Miller 10
A Venters 30
Waddell 65
Thornton 71
Match Information
Attendance: 15,000
Referee: J Horsburgh (Bonnyrigg)
Matchday: Saturday
Match Trivia
The Blue Flash. That Alexs Venters, the man who gives a goalkeeper more jitters than Hitler could ever hope to create. No non-aggression with Venters. He was the dictator who beat plucky and skilful an Arbroath eleven as I have seen in years. Beat them by an extraordinary goal in half an hour to erase the lead the Gayfield lads had established in the early minutes. It restored Rangers poise, gave them renews belief in themselves and eventually took them to a victory that though worthy to the full did not make them out to be the team of the century. Let there be no mistake the Red Lichties might have been ahead at the interval. Had they reached the half-way house, they would, as their half-backs were battling, have taken a tremendous amount of catching. The importance of Venters equaliser is there for thrown into bold relief. To find the secret of the champions spells of frustration, I need only take you to the Arbroath mid-line. Think of how you feel when the alarm-clock goes off in the morning. You jump. Well, that is precisely what Gavin did to the champions. Never at rest and with an uncanny knack of being in the corridor along which the pass from blue to blue was intended, he sent Rangers back in a way that had us pondering how on earth Andersons charge could again fall. And with him struggled the defiant Urquhart, a big-hearted strong shouldered stalwart who was repeatedly hoodwinked, but never completely mastered. How weary the resolute Fordyce must have been when it was all over! Chasing a shadow in McNee most of the afternoon, he still popped up on numerous occasions to get at a raging ball apparently destined for the net. Becci isnt particularly popular outside of Arbroath. His tactics dont always please the onlookers. Actually, he is a gallant wee lad who is unfortunate that his very eagerness is often mistaken for something else. Penalised though he was, I still refuse to believe there is anything in Becci but sheer enthusiasm. Gould might have shook the League Table. He had the speed to elude the puzzled by the winger. But instead, Gould persisted in squaring the ball and really never brought the accuracy to his finishing he disclosed in his leading-up manoeuvring. In the art of giving his mated an urge and rousing them to greater endeavour, none equalled the purposeful Scott Symon, whose influence became more evident the longer the game continued. Young McPherson had an uncertain debut. He appealed to me as though his faulty passing was brought about more by nerves than accuracy. He has plenty of time to learn. The weight of the champions thrusts came from the left triangle, for McNee, as I have indicated, showed himself an enterprising, weaving raider who had made the position his own. It was in the tenth minute that Miller, a restless rover, got his head to a McCulloch ball and sent it gliding behind Dawson. On it went until half-an-hour had sped. Then the Venters thunderbolt a glorious 25 yards volley that had the spectators roaring with joy as it screamed on its way. Twenty minutes after the turn, Fordyce, in the stress of the moment, put through his own goal a ball from Waddell after Thornton had thundered one against the bar. Six minutes later, Thornton waltzed his way through, leaving four baffled opponents in his trail and cracked a well-directed ball low and true into the net where Anderson could not reach. The Referee By no means a bad match and it wasnt always easy for him.
