Bruce 21
Blackwood 24
J Simpson 89
Match Information
Attendance: unknown - to be confirmed
Referee: M.C. Hutton (Glasgow)
Matchday: Saturday
Match Trivia
Stirring melodrama without the climax of the tortured hero triumphing in the end might aptly describe this game at Coatbridge. Not that Rangers gave football the Christmassy touch of pantomime. But Rangers found Santa Claus there all right, and otherwise they would in all probability have had their first empty stocking of the season. Ill leave you to judge the luck of the game for yourselves. Rovers played a man short for an hour and lost the match with only fifteen seconds to go by the official watch. More than that, Rovers were tow goals up when both teams were at full strength, and had they remained in equal numbers the sensation was ready for the wire. When Rovers scored their second goal in thirty-one minutes, the jubilation was calmed as J Waddell was not in the line-up. In the prevailing excitement, it was scarcely noticed that Rangers trainer, Arthur Dixon, was called across the field in added attention to Waddell, who was suffering from concussion. We had a tragic reminder when Waddell was carried in helpless in a heap, later to be removed to hospital. Meantime, Rangers had notched a goal in the region the injured player might have been defending, and the referees breath was nearly in the half-time whistle when Rangers equalised. Then Rangers winning goal was not a fully satisfactory affair. Bruce was back-charged by Macaulay on the point of clearing when facing his own goal, legitimate under the rules, but was not Macaulay off both feet and therefore penalizable? In any case, Bruce was forced to kick the ball for a corner and Simpson netted the crossed ball in a seethingly crude goalmouth melee. Judged by their own standard, Rangers are still a disappointing team and the magic circle that outrings defeat is more unreasonable than ever because in this game it was not Jerry Dawson who saved them. He was not blameless for the first goal and on a later occasion was lucky in not losing another after dropping the ball. In cold reasoning, none of three Rangers Internationals impressed. Simpson never fathomed McLennan and often found more than his feet on the cold, cold ground. Brown was too diffident, a law unto himself and did not do fairly by young Kinnear who had to keep an unwarranted eye on defence. Rovers rallied round Bruce, who is worth two men in any team I have seen this season. The hand of sympathy is unfortunately empty of points for Rovers, but it is none the less sincere from any spectator. The tale of the goals. In twenty-five minutes, Rangers had their fanciful notions tricked into foul defence, and from the free kick Bruce made it a one mans job just outside the penalty line. Rangers dandy hopes crashed still further six minutes later when a scoring shot from McLennan came off the crossbar and the ball was bandied about until Blackwood brought it to decisive boot. Within a couple of minutes, Kinnear steaked through Rovers skeletonised defence on the left and chalked one off the lead. Half a minute from the cross-over, Smith volleyed through a right wing cross in the grand old style forgotten by most centre-forwards. Too seldom do we see a shot on the full volley, the most spectacular goal there can be. I have described the circumstances of Rangers winning goal, a pathetic refection on Rangers attack when a frankly defensive player like Simpson comes to win the game in scoring, and not saving goals.
