Fleming 37
Heale 38
Heale 89 & 90
Match Information
Attendance: 25000
Referee: A.F. Hogg (Bolton)
Matchday: Wednesday
Match Trivia
British Championship - Rangers have been beaten on English soil at last. But dont worry about that. Scotlands prestige is still sound. After the match, which delighted a 25,000 crowd of good sportsmen, I heard many say, We must come to Scotland and see the Rangers play in a Cup-tie. They show us the football we like to see. I am not going to make excuses for the rangers defeat, because it is a simple fact that on their second-half display the City deserved to win. At the same time, I am bound to say that Rangers did not get the advantage of the break in the refereeing far from it. Mr Fogg made what I consider two bad mistakes first, when he did not give a free kick to Rangers just before Herd scored the Citys second goal, and again when Heale, glaringly offside, and after knocking the ball down with his arm, scored the third. The Citys other goals were of the eighteen-carat kind, as were the two scored by the Rangers. It was a great first half, with beautiful flashes of ground passing, and everyone connected with the Rangers was proud of them. We knew their difficulties as others did not. The loss of Meiklejohn was a blow, but in the morning, it was quite obvious he was not fighting fit. But all the lads who were called in as reserves did their work nobly, and this was appreciated by none more than by the Manchester folk looking on. Had Rangers led at the interval, it would have been no more than they deserved. They had the breeze behind then then, and they lived up to the best Ibrox traditions. It was fine to see the resolute defence of Gray and Cheyne, the forcing work of the half-backs, the accurate low passes of Venters and the tricky, go-ahead advances of Gillick. Not were the City less to be admired. Some of their passing interchanges between forwards and half-backs was delightful, but often the last pass to the man who was meant to finish off with a shot was over strong. Well, the crowd was left in a high state of tension, waiting on a goal in the swiftly moving panorama, and it came in 36 minutes. McPhail and Gillick, in a quick stab down the left, opened up the City defence. Ther series of passes brought the ball running across to McPhail. He made an attempt to shoot, and half missed, but Fleming was on the spot and drove the ball home. Good, yes, but only for one minute. Away came the City forwards, passing low and fast, and Heale beat Dawson from close in, giving him no chance. I thought the Ibrox defence was taken unawares, but the forwards came on again in great style. Gillick, who had the eye of t the crowd, forced a corner and placed it perfectly, and McPhail caught the ball with his left foot, hooked it to his right, and Rangers were again on the lead. Three goals in three minutes! Dramatic! But the thrills were not ended, for within another minute the City were level again. Their right wing brought the ball along, there was a bit of a scramble and, while Rangers were looking for a free kick, Herd sent a whistling shot past Dawson. The crowd was roaring like thunder now. It was like a raging cup-tie, and when the whistle went for half-time, everyone cheered the two teams off the field. We were all delighted with the brave stand made by the rangers, but they had the wind to face in the second half, and the sun was against them. These factors told heavily against them, but every man fought it out grandly, and not until only three minutes remained did Dawsons charge fall again. He had been a regular hero all through, and it was the worst of luck that he should have been beaten as he was. When the ball was sent through to Heale, he was clearly offside and very close in. The referee allowed him to shoot, but Dawson knocked the ball out, and then Heale brought the ball down with his arm and netted. English as well as Scottish folk looking on I mean those I spoke to agreed that it was a bad goal. As often happens, the City, having got this one, got another. There was no doubt of its correctness this time. A minute from the end, Toseland and Herd made a swift advance, the Ibrox defence was outspread, and when Heale got the final pass, he had nothing to do but pop the ball into the net. Midway through the second half I ought to tell you that Rangers claimed what appeared to be a perfectly good goal. A long Venters pass to Main let the right winger clear away, and from his shot Swift fumbled, and the ball appeared to be well over the line. The referee, gave offside against Fleming, who, in mu judgment, was always behind the ball. But there was no grumbling. It had been a rollicking fine game between two teams who played real football, and that was all that mattered. To be beaten by such a good team as Manchester City was no disgrace. Considering the trouble Rangers had to face, I should say that every man in the Ibrox team merits praise. Dawson was grand and was cheered all-round the ground time and again. Gray was as sound as ever, and Cheyne as plucky as you could wish, though in the second half his kicking against the wind was not too decisive. Meiklejohn was, of course, missed for his tactical force, but Craig did well, and so did Simpson and Brown. Gillicks dexterous footwork, his swerving, and the way he took the ball in his stride were the features of the first half, and even afterwards, when he was not getting so much of the ball, he was a menace to the Manchester defence. Main had a difficult man to beat in Barkas, a grand back, but he and Venters played some good wing football, and Fleming and McPhail were right in the forcing attack in the first half. McPhail had little luck with his shooting. Manchester City are a good team, but their forwards were often beaten by the positional tactics of the Rangers defence. Busby and McLuckie did not play so consistently well as Manchester City people say they can do, but they were good players none the less. Cowan was too much of a he-man for my taste and should have been penalised oftener. The forwards exploit the long ground pass to good effect, and Toseland and Herd were a splendid wing and Brook a fine left winger, though I have seen more come to his leading-up play. Simpson spiked Tilson and Heale. A reserve, who had three of the goals, was lucky with one of them, but showed himself an accomplished forward. It was a match worth while.
