May
Kyle
Black (2)
Match Information
Attendance:
Referee:
Matchday: Monday
Match Trivia
Raith Rovers can always be relied upon to provide a tit-bit for football enthusiasts at the holiday season, and Mondays fixture was no exception. The visit of the Glasgow Rangers drew out a very large crowd, and the weather being deal, there was every prospect of a fast game. The Rovers tried three juniors, including Winning, Strachan and MacDonald of the Arniston Rangers, while the Rangers ranks also included Steel and Lillie, two players who did splendid work at Parkhead on Saturday against Englands juniors. Previous on Saturday a pipe band discoursed a programme of music, and there would be fully 3000 round the enclosure when the teams took the field. The Rovers started play facing a strong sun, but the Rangers through McColl were the first to make progress, and a strong attack on Mackies charged followed. The Rovers however, were not long in getting into their stride, and by really good play got down. Winning had a great try at goal, but Pekarna was all there, and cleared splendidly. After a fruitless journey northward by the Rangers, the Raith men again got on the run, and Winning was again responsible for a good try, which Pekarna bungled. Gray caught the return, and shot, but McDougall was in the way, and the chance was lost. The first goal for the Rangers came very easily. McColl got under way and tipped to Mackie, who beat his namesake with a characteristically fast ball, which although the latter handled, he was unable to stop. The First Leaguers continued to hold the upper hand, and about ten minutes later J Walker headed a second goal from a cross by Gourlay. A strong drive by Neilson let Wallace off, but he allowed the leather too far ahead, and Pekarna had little difficulty in clearing. The nest minute however, Wallace had hard luck with a fast shot, which went narrowly past. At the other end Mackie saved in quick succession hard shots from Kyle and Steel. For a time the Rangers were kept at a respectable distance from the home goal by the Rovers right back playing them offside, but it could not always work, and Mackie was called on to stop a header from Walker. Once more Rovers got well down, and Winning again tested Pekarna with a long distance shot, which however was too weak to take effect. A corner was well-placed by Lilly, but Kyle shot past. Halftime :- Rangers two goals; Raith Rovers Nothing. The Rovers opened the second half with a brisk attack on Pekarnas charge, and in the first minute the visitors custodian was called on to deal with really splendid efforts from MacDonald and Wallace, either of which would have been value for a goal. Strachan, on the home right, was putting in some lively work, and on one occasion, after eluding three opponents, he crossed splendidly, but Wallace, who accepted the pass, was given offside. The homesters continued to make the running, and shortly afterwards MacDonald had again hard luck with a class try, which was only saved by Pekarna being on his best behaviour. A burst away by McColl was cleverly stopped by Stewart dispossessing him, and once more Strachan had a great try at goal, the ball just slipping over the crossbar. Follwing upon this Rangers put in some class work, but they were unaccountably slack at goal. The Rovers were now going great guns, the two outside men putting in some pretty centres, which however were not turned to account, chiefly owing to the great form displayed by Pekarna, to whom all sorts of shots came alike. Excitement ran high at this stage, and the Rovers had certainly hard luck in failing to find the net. Winning was also a hard worker, and was not against having a try at goal occasionally, some of these being very meritorious. Gray sent in a beauty, which Pekarna just managed to scramble round the upright, and from the resultant corner the Rovers centre-half sent over narrowly. At last McColl got off on his own, and finished a capital run by beating Mackie for the third time. Shortly afterwards Wallace was away splendidly, when he was rather unceremoniously drawn up by McEwan, but the free kick brought the homesters no advantage. To the close the Rovers played with great determination, but try as they would they could not find the net, and the finish of a hard-fought second half found the score :- Rangers Three goals; Raith Rovers Nothing. It was generally expected that the Rovers would go down to their First League brethren, but their show in the first half was rather disappointing. In this portion the visitors seemed to do very much as they liked, their two goals being got without much difficulty. The few chances that fell to the Rovers were lost through over-anxiety. There was a great change in the form of the homesters after the interval, and for a time they were seldom far from Pekarnas goal. The Austrian Internationalist was in great form, and to him chiefly belongs the credit of the Rovers failure to get through. In this half Strachan and MacDonald did some very smart and useful work, and it certainly was not their fault that the Rovers had not a point to their credit. St no period of the game, however was their any doubt as to which was the superior team, the Rangers giving a finished display, although on one or two occasions the home forwards were roughly handled by them. Mackie in goal gave a fair display, and Cumming was the better back, while all the halves, and centre half in particular, put in some hard work. The forwards combined well, and against an ordinary defence would have turned many of their outside mens centre to account. On Mondays form the three Arniston men Winning, Strachan and Macdonald are all likely lads, and it will be no surprise should they again figure in the Rovers ranks. The gate totalled about £60.
