force the ball through the Motherwell rearguard, to the exclusion of Morton and Archibald, who in the second half, were comparatively idle. The For Park lads, on the other hand, never forgot their wing men, and kept the game wide open with long, swinging passes to the wings, the sequel being that the Ibrox defence was always on the stretch. The Motherwell wing halfs, too found time to assist their partners in some clever triangular play, which took them well into the danger zone. All things considered, I am of the opinion that, while a draw would have been a good result, Motherwell, on the days showing, were just a shade superior and deserved to win, for their splendid defence and the keenness and perseverance of their forward line. Motherwell win the toss and set Rangers to face a slight wind. The Ibrox team swept down on McClory, and Marshall sent in a great shot from 20 yards, but Motherwell keeper cleared confidently. Back again came Rangers, and Craig stopped McGowan twice when the centre looked like getting well away. Archibald seemed to be finding it difficult to retain his footing on the greasy surface, and one or two likely openings were lost in this way. Johnman and Hunter were playing very steadily and McClory was handling the ball confidently, while the half-backs were trying to engineer a raid on Tom Hamiltons end. McMenemy let Murdoch away, and the winger crossed well but Simpson beat Dowall on the jump for the ball. McMenemy was conspicuous with some fine leading-out work, but Dowall could not elude the watchful Simpson. Stevenson had a clever run, in which he beat three men, but he hung on too long and was eventually crowded out. McMenemy was playing a fine game now, and sent Murdoch away repeatedly, but Simpson was turning out his crosses with almost monotonous regularity. Buchanan initiated a movement which let Morton well down, but Johnman nipped in and cleared. What a mess Ferrier made of a chance given him by McMenemy about 15 yards from goal! The ball skidded off the wingers foot as he shot. Not like you, Bobby! Next minute the outside-left sent over a glorious cross, and for once Dowall beat Simpson in the air and headed into goal. The ball hit the crossbar and came down, and Murdoch, running in, tried to breast the ball through, but Tom Hamilton managed to grasp it and clear. Morton was Running well and looked very dangerous, but he was unfortunate to have his final delivery blocked for a fruitless corner. McPhail had been very quiet, but he came into the picture with a cute slip to Morton, who got away, but was fouled by Johnman. McPhail and Marshall tried to bore through, but Craig cleared finely. A foul was given against Rangers for Morton fouling Johnman. Now a Motherwell raid, finely nullified by Newry Hamilton and McDonald let Archibald away. Sandy crossed finely and Morton was going for it when Johnman pulled him down. Amidst great excitement the referee pointed to the penalty spot. Bon McPhail took the kick and put the ball past the outside of the post. Motherwells reply to this let-off was a fierce raid, which ended with Stevenson driving just over the bar, as the half-time whistle sounded. Immediately on resuming Motherwell assumed the role of aggressors, and a difficult cross from Ferrier was cleverly cleared by Gray. McMenemy nearly did the trick from another Ferrier lob, Hamilton just scrambling the ball clear at the foot of the post, and Murdoch, dashing in, fired the ball at Hamilton lying on the ground for the keeper to clear. Buchanan punted a long ball up the field, but McGown was easily stopped by Craig. Archibald ran well down on the right and fired in an express, which McClory was lucky to be in the way of. McMenemy and Stevenson were purveying well to their outside men, although Stevenson was just inclined to overdo the fancy stuff on occasion when parting with the ball would have been to sides advantage. Murdoch forced a corner off Buchanan, and it was from this corner that Motherwells goal which I have already described accrued. From the kick-off, Archibald tore down the line and sent over a terrific ball, which flashed across the goal, McGowan making a desperate dive in an endeavour to touch it through. McPhail tried to force his way through, but Sandy Hunter and Johnman were clearing their lines first time. Archibald again broke away, but no one could turn his cross into goal. It was here that the Ibrox team, in my opinion beat themselves. McPhail and Marshall almost ignored their wing men in a vain endeavour to crush the ball through the middle. Marshall lay too close on McGowan, who tice found offside given against him. Alan did get a couple of runs before the finish, and both of them might easily have been productive of a goal, but for Craigs vigilance. Telfer, Stevenson and Ferrier combined well, but Stevenson spoiled a great chance by coming back to beat his man a second time. Marshall broke away but allowed the ball to get too far in front of him, and Hunter cleared. In the closing minutes Craig made a desperate and successful effort to dispossess McGowan, but the tackle, while quite fair, was so powerful that both men shot into a sand heap behind the goal line, and the game had to be stopped while the trainers took the sand out of the players eyes. Rangers strove desperately for the equaliser, but Fate willed otherwise. It was a great game, and both teams are to be complimented on the standard of football served up and the sporting nature of the contest. The victors had not a weakling in their team, and I would single out McClory, Craib, McMenemy, Stevenson and Ferrier. For Rangers, Simpson, both Hamilton, McPhail and Morton were the stars. McMenemy, I thought, on the days showing, the best player on the field. This young man has brains and knows the game. Murdoch and he were a better, more profitable wing than the Stevenson-Ferrier combine. McPhail missed a first half penalty
