Miller 75
Match Information
Attendance: 28,000
Referee: M.C. Hutton (Glasgow)
Matchday: Saturday
Match Trivia
I am not prepared to allow Partick Thistles Glasgow Cup victory to pass with merely faint praise. The lads of Firhill played brighter and more purposeful football than rangers the urge to plant the ball at the back of the net without any fancy preliminaries. No roundabout methods for Miller and Ballantyne. Nor any attempts by Neish and Bain to reveal individual cleverness at the possible expense of McDonald and Gray. The direct route policy paid. I admit that the goal was a lucky one. The ball from Miller touched Simpson on its way to the net out with Dawsons reach. The keeper was set to collect the drive. Miller himself said to me after the game, Dawson would have got it all right. At the same time, it is to be acknowledged that Thistles inside forwards hit the high spots. To them chiefly is to be attributed Thistles first Glasgow Cup final victory. Rangers inside men completely failed to exert the superiority to which we have become accustomed. Macaulay, as usual, did more than his share of running. I wonder whether that anxiety for work on the part of the inside-right takes something out of Meiklejohns scheme? Davie likes the men in front of him to be on the forward move when he slides that ball along. Macaulay too often was back when the pass was about to be delivered. And Main was too well guarded by McLeod and Cummings to be more than fleetingly dangerous. At one period in the second half Rangers applied their characteristic pressure, Meiklejohn and Brown urging and Smith going in. On one occasion goalkeeper Johnstone, carrying the ball was forced by Smith. Macaulay and McPhail to take at least ten steps before he could find a clear yard from which to punt upfield. That movement should have been penalised. It wasnt. Possibly referee Hutton saw Johnstone bounce the ball on the hand. I didnt. He seemed to have it in his grasp all the time. Partick officials, in view of the victorious result, may believe their selection of Neish in place of Ness perfectly justified. I dont see eye to eye with them there. Neish, very useful, yet lacked the guile of Ness at close quarters. One goal probably, and another possibly, would have fallen to the more experienced man. Neish was dexterous enough in making position, but not sufficiently cute when a flick instead of a shot would have taken the trick. I thought Rangers were distinctly shaly when Gray very early in the game conceded a corner. The opposite impression I gathered about Thistle when Cunning intervened to stop a McPhail movement on rangers left wing. At that time, I observed that George Brown was disinclined to move forward to help the attack. And later in the game he was equally remiss in failing to move back to relieve McDonald. Simpson, like Gray, was compelled to concede a corner, but Neish drove into he side-net. That was bad, completely unprofitable. Ballantyne came very near to scoring with a header from a Bain corner-kick. Thrilling it was and Jimmy Smith added to the thrills when his left foot effort was deflected just past. Terribly spasmodic Rangers work encouraged no one to believe that theyd subdue the thistle lads. Not even the pouncing of Smith could upset goalkeeper Johnstone. Not did a splendid drive by Macaulay put the wind up that capable lad. In fact, one of his clearances in the first minutes of the second half stamped him as a great keeper. Many a player would have been beaten by Smiths deft back-flick. Not so Johnstone. Even when Rangers applied the pressure, Calderwood and Cunning and Donnelly butted in just in time to relieve the tension on Johnstone. Magnificent defence, worthy of the best. Then we had the only goal of the game. Miller capped an excellent performance by beating Dawson luckily, as I have mentioned. Neish had a great chance of making absolutely sure from a delightful Wylie pass. The winger shot at a moment when Dawson was hesitating. The ball went low past. The feature of the concluding minutes revealed Johnstone again in a bright light a clearance from Smiths wheeler dangerously close in. My thoughts about the players individually leave Dawson and Johnstone in the balance, evenly weighted Calderwood and Cummings excelled Gray and McDonald. Calderwood played like a veteran with a youths energy. Elliot, Donnelly and McLeod can consider themselves every bit as good as Meiklejohn, Simpson and Brown. But Rangers forwards must give best to the Thistle five. I advocated Wylie as Thistles leader earlier in the season. Hes a dangerous fellow crowds delighted to see in the days of Neil Harris. Bain does best with Ballantyne as prompter. No Rangers forward scintillated. Main, McPhail and Gillick played very much below form. Macaulay alone touched anything like reasonable standard.
