Donaldson
Yarnell
Match Information
Attendance: 8,000
Referee: H Dickie (Glasgow)
Matchday: Saturday
Match Trivia
Over the coffee cups, in Mr Chapman’s house in Airdrie, where I was the guest of the manager of the Broomfield club and his good lady on Saturday evening, one didn’t need to be a thought reader to understand the great pleasure Airdrie 2 goals to 0 success against Rangers had give those charged with the management of the local team. It was reflected in the beaming faces of the happily little gathering, which included Mr David Gibson, the chairman, and director Willie Orr. They dearly love up there to get the bulge on the city ‘bid pots.’ Airdrie’s cup of joy would be running over did they by an chance manage to land the League championship: their rapture would be modified just a little of the Celts get what the Rangers got on Saturday at Broomfield when they come along there on St Patrick’s Day. And if on March 17 the Lanarkshire players adapt themselves to the conditions and display the whole-hearted cleverness they did on Saturday afternoon Willie Orr may have his fondest wish gratified. Right off the reel I may state that Airdrie won because they deserved tp. They played the correct game and the Rangers didn’t. Whereas the Glasgow forwards, who seldom struck a combination worthy the name of the club, almost without exception stuck too long to the ball, the Broomfield men believed in keeping it moving, and profited thereby. With the wind behind them to begin with and playing towards the pavilion goal, the ‘Light Blues’ might have had the points well won ere the locals came prominently into the picture other than through an occasional burst away on the left, followed by a dangerous centre by Paterson, or in a defensive connection. Rangers had chances to spare. Manderson and Blair were as safe as houses, and if the half-backs kicked over the heads of their own forwards sometimes, these latter got quite a lot of the ball. But Cairns, Archibald and C Duncan, and even Scott Duncan at times, preferred to hold on instead of letting the ball got to a comrade or sending it sharp and slick in the direction of the watchful Bernard. Alex Bennett in the earlier stages showed more head than all the other Ibrox forwards put together, and initiated several promising movements, none of which, however, was carried to fruition. From one of these – it was a brainy pass just over Cairn’s head – Scott Duncan got across a short centre which ultimately came the way of Cairns, whose raking shot must have warmed Barnard’s fingers. The Airdrie custodian then picked up a soft try from Chas Duncan, after which the Ibrox centre missed one from the other Duncan whose middle name is Scott, and Logan carried on the bad work by sending over. A scramble in front of the Airdrie posts which finished by Cairns giving Bernard an apologetic ball to get rid of provided a diversion. The home forwards got out, Rankin shot in, and a most insistent but unsuccessful appeal was made for a penalty just as Manderson got the ball round an upright. Back again came the Rangers, and again they played into the hands – or feet rather – of the Airdrie backs and half-backs, who were as nippy a lot as one could wish for. We were now within eight minutes of the interval, and I had given up hope of the Rangers profiting by the assistance given them by the elements, but I didn’t bargain for what was on the tapis. Another of Airdrie’s periodical excursions found Sam Anderson working his way nicely through. At the psychological moment he sent the ball out to Rankin, who promptly returned it, and Donaldson being on the spot ’Andy’ nodded it home just inside Hempsey’s right-hand post. The next minute Bernard stood between the ‘Light Blues’ and the equaliser, after splendid forcing work by Pursell, who came grandly through his men ere landing the ball at Duncan’s feet. The right winger did the right thing, but Bernard was ‘all there’, as he was a second later when Archibald tried his luck. Hard on the interval, amid shouts of ‘Go on, the Tank,’ Yarnall got away off Blair, and shot sharp and sure at Hempsey, who must, however, have been beaten for the second time, just before the whistle, had Anderson gone on himself instead of passing to Yarnall. Sam chance was the best of the match so far, and – Yarnall was offside. Rangers had equally ‘hard lines’ immediately after the resumption. Bernard’s good fairy was surly with him when he got the ball round the corner – his goal seemed at the mercy of Ibrox – and she could not have left when Pursell’s long ball crashed against the bar, and during the subsequent scramble. With this little bit of non-success or ill-lucky – call it what you will – the Rangers’ chances of even saving a point vanished into thin air. As a matter of fact, Airdrie looked as if they might run up quite a big score if they got a second goal now. But fortunately (for Rangers) that Airdrie pleasure was deferred till fourteen minutes from the close, when Rankin’s absolutely perfect centre was smashed home by Yarnall. There was not a weak spot in the victorious Airdrie side. Bernard was the acme of confidence in goal, the mistake of McDonald and Watson, sound backs both, were few and far between, and that half-backs, of whom Comrie was the pick, never lost the tight grip they took of the opposing forwards at the very beginning. The oftener I see Rankin the more convinced I am that Third Lanark did not get anything like the best out of the old Strathclyde forward. On the day he was a much more serviceable man than Scott Duncan. Both goals were scored from Rankin’s crosses. Sam Anderson, always clever, was more eager than when last I saw him; Yarnall was a dangerous customer; Donaldson was liker his old self than in the Hamilton Academicals match; and Paterson seldom wasted a ball. I have never seen this left-winger to more advantage, even if he was outpaced often by the speedy Manderson, who with Blair mad up the one consistently sound department in the Rangers team, I include Hempsey in this division. He was blameless for either goal. In the first half I preferred Pursell and McKenna to Logan, but after that, when things were going against his side, the big fellow was an easy first. Time and again he robbed the eager Airdrie forwards of scoring chances. The very, very moderate Ibrox attack I have already referred to sufficiently perhaps
