J Smith 16, pen 53
Match Information
Attendance: 25,000
Referee: M.C. Hutton (Glasgow)
Matchday: Saturday
Match Trivia
Thats another Scottish Cup tie Rangers are well clear of. I give Third Lanark credit for making a match of it, even if the play on either side did not beat the band. The Cathkin team were supposed to have a secret plan of attack. What it was I cannot tell, but if it was to make thing rip, that did that all right. They had their tails up from the start, set the pace, and generally worried the Rangers defence to such an extent that anything seemed likely to happen. Cathkin had a good fighting chance of making a draw of it until Rangers got their second goal from a penalty-kick eight minutes after the restart. This was a doubtful point. It was a flagrant trip which brought down Roberts when he had cut in for a shot, and he fell flop right inside the box, but there was no certainty that the trip occurred inside. It was a near thing. The moral is not to trip an opponent round about the penalty lines. Third Lanark never stopped trying, but that second goal finished them. The first goal, scored 16 minutes after the start, was a curiosity, and a tribute to Smiths tenacity. Kennedy lobbed the ball towards goal. McCormack stepped out sideways to gather it on the ground. He seemed to have the whole thing to himself, for Smith and Harvey in his way. But, like a hot, the Ibrox centre raced round Harvey and getting his foot to the ball, turned it into the net. A cheeky sort of goal, but vital. I ought to tell you that, almost immediately after the Rangers penalty, Third Lanark should have had one. Dawson pushed a Third Lanark forward with both hands, but the referee did not appear to see the incident. It was such an obvious thing that I concluded Dawson thought he was pushing Gray away from the ball. Third Lanarks defence, the half-backs included, took a big part in keeping the issue open. Their forwards played a go-ahead game, but in doing so, they sacrificed steadiness and method which would probably have been more productive. The greatest danger to the Rangers goal was from individual thrusts such as those by Hay and Gallagher in the second half. Dawson had to make a desperate save from Gallagher to prevent a goal. The ball was too much in the air to suit Hay. Simpson was there with his head, and with his feet also. No one did more than Simpson to see Rangers through. Roberts was their cleverest forward and took all that came to him with good grace. Gillick played a good first half but found Harvey difficult to beat afterwards. Venters was the usual strong, forcing grafter, but a lot his passes went wrong.
