Fleming 24
Ferrier pen 41
Fleming 82
Match Information
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: J Hudson (Glasgow)
Matchday: Saturday
Match Trivia
A goalkeeper ordered off, two penalty goals, numerous injuries, and football of the he-man type, were the features of the return game at Fir Park between Motherwell and Rangers. The first game between the pair this season will be remembered as an affair that was productive of classic football. This latest meeting will be recalled for other reason. But the 26,000-crowd got plenty of excitement, and that, I suppose is a big consideration. This contest between Motherwell and Rangers was looked upon as the game, which would decide the destination of the League Championship. If it has then Motherwell have lost possession of the honour by reason of two seconds of hot-headedness on the part of McClory, their goalkeeper. About midway through the second half, when the scores were one all, Rangers made a raid on the Motherwell goal. After a piece of scrambling McClory got possession and punted clear from a position about ten yards from is goal. As he ran back, he passed English. Something happened. English went to earth, and je lay as still as a corpse while thousands of his club supporters howled themselves hoarse. The ball by this time was well in the Rangers half of the field, and the referee was there too. The shouting of the crowd, allied to his being the made the object of emphatic protestation by members of the Light Blues team caused him to turn round. Whatever was said by the Rangers men I do not know, but the whistler ran over to one of his linesmen, had a hasty consultation with him, crossed to his other flag-waver, talked to him, and then dashed to the circle of players surrounding English, who by this time was on his feet receiving the attention of Trainer Dixon. There was no hesitation on the referees part. He approached McClory and pointed to the pavilion. More cheers from the Ibrox faithful intermingled with jeers from the following of the other team. McClory pulled off his jersey threw it to the ground and made for the pavilion. On his way he had to pass the referee. He stopped and spoke as though making an appeal. The referee was adamant. McClory resumed his long way to the pavilion. By this time Rangers had been awarded a penalty-kick as a result of the alleged indiscretion of the Motherwell keeper. The Rangers following cheered that decision, while Motherwells cheered their dismissed man. But though the big-goalkeeper went to the dressing-room with cheers ringing in his ears I felt dreadfully sorry for him. He knew all right what his dismissal meant to his team, and his face mirrored plainly the misery of his mind. As I have stated the score was one-all at the time, but I had a hunch, rightly or wrongly that Motherwell were on the second half without Gray, who had the way to victory. Rangers had started been injured in the first portion, following a clearance when Ferrier threatened to get possession. The right back had came on before the interval whistle, and played at outside-right, but he was only a passenger. He was of no service to his team. True, Rangers, with their ten men, had played up heroically, but they were taking a lot out of themselves, and to my mind it was only a question of time before Motherwell asserted their authority. The first goal was scored after twenty-four minutes. The scorer was Fleming, who just a few minutes previously, had missed a sitter. The ball came upfield on Rangers right, Main, following the reorganisation of the ranks after Gray had been led off was playing in a position that might be described as half inside-right, half outside-right. He went ahead and was tackled the field. Crapnell was covering Fleming, but at the vital moment slipped. The outside-left just walked in on McClory and smashed the ball into the net. Five minutes from the interval Motherwell got their equaliser, after several very likely openings had been allowed to go astray although Rangers twice just previously saved their goal by scrambling the ball away. Ferrier at the corner of the penalty box kicked the ball, McDonald stood in his path, and the leather met him on an arm. The referee awarded a penalty much to the annoyance of Rangers. It certainly was severe punishment on the Ibrox lot, for Motherwell did not look like scoring at the moment. Ferrier made no mistake beating Dawson with a grounder. In the second half excitement ran high, as first one lot and then the next tore in for the all-important leading goal, and it reached crescendo when the McClory incident arrived. The ten Rangers up to then had been playing like heroes. One could almost sense their thoughts. No use lying back; lets make the pace, and the ten certainly did. But how long could it last? When would they shoot their bolt? . . . Came the McClory-English incident, the referee awarding a penalty kick for this downing of English. Smith took it and scored. How the can he give a penalty kick? The ball wasnt in the penalty area at the time, were the words used all around me. According to the rules, it didnt need to be. The infringement took place in the area. Thats all that matters. Of course, rules or no rules, the referee will get his medicine all over Lanarkshire for the decision. The goal and the circumstances surrounding it seemed to sicken Motherwell, while it served to bring out a reserve store of strength from Rangers, and it was not surprising when they scored another goal near the end. Main and English puzzled the weakened left-wing defence of the opposition, and Main crossed over to the unmarked Fleming, who had plenty of time to steady before beating the substitute goalkeeper. One of the few who maintained his calmness was Ferrier. He was the best forward on the field, and the only one worth his salt in the Motherwell team. Stevenson, I got into a habit of looking for, wondering at times, if he were really playing. This was not a game suitable for his dainty style. On the other wing Wyllie was distinctly not a success. The occasion was too big for him, and he will require to be nursed a bit. McMenemy strove very hard, but somehow or other the ball did not run according to his plan. Like Stevenson, he was a bit out of his element in the tough going. McFadyen was a trier, did a lot of running about, mainly after high balls, but owing to the ineptitude of some of his colleagues he got few chances to cause trouble. The half-backs were solid in defence, enterprising, and quick enough in attack. Blair is improving with every game. Watch him play for Scotland some day. One would be justified in thinking that Ellis was one of the big noises, one of the he-men in a type of game of this nature. Ellis was surprisingly subdued, and he played all the better for it. He made goalkeeping look spectacular and had one really good save from Smith. Crapnell opened well enough, but latterly things did not come off for him. His throwing himself at the ball in a tackle usually ended in he being beaten. This was not a good game for the bundle of muscle and vitality. Of course we all wanted to see how Russell would play. He wasnt really seriously tested, owing to the weakness of Wyllie, but even so he was not too impressive. He spooned more than one ball, and in a way that might have caused serious damage. McDonald was ordinary at right half, but he was grand back when he retired to Grays position. Brown was all over the place after that and put in some hard work. He took many chances with his part of the territory, but maybe he was justified. Simpson was the usual stumbling block. The left wing carried Rangers most effective forwards. Fleming was always powerful, and he didnt seem to worry overmuch about Crapnell. Smith was a mixture that was mostly good. He tried many things, and many of them came off. Main played quietly, but quite well in his mixed-up position, while Marshall was always there to have a go, sometimes as a half-back. English in this game, struck me as having lost a deal of his cleverness. Dawson was a grand goalkeeper, and his dealing of high balls was one of the specialties of the game
