Crawford 52
Missed Penalties
A Morton pen miss <45
Match Information
Attendance: 26,000
Referee: J Hudson (Glasgow)
Matchday: Saturday
Match Trivia
Twenty-six thousand people saw Rangers retain the Charity Cup at Hampden yesterday after two hours of football which, while never rising to heights of brilliance, was always thrilling enough to hold the crowd on tip-toe. Not until the closing period of the extra half=hour was there a mite to choose between the two teams, but stamina told its tale in the long run, and in the end, Rangers were worthy winners. And, having said that much, I must pay my tribute to the Amateurs. They scored first. They actually led on corners at the finish of the regulation ninety minutes. And they went down gamely. Although good winners, there was an element of doubt about both Rangers goals. The first one followed upon an injury to Kerr Campbell, and the Queens players protesting vigorously against the action of Referee Hudson in setting motion while almost all the Amateurs were still hovering round their injured comrade beside the Rutherglen goal. There was also a strong suspicion of offside against Marshalls score which settled the destination of the cup, but once again, the point was allowed to stand. On the other hand, had Peden not saved Alan Mortons early penalty shot in brilliant fashion I have an idea that Rangers might have gone on from that point to win by a hatful. As it was, it took some of them a long time to settle down, but once they had found their feet, there was increasing purpose and menace in every move they made. I have been accused of overpraising Smith, but surely his value should have been apparent yesterday. In the first half especially, he had the entire Queens defence in the jumps every time he got the ball. Kerr Campbells action which gave Morton his penalty kick was the result of a purely panicky endeavour to keep the Ibrox centre away from the ball at all costs. Smith apart, Brown was the only Rangers forward who spelled danger to Peden. Archibald was full of running, but his effort were apt to peter out in tantalising fashion, while it was not until midway through the second half that Marshall managed to strike up a profitable understanding with Morton. And a lively combination they made when they finally did get going, but when it came to shooting, -----! In the winners half-back line Meiklejohn was more restrained than usual, but it was seldom that McLelland could avoid his grip. I thought McDonald the best of the trio, if got nothing else than his fine forcing work throughout. Gray was the safer of the two backs. For the most part he found McKenzie easy meat, which is more than McAulay could ever say about Crawford. The Queens flyer was in one of his most sparkling moods, and one move, when he went clean through the Ibrox defence to present McKenzie with a perfect sitter was worthy of a better fate than the atrocious foozle which resulted. McAlpine, as usual, was the mainspring of an Amateurs attack. The elusive Mac was on his toes throughout the whole game, but McKenzies response to his many openings was woefully weak. McLelland was his usual wholehearted self, and even after being injured twice never shirked a tackle. Fitzgerald, however, was not in his happiest vein. Grant, I considered, the finest half-back afield. He never knew when he was beaten, and his aggressiveness was invaluable. King tired in the later stages of the game, and Gillespie had his hands full in looking after the Ibrox centre. Both Campbell and Walker defended pluckily, and it was in a large measure due to their efforts that Peden got so little to do. The keeper was a strange mixture. His saving of Mortons spot kick and a really marvellous deflected of a Marshall header were great piece of work, yet in the closing portion of the game he completely missed the ball twice, and only the presence of a defender on the goal-line averted certain scores. There was little advantage in the toss, but Meiklejohn elected to use that little wind there was. Opening honours went to the Amateurs, however, whose play was revealing a commendable blend of repose and sprightliness. Both Fitzgerald and McAlpine had good tried before Smith went through to give us the first thrill at the other end. From a Crawford cross McKenzie missed narrowly with a well-placed header, and Rangers set off for the other end again. Smith chased a ball up the middle, but Peden had it safely covered. Campbell elected to use his hands in stopping the centre, however, and a penalty was ordered, which Peden saved brilliantly from Morton. Who elected to shoot hard rather than try his usual placed ball. The game was swinging from end to end in refreshing fashion. McAlpine hesitated and was lost, when a first-time shot might have meant a goal, and Rangers returned to the attack with two headers from Smith -, one of which passed narrowly over while the other struck the bar. With the resumption Queens forced two corners in rapid succession, and encouraged by this success finally worked a smart goal through Crawford. They might have gone further ahead a few minutes later when Crawford crossed the ball to the unmarked McKenzie, but the winger made a terrible hash of things. With Rangers left wing coming more into the picture, the champions gradually began to apply the screw, and it was no more than their due when Smith pushed home the equaliser. Till the end Rangers had the better of matters, but fulltime was called with Queens leading by one corner. In the extra period, stamina told its tale. Rangers forced three corners and Marshall chipped in with another goal to put the issue beyond all doubt. It was a tried Queens Park team which heard the final whistle blow.
