Brand 21
J Smith 60
Match Information
Attendance: 9,000
Referee: W Webb (Glasgow)
Matchday: Saturday
Match Trivia
This game was the best advertisement for football I have seen this season. Every moment was full of meat and all possible appetites were satisfied. Here was gallant little Arbroath, officially deprived of a reserve team, battling against the resources of mighty Rangers and holding the lead for nearly an hour. The lead was merited. Rangers were discomfited by the strong sun shinning in their eyes, and Arbroath exploited this advantage by setting a terrific pace and playing all-forward football. Lowe was the most conspicuous player on the field at this stage. His strong raiding had Rangers defence in a turmoil. Brand and Devlin were in tricky mood, Urquhart a great forcing half-back, and altogether Rangers were in a bit of a hole. Still, Brands opening goal in 25 minutes was of the haphazard variety, though brilliantly taken. Christies shot spun off Grays foot and Brand was through the defence in a flash, judiciously drawing and beating Dawson with his shot. Rangers had always been struggling and simply could not throw Arbroath off. Rangers were still behind at the interval, and it looked certain their unbeaten record would go west in the early stages of the second half. Arbroath were peppering the Ibrox defence, and Simpson was the biggest man of the field. Play took a dramatic change after 16 minutes, when Smith equalised with a goal that will be historic as being the first that Rangers have scored in the League on this ground. The Arbroath defence was at fault. Smith and Venters were allowed to carry the ball sis e by side through the middle without challenge, and Venters left Smith to finish, which he did in undeniable style with a rocket shot into the side of the goal. Now out of the shadow of defeat, Rangers looked like passing into the sunshine of success. Arbroath lost the initiative and had their backs to the wall. But their defence was tough, more than Rangers could shew. The only real scoring chance came to Kinnear, who was Rangers most hopeful forward, but he failed at the most critical moment of the game. In the closing minutes, Arbroath scented victory again and went right after it. They claimed a penalty when, in a feverish moment, Winning handled the ball, but the referee gave a free-kick just outside the line. Rangers packed their goal Jimmy Smith included against a direct scoring kick, and everybody but the referee saw Smooth knock the ball with his elbow. An obvious penalty, but the referee was unsighted. Fortunate for Rangers! Still, it was a good draw. In turn both teams were in danger of defeat, and a share of the points should be gratifying. The main thing was that the 9000 crowd were thrilled to the core
