J Smith 25
Match Information
Attendance: 32,000
Referee: M.C. Hutton (Glasgow)
Matchday: Wednesday
Match Trivia
It is ended at last. Rangers are in the final of the Glasgow Cup, and they are where they ought to be. The third game of the semi-final tie, yesterday, was well won it might have been won by a bigger score, for on the play Rangers were more than a goal superior. More than that, I thought the referee erred in knocking off Mortons goal in the second half for offside. It was about the best worked goal of the three games in this tie. That is my opinion for what it is worth. I think the referee, in following the ball, lost sight of McGonagle, who was easily nearer the Celtic goal than was Morton. Referees can all make mistakes, but in a case like this, it was fortunate the result was not affected. To win with Meiklejohn and Brown standing down sown was surely an indication of the strength of the Ibrox reserves. There is nothing like having good stuff standing by for an emergency. That is exactly where Celtic suffered, for it seemed fairly clear that neither Napier nor Scarff was in condition for a hard game. Then Peter Wilson, who played so well on Tuesday, went lame, and that was a big handicap. In no way was it a good match for Celtic. As things turned out a general like Jamie McStay would have been invaluable. It needed somebody to gather the team together and get them to pull their weight better in front. But it is the turn of the wheel of fortune. I remember in season 1925-6, Celtic beat the old rival in the third game of their Glasgow Cup semi-final tie, at Ibrox. Yet in that season Celtic did not win the cup, for Clyde served up a sensation by beating them in the final at Parkhead. So, Rangers may want to keep that in mind at Hampden on Saturday. Rangers started away as if they meant business, and in the first minute there was a bit of commotion. Morton cut in with a pass from McPhail and centred. Wilson armed the ball as it passed him, and Falconner grabbed it. Smith charged the goalkeeper, who fell. It was, to my mind, a legitimate charge, but the referee gave a free kick against Smith. Should it not be made plain that the rules permit of the goalkeeper being charged if he is holding the ball? In my time, every goalkeeper realised this, and there was more going for the goalkeeper than there is today. But goalkeepers knew all about it, and they were alert in clearing, either by getting the ball away from the hand or punching without gathering it. Anyhow, the game went on without much feeling, and in fact, it was as clean as you could wish, everything considered. Rangers got going in good style. McDonald and Craig provided delightful low passes to the forwards. Both worked the cross pass freely, and there was no needless stopping of the ball before making the transfer. Practically all the danger was at Falconers goal, which had several narrow escapes. But there was one bonnie movement in the Celtic front which looked good. Bert Thomson lifted the ball with perfect precision over to McGrory, who raced in to connect with the head when Simpson nipped in to head clear. Again, Simpson beat McGrory when the Celtic centre seemed well set for a run-in, but that was all we saw of the real Celtic until Rangers scored the goal that won the tie. A great shot by Craig had produced the first corner, which was cleared, and then Morton got a long pass and ran on and cut in after beating Wilson. Mortons centre travelled towards the far post, and when it was still in the air Smith, who had positioned himself in anticipation, got his head to the ball and nodded it home. Falconer had no chance at all. Right on to the interval, Rangers were the better moving side. Half-backs and forward played some really fine football, which kept the Celtic half-backs on the run. Cook and McGonagle stood well up to it, although there was a bit of luck going when, after Marshall and Archibald had gone right up to goal, the inside man was caught off his balance with the goal practically at his mercy. There was another bit of luck for the Parkhead team when Smith was given off-side through the referee failing to observe that Hughes had put him on-side. Bert Thomson tried very hard to pull out the Celtic attack, but he had a stiff job against McAulay and was not nearly well enough supported. In the three games Thomson and McAulay have fought a grand sporting duel. Both have enhanced their reputation as sportsmen and their next meeting will be looked forward to. I must confess to a fatherly interest in the Celtic right winger, for I believe I was the first to name him as a coming man when he was playing as an Intermediate. Early in the second half McPhail took the ball on, as he was often doing, and sent it on to Smith, who was in good position. Once more the Ibrox centre was pulled up for offside through the referee failing to see McGonagle nearer the goal. Four a long time it did not seem as if Celtic were to make much shape at wiping off the deficient. They took encouragement, however from a left-off when Mortons goal was deleted. McPhail and the left winger worked out the opening with one of the cleverest bits of passing in the game, and Morton finishing up by shooting into the net from an angle. Morton should have netted from another opening developed by McDonald, Archibald and McPhail. He could have walked the ball into the net, but a whistle sounded, and thinking he was again being given offside, he hit the ball anywhere. It turned out that it was bit the referees whistle, but one blown by someone in the crowd. Celtic rallied now for the first time. The half-backs, and Cook and McGonagle, gave the ball plenty of boot, so that the Ibrox half-backs had to fall to the rear. The nearest thing was a back-header by McGrory, which Dawson saved. For a little, there was the suggestion that Celtic might come away with a storming burst like Tuesdays, but the forwards were not equal to it. There was always more danger at the other end. I liked Dawson better than in the previous game, but there seemed to be more understanding with the backs. Gray and McAulay were two splendid backs; they did not put a foot wrong. They were always working effectively with their half-backs, who I would say, were a match-winning division. Simpson was like the New Years day spoiler, nipping in with head and feet and doing some little things that may have surprised some people. Craig was at his very best the old Craif with his low, clockwork passes which could be taken on the run, and never sticking to one idea. McDonald, I should say, has never done better, even allowing for the out-of-sortness of Scarff and Napier. He headed and placed in a way that would have delighted the Irish selectors who have given him a cap against England. the Rangers forwards played as a line, which is exactly what the Celtic five did not do. Archibald was sending the ball across with either foot and timing his centres well. He and Marshall were a good wing, strong and go-ahead. Smith worried the Celtic defence for he never shirked chasing the ball, even when he had to come back for it. I thought he might have tried to go through oftener himself but being out of the team as I know takes the edge off a mans confidence. The left wing balanced the right, which is where the winners held an advantage. No blame can be attached to the Celtic defence for the defeat. Falconer and his backs did all men could do to hold out. Several times Falconer made really fine saves, and Cook and McGonagle were big-hearted, clever, forcing defenders the best of the team. Wilsons lameness was disastrous. He is too good a player for the team to be able to carry such a handicap. Geatons seemed to feel the strain of the two games, especially as he was against a fresh, strong centre. Hughes was affected also. He was nothing like the same boy who played so well on Tuesday. The forwards did not have the energy needed. Bert Thomson was a heroic trier and McGrory was eager to come into it, but with the three others sagging badly, the line could not strike.
