Main 22
McCulloch 40
Match Information
Attendance: 25,000
Referee: H Watson (Glasgow)
Matchday: Saturday
Match Trivia
I think it was some twenty-seven minutes after the interval that Ben Ellis looked utterly annoyed . . . at Ben Ellis! We had real mellerdrammer here at this moment as Ben, who has booted home a crop of penalties, edged the ball to rest on the wee sawdust spot and faced up to Dawson the Dany and a huddled, swaying background of supporters. MAYBE the little angel that has guarded Ellis in his penalty moments until yesterday he had missed but once for Motherwell from the spot was on vacation. Anyhow, his left foot flash went yards wide, and as Ellis drew his hands through his hair in despair, we saw the joy-crazy Rangers fans do ballet leaps on the terracings. Frankly, I would have written down Motherwell as a lucky team had the getting of the penalty goal got them the points. Yet Motherwell might have won. That Rangers got one goal with something like half the scoring chances of the home team is a tribute to the acceptive powers of the Ibrox mean and of condemnation of the flannel-feet methods of the Fir Park forwards. This Motherwell forward line had a trap on the left. This was no ball-juggling Stevenson, a master of the left touch. And McCullochs goal merely made us remember that this was really his only contribution to the game. Ogilvie was plugger, and Bremner was more like the curly-headed lad who capered in a Queens Park jersey. Ogilvie and Bremner and, to a lesser extent, Stewart, shot for Motherwell when the home lot had their big pull in the second half. And it was here that we met Dawson, the greatest goalkeeper in any present-day goalmouth. He had a round of breath-taking saves; and too many to note in this piece. He made great saves, amazing saves and impossible sabes. I think he is the wizard of the goalmouth. Some 26,000 thousand saw this mad and marvellous game and enjoyed every minute of it. The fellow who says Rangers are going down with the sureness of an elevator should have seen them in the first half here. In 22 minutes, Main got the Rangers goal when Kinnear diddled away from Grant and clipped the ball in. Thornton missed it purposely, I think and Main smacked it in. The game ebbed and glowed, and McCullock got Motherwells equaliser five minutes from the interval. It was a smart goal. Ogilvie had swept in a ball and Jimmy Simpson had cleared, when McCulloch got possession near the fringe of the box. His lightning left-footer whistled through a small space between Dawson, the post, and the bar. Rangers were a sound lot. Some day Gray will make a slip and well get something to write about. Winning looks more like the perfect back with every punt. Ross had some shaky moments, but he had sufficient of the other kind to justify his place here. Brown was just Brown, who makes a reckless clearance take on the appearance of a gift pass when his silky boot gets working on it. Venters is still a great Ranger. Thornton is one of the likeliest youngsters I know, and McPhail still has the shot with the sizzle and the invaluable poundage. Kinnear saw lots of the ball, and said Kinnear made the ball see lots of the terracing behind McArthurs goal. Main paid a better dividend. Ellis missed a 73rd minute penalty
