A Cunningham
Match Information
Attendance: 7,000
Referee: T Dougray (Barrhead)
Matchday: Saturday
Match Trivia
Rangers were lucky to get away from Airdrie with a 1-0 victory. It is a debateable point if their win was strictly correct. As I saw it, the incident of the goal, Reid was off-side when he left the ball for Cunningham to bang into the net., where it landed as from a cannon mouth. Wallace certainly was masked by Reid, but referee Dougray saw no fault, and therein was the Rangers’ victory, attained after twenty minutes’ play. The game was by no means a model of fine play, but up till the last minute there was doubts as to what might happen, and it will generally be conceded that Airdrieonians had some credit in their defeat. A draw would have better represented the run of play. There were badly handicapped in losing the services of Reid and Williams for the day and being compelled by circumstances to play Mair (Burnbank Athletic) in his second senior game at centre-forward; while in course of play they had to fight on for periods wanting Sinclair and Paterson. Yet they paid the admittedly fine Rangers’ team tit-for-tat all the way, and might as easily have the one point as lose two. Airdrie’s success lay largely at the feet of their defence. From Wallace out there was not a weak spot. In this respect they more than equalled the Rangers, whose quality forward line fell prey just as easily as did the make-shift Airdrie attack. Mackie cast blight on Reid. The Airdrie back was a surprise packet. Cunningham was Rangers’ best forward, followed hard by Cairns. Latterly Bowie and Gordon tried to show how thing should be done at goal, but even lengthy Wallace’s reach was a long way from touching their shot. Manderson’s returns were not very certain, but he had up against him in Donaldson and Paterson the bet wing on the field. Airdrieonians have picked up a promising back in Watson. Mair, though out of position, left the impression of a good one in the making, while all three Airdrie half’s deserved praise. Rafferty’s hold of his wing was exceptional. Wallace was never desperately pressed, but all he got to do was masterly, even to ‘jinking’ Reid on occasion when the Rangers’ centre would have liked to bundle him and the ball into the net. They had hardly so much of the game as the Rangers, but their defence never wavered, and in that respect they were the better side on the days play
