Bastin 10
B McPhail 70
Match Information
Attendance: 53000
Referee: P.S.V. Reed (London)
Matchday: Wednesday
Match Trivia
A lesson in football from the men in blue and the men in scarlet and white, and even if Rangers could not repeat their triumphs of last season, they provided a fast, clean game at Highbury last night which was of special interest to any student of football. It was a rousing affair, and a draw was a fitting result. Both sides frittered chances away, and it must be said that Arsenal, chiefly through Dunne, were the greater offenders. Also, Highbury can claim that Dawsons brilliant work in goal saved Rangers from defeat. But no one in a crowd of 53,000 begrudged Rangers their point, if only for their display in the second half. The Arsenal attacking machine was not itself entirely, however. The absence of Alex James, Drake and Bowden affected it. Dunne was not a success in Drakes place though Dr Marshall did many beat things in his first appearance for the League side. Copping was brilliant at left-half, watching Macaulay closely all through, and Male completely bottled Smith. I was not too impressed with the Rangers backs, but Simpson played a great game at centre-half. Brown too was neat in his work. Macaulay and Main were the best forwards, though, as I have said, the inside-right was up against a tough problem in Copping. Shakiness in the Rangers defence showed itself at the start, and the backs found themselves faced with forwards who were nippy on the ball. After only four minutes, the Arsenal nearly got a goal when Marshall shot after receiving from Bastin, and Hulme ran up to miskick badly when Dawson pushed the ball out. Two minutes later, there was a much worse mistake when Dunne threw away a golden opportunity of giving the Londoners an early lead. It was a gift from the gods; for in some inexplicable manner Gray clean missed the ball and Dunne, following up, had the goal at his mercy. You could almost hear Dawsons sigh of relief as the Irishman shot wide. Not like the Rangers backs at all at this period. They were definitely unsafe, and Simpson had to spend a lot of time in giving them a hand. But the Arsenal attackers could hardly credit this weakness. They let Rangers off on more than one occasion. For instance, when McDonald had a turn at miskicking and gave Marshall a good sight of the net, the doctors effort was weak. The Rangers found the Arsenal speed more than a little bewildering. This seems to be the reason they took such a time to settle down. The home side were much faster on the ball and Rangers found it difficult to initiate raids. It was no surprise when after 16 minutes play, Bastin scored with a typical Bastin drive. It was a great goal, the result of combined play which ended in Joe Hulmes astute pass to his brother winger and Bastins first time winner. The Rangers raided more after this, but it was seldom the ball reached Moss, because there was such an understanding between the Arsenal defenders. Still, we were given a vivid little run by Macaulay, who simply waltzed through the defenders. But his final effort was unworthy of the beautiful work which had preceded it. The crowd rose to the young copper-haired Scot, but they were not shown much more of him just then owing to the ever-present attention of the international Copping. Wherever Macaulay wandered, Copping followed him. Then there was a lovely swerving shot from McPhail a perfectly-timed drive which called out the best in Moss. The Arsenal attack became disjointed because Dunne, in the centre, seemed to have no understanding with his colleagues, and was very slow. Marshall, though, was often applauded for good work. As the interval approached, so the Rangers improved, and now their work showed a better blend. The backs got safer, too, I liked McPhails astute cross to Fleming, who, however, hooked just wide. But Rangers could not break down the Arsenals defence. Dr Marshall provided a thrill by rushing through brilliantly but put the ball outside. Dawson saved cleverly on more than one occasion when the Arsenal, by quick interchange of position, reached his territory. After the interval, the Rangers continued their improvement, but this did not mean that Dawson was given a rest cure. The Rangers goalkeeper established himself in Highburys eyes as a daring, brilliant custodian. A fast Dougall drive called forth a thrilling dive from him, and he countered Bastins frequent drives and one particularly great shot from Hulme. Arsenal could not beat him. Glasgow now gave the London crowd a sample of real football. Chessboard movements beautifully worked our kept Moss busy too. For instance, he saved from Main, who had made a fine solo dash down the wing. Then he caught McPhails smart header, which had followed clever work by Macaulay and Main. Fifteen minutes from the end, Rangers equalised. The scorer was McPhail, and the shot came from a ruck of players fighting for the ball on the fringe of the penalty area. The goal was a triumph of great determination. Still, there were thrills and increased intensity right to the end, when Mains sharp shot was saved by Moss. By faultless defence Arsenal held Rangers forwards in a firm grip until about a quarter of an hour before time. Then McPhail equalised. This successful attack, in which Smith figured prominently, paved the way to a stirring finish. Arsenal played finely at half and full back. Roberts was away, but Sidey carried out the centre-half duties indefatigably and with abundant resource. Rangers developed a good deal of short-passing movements, and Brown was an able left-half, both defensively and in assisting his forwards. McPhail, and occasionally Smith, dribbled in the best Scottish style, but the other forwards were rarely consistent. Fleming and Smith, in turn, led the Rangers attack, but neither man found many openings. Dunne, Arsenals leader, had a similar experience. Simpson and the backs concentrated upon him with success, and though Marshall playing against his old club and Dougall often placed the ball cleverly, Arsenals wingers were the danger point of the attack. All the resourceful defence tended, of course to take the life from the match, but Arsenals faster forwards, moving in harmony, brought much thrilling football, and in the latter stages the Rangers struck great form. Dawson, in the rangers goal made a truly wonderful save when Hulme drove hard at him from close range, and as the game was ebbing to a close the excitement was worthy of a cup-tie
