Venters 15
Bolt 52
Thornton 71
Match Information
Attendance: 20,058
Referee: J.M. Martin (Ladybank)
Matchday: Saturday
Match Trivia
Rangers, starting off the second half with a one-goal lead and a strong wind in their favour, looked to have the tie safely in their keeping. Eight minutes after, however, they were made to rock, and at that time it was conceivable that defeat might ne their portion. Falkirk equalised and carried on to make openings for a leading goal. Jerry Dawsons brilliance however, foiled them, once in particular when he saved magnificently a rising shot which Keyes fired in from eight yards. Dawson certainly stepped into the breach during this bad period for the Light Blues. Gradually Rangers recovered their steadiness. As in the first half, they showed better team understanding and a higher sense of positional play. The second half was easily the more thrilling of the two, and it had the crowd almost continuously roaring as play surged from end to end. Rangers first goal was scored in the sixteenth minutes, and it followed immediately after the failure of Keyes to take advantage of a golden opportunity. McKillop sent a long pass up the middle. Thornton eluded Shankly and stepped to the right, then suddenly wheeled round to touch the leather to Venters, who rapped it home from near the penalty spot. Rangers proceeded to show just how valuable a goal lead can be. Under the guiding influence of Brown, they brought out a brand of football superior to anything served up by the Bairns. There were some sweet movements along the left, with Thornton and Venters showing fine positional sense in support. It was plain that Shankley was very uncomfortable against Thornton, whose flicks often had the centre-half guessing. Falkirks Brown got a lot of running about to do, and that it took a lot out of him was proved in the second half, when he lacked the stamina to stay the pace. Yes, at half-time the game looked good for Rangers, but what a fright they received in the eight minutes. A throw-in from the right was headed goalwards by Keyes. Simpson rose to it but misjudged the flight. Jerry Dawson jumped and punched the ball. Bolt, standing on the 18 yards line, met it with a short of half-shot, half-lob. The ball appeared to be going over the bar, but suddenly it dropped and went into the net. Encouraged by the roar of their supporters, the Brockville fellows fiercely went at it. Rangers gave evidence of cracking. Kenny Dawson shot widely over when clean through, then Simpson brought Keyes down in a manner that might have justified a penalty award. The steadying influence of Brown came to the rescue, and Rangers regained their poise. In the 26th minute, Winning slipped a free kick to the 6-yards area and Thornton, with his back to the goal, timed the flight of the leather better than Shankly, to head it past McKie. Falkirk had some clever individuals, such as Anderson, and strong movers, such as Bolt, but they did not have anything to counter the bottling-up tactics of the Rangers defence. In a word Rangers were too old-fashioned for their opponents, who had the unhappy knack of doing the wrong thing at vital moments. On the whole, it was not a the grand match expected, but consideration must be given to the conditions a strong wind-to-end wind that brought rain with it, and a soft pitch on which many of the players found it awkward to turn
