T Cairns 40
A Cunningham 43
Match Information
Attendance: 16,000
Referee: Andrew Allan (Glasgow)
Matchday: Saturday
Match Trivia
From the first ten minutes at Fir Park yesterday the destiny of the points was beyond a doubt. It took that time for Rangers, with an onslaught that they have seldom bettered to break down the Motherwell defence. When Tommy Cairns wormed himself through, and by his craft stole a march on Rundell with a grand shot that caught the inside corner of the post, it was the beginning of the end for Motherwell. Cunningham got the second two minutes from the cross-over. The second half had only gone three minutes when Smith beat Rundell in a race for the ball, and the leather trundled through a tenantless goal. Then Andy Cunningham put the final touch a on a few minutes from the close with the finest goal of the game from a grounder thirty yards out. The tale is easily told. It was Rangers’ virility and cohesion against a weakened Fir Park front rank that never at any time gave a glimpse of last season’s cleverness and artistry. Bob Ferrier, Willie Rankin and Jack Reid were the only men of note in a thrustless quintette, while Craig Brown and James Jackson were the only rear men that impressed by their vigorous and defensive capabilities. Rangers had a team of resourceful and brilliant players, all of whom were out to collect points at all costs. That they did with something to spare was creditable in the extreme, although in the gaining of the points weaknesses were evident. In the victorious lot as well as in the vanquished, Rangers, like Motherwell, have a centre-forward problem to solve, and with that problem solved both would add fifty per cent, to their points-earning capacity. Right from the start Motherwell defenders were up against it. Little had his work cut out for him in seeking to stem the raiding propensities of the fleet-footed Alan Morton, and cute-witted Tommy Cairns. It was a spirited duel for a time. Tempers were ruffled in the encounter, and the Motherwell defender did not show up too well in this respect. Cairns cutely cut in, getting the first point with a beautifully-times drive, Motherwell was pretty much on the defensive. Rankin, however, initiated a run that proved disastrous, for McCandless met him alone with more force than science, and a stop for repairs had to be made. Tennant, Ferrier, and Rankin all had shots at Robb after this. There was an absence of cohesion in the front rank, and Hart failed to nip into the combination, with the result that the partnership was a weak one. Tennant had too much to tackle, while neither Ferrier nor Reid got going as of old, although both made things hum for Manderson at times. Motherwell’s frontage was weak, and that accounts for Rangers’ four-goal lead. The results flatters to some extent, although the points were never in doubt. There was a 20,000 crowd, which is Motherwell’ only consolation
