B McPhail 24
A Venters 45
Match Information
Attendance: 26,000
Referee: J Thomson (Hamilton)
Matchday: Saturday
Match Trivia
When Main nodded home number three for Rangers in the fourth minute of the second half, many a worthy spectator from Govan way crossed his fingers and touched wood. They were remembering the Ibrox game of a few months ago in which the amateurs wiped out a similar deficit and made the Light Blues step lively to save a point. Coincidence, however, wasnt on the job yesterday. Queens, it must be put on record, never looked like helping history to repeat itself. Their first half sparkle and enterprise faded to such an extent that Rangers were able to ease off and still keep the game in hand. I have seen the Light Blues play much more attractive football. Yesterday, the forward line never functioned smoothly, due to the failure of the wingers to reach an understanding with their inside men. McPhail and Venters, however, were at their best, and Smith in his most hustling mood. These three, with that consummate craftsman, Brown, behind them, were the driving force of the Ibrox attack. Queens Park had no such match-winners in their ranks. Call the forwards plucky triers and that about covers it. Gardiner did gallantly at centre-half and came off with credit in his many bouts with Smith. Campbell was an active and resourceful right back. Dickson, his partner, started well, but strained himself early on and limped through most of the game. White, in the Amateurs goal, supplied the lighter touches by his obvious delight in inviting Smiths heftiest charges, which isnt everybodys idea of fun. Apart from this idiosyncrasy, he kept a good goal, though a trifle too fond of knocking a high ball away with one hand. Open end-to-end play, with busy moments for both keepers, took us to the twenty-third minute, when Kinnear hooked the ball across from the bye-line for McPhail to slam it high into the net. A few minutes later, Crawford raised the Hampden hopes with the finest shot of the game a glorious drive from twenty-five yards which Dawson rose to like a bird and clutched at the angle of post and cross-bar. Three minutes from the interval Venters met a cross from the left and promptly smashed it goalwards. White did a power drive to intercept, but the ball grazed Dickson and was sufficiently deflected to make the keepers effort a bad miss. Rangers forced the pace after the turn-round, and Main, timing a long cross from Brown to a nicety, headed a third goal past White. It was mostly Rangers after that until, in the last minute of the game, Drysdale used his hand to stop a shot from Martin and incurred the appropriate penalty. Kyle gave Dawson no chance with the spot-kick
