Match ended 0-0
Match Information
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: R Innes (Glasgow)
Matchday: Wednesday
Match Trivia
It was forcibly brought home to us at Ibrox last night that the end of the season is within hail, for during most of the game there was an atmosphere of lethargy. Although Rangers on the general run of the play, ought to have won, they have only themselves to blame for the loss of a point. Their forwards, who seldom revealed any idea of cohesion, let chance after chance slip simply because they persisted in either holding the ball too long or smashing it away regardless of direction. Young Smith was a weak link, but he had to contend with a stick-at-nothing and resourceful defender in McLeod, who was ably assisted from the rear. Indeed, it was mainly dure to the determination and judicious positional play of Price and Fleming that the champions were thwarted. They adopted the right tactics in covering Hepburn and blocking the avenue to goal. Hepburn had rarely cause for anxiety, but when the occasion demanded, he proved himself a capable keeper. He distinguished himself in the first half when he held a point-blank ‘header’ from Craig, and late in the second when he turned a powerful drive by McPhail over the bar. Apart from these efforts, however, the Ibrox forwards seldom got neat enough to strike a telling blow, although McPhail, early in the contest failed badly with a couple of potential scoring opportunities – one he missed from about four yards being particularly glaring. It was no fault of Ireland’s that his comrades in front were so ineffective. Not only did he break up promising Ayr manoeuvres, but he was equally conspicuous in constructive work. McDonald, Gray and T Hamilton also did well. Still, the fleeting thrusts of the Ayr attackers were often menacing for, unlike the Ibrox quintette, they swung the ball about and made headway quickly. Reilly and Tolland, cunning inside men, would have been more dangerous but for the quick tackling and anticipation of the ‘Light Blues’ intermediates. Little med to be said of how the game ran – there were so few incidents worth recording
