S Archibald 11
English 43, 50, 54
Match Information
Attendance: 18,052
Referee: T Small (Dundee)
Matchday: Saturday
Match Trivia
Well beaten in the end, Raith Rovers had one little bit of bad luck that possibly affected their play in the second half. A few minutes before the interval, and with Rangers a goal ahead, Cowan the home centre, veered to the left and sent in a fast, low shot. Hamilton dived, diverted the ball ever so little but enough to make it strike the post. Hundreds of the Kirkcaldy teams supporters thought the ball was in the net and hats were thrown into the air, but to their chagrin Hamilton caught the leather as it rebounded from the up-right and cleared. It was the narrowest of escapes for the Rangers, and as the play had run, they would not have had much to grumble about had the Rovers equalised. This was Raiths only slice of bad luck, for Rangers had that touch of class and power that pulled them through easily after the cross-over. Where the Fifers were weakest was in attack. They started promisingly, but their short passing game was of no avail, and with Cowan more or less tied up by Simpson, who played a purely defensive game, they became disjointed. With the loss of the second goal just before the interval whistle sounded, the Rovers faded out, and in the second portion the crowd had to be content with a display of dazzling footwork by the Ibrox forwards. Archibald and Marshall sparkled brightest for the winners. Sandy had the advantage of being sheltered from a blinding sun in the first half, and he took full advantage of his good fortune. Archibald opened the scoring in eleven minutes. Batchelor miskicked a ball which came over from the left, and Sandy lost no time in planting it in the net. I have already described how Hamiltons charge almost fell to Cowan, and immediately after the Rangers burst away and English collected a cross from Archibald and flashed it out of Wallaces reach. Five minutes after the interval Rangers had made the issue safe. The movement which led to the third goal was originated by McPhail, whose pass to Fleming was pushed ahead to English. Sam tore after the ball, slipped Bell, and cutely shot it out of the reach of Wallace, who hesitated about coming out to intercept the centre. Four minutes later English completed his hat-trick. Marshall took up Archibalds position for the moment, dashed along the wing and sent the ball beautifully across for Sam to sweep it into the net. English came near adding to his total when Wallce allowed a shot to bounce off his body up against the crossbar. Bell nipped in and cleared. At this time the Rangers forwards were doing all the running, and with a quarter of an hour to go Fleming spurted away and beat Wallace for the fifth time. The custodian got his hands on the ball but could not hold it. In all departments the winners held the whip hand, and particularly in attack. Archibald and Marshall were the more consistent, but English also gave a fine display, and his goals were well taken. I have seen McPhail more successful, although no one worked harder than he did, but Fleming, fitful earlier on, redeemed himself after the interval. Simpson was as effective as any of the middle trio but shone brightest in a defensive capacity. Brown was artistic in all he did and Meiklejohns service was first class. Both backs were sound, and Hamilton did his work satisfactory. Wallace in the Rovers goal cleared many ticklish shots, but I thought he should have saved two of the goals. Bell and Batchelor were stout-hearted defenders, while Beath was a snappy tackling half-back. None of the forwards passed muster. McLaren opened spiritedly, but like the others, faded out
