J Paterson (2)
W Reid
Newton
Match Information
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: T Robertson (Glasgow)
Matchday: Saturday
Match Trivia
No doubt the wintry weather conditions deterred a good many people from turning out at Easter Road. The misfortune was theirs. I would think twice – aye, half-a-dozen times – before describing the game as a brilliant affair, but for all that it was a lively, good-going tussle deserving of something better than a 5000 crowd. Rangers won on their skill. There was nothing between the teams so far as the amount of pressure went – Jack was as good as his master there, except for a few minutes at the start of the game, during which the Ibrox men kept the Hibs going on the defensive. Scott Duncan banged in one ball that would have brought out an early goal if the posts had been a few inches further apart. For then minutes the Hibs were kept under; then they surprise themselves with a goal. Fleming got in an awkward ball to Hempsey, from the goalkeeper it scampered along the front of the crossbar, then it came to earth conveniently for Hutchison to score. Having discovered what they could do, the Easter Road men put new life into their game, and incidentally succeeded very well in preventing the Rangers from moving so sweetly as they can do. As luck would have it, the Hibs improved only to see their opponents score. McManus failed to clear at the first attempt a fine centre sent over by Bennett, and Reid saw that the ball was in the net before he had another chance. Give-and-take play prevailed right on until a few minutes before the interval, when Paterson put the Rangers on the lead. Duncan had a lot to do with this goal. Finding Dornan deficient in speed, he raced off and left him, and wound up by sending over a fine cross which Paterson had only to meet in his stride to ensure a goal. Paterson did it. Hibs came near getting the equaliser when Hutchison ushered in the second half with a ‘snapshot’ with his left foot that came down off the underside of the crossbar. To counterbalance this, one of the uprights saved the Easter Road goal when Hendry lashed in a good ball. So on the game went on fairly even lines, until after twenty minutes Paterson shot home a ball hard and true from an opening presented him by Reid. Two goals down with less than half-an-hour to go! – one might have excused the Hibs for quietly knuckling under. But not a bit of them! They went to work in earnest, knocking one off the margin through Newton – the big fellow rammed goalkeeper, ball and everything else into the net after Smith had struck the crossbar – and then set out with so much zeal for the equaliser that some of the men in the Rangers’ rear felt it desirable to do a good deal of kicking out. But as a plain matter of fact there was never any great prospect of the equaliser arriving. One player on each side seemed to me to stand well out among his fellow. Manderson was a very impressive figure in the Rangers’ team; to him was it due that Smith seldom got going on the Hibs’ left; and generally he had a good deal to do with the Ibrox club’s success. Kerr excelled for the Hibs. Not only did he do good work in defence; he contrived to give excellent backing to the pair in front and to force on the game wonderfully. The Rangers’ forwards were faster and had a trifle more ‘snap’ about their movements than the Hibs lot. Duncan and Paterson both showed up well on the wings, and if the support were not quite so impressive, Reid made amends by being constantly on the alert for a shot at goal. The solder-that-is-to-be took a lot of watching. The half-back line did quite well, Hendry and Logan in particular. At back, Muir allowed Alexander just too much latitude, bit on the whole he made few mistakes. No more did Hempsey. A marked all-round improvement was shown by the Hibs. If McManus had to admit an error of judgement in connection with the Rangers’ first goal, he made full amends for it by his clever saving at all other times. The backs were quite good, with Girdwood kicking with rare gusto. Paterson set out to keep a watchful eye on Reid, and did it well. The forwards might have done better, but they have often done worse. If Smith got few chances on the one wing, Alexander was able to make good running on the other. Hutchison gave the line a first-rate lead, filling the centre position as it had not been filled for a long time. Fleming and Taylor proved themselves useful supports, if a trifle ponderous in some of their actions.
