Main 78
Match Information
Attendance: 35,000
Referee: H Watson (Glasgow)
Matchday: Saturday
Match Trivia
The Glasgow Charity Cup Final at Hampden was a game that just missed being a thriller. It was always interesting, sometimes exciting. I thought Celtic a shade unlucky to lose. They would have won had they been able to finish. In outfield play they deserved the medals. There was about their work a cohesion that was lacking in the Rangers, who were woefully weak in the inside forward position. Neither McPhail nor Marshall impressed at any time during the game, while Smith blundered with exasperating frequency. The Celtic forwards, on the other hand, played nice football, but once they got into territory where they spelt danger, they either spoiled things off their own bat or were given the turn-about by a defence that gave the impression of being absolutely immune from defeat. The rear lines of the Light Blues were as good as the inside trio in front were poor. Celtic played with a pleasing understanding. They whipped the ball about from one side of the field to the other, but they were too fond of playing up the middle to Frank ODonnell. Now and again the centre was placed to force his way through, but for the most past the passes that were sent in his direction were either kicked too far ahead or sent up in such a manner that one of Simpsons feet intervened to clear. The Rangers centre-half early on miskicked badly, and for that I blame the eager activity of the man whom it was his duty to watch. As the game progressed, Simpson improved, and at the end he was the dominating factor in his own part of the field. Behind him, he had two very capable backs, and at both sides were men who, although tricked now and again, for the most part truly excelled at their job. Meiklejohn, as usual anticipated the moves on the board, and played effectively without indulging in any needless waste of energy. Brown, at the other side of the field, found that he could afford to be an attacking force, and as such was always prominent. Especially was this so in the first half, when he persistently pushed himself into the front of the picture. He played like the Brown that made himself Scotlands left half. I have already referred to the Rangers inside forwards. Of the wing men, Main was the better, and his goal was an excellent example of first-time shooting. The ball was slung over to him from the left wing, and he met it with his right foot on the side-line of the penalty box. He let go, and Kennaway never had a chance. The shot, powerfully driven, was totally unexpected, and the goalkeeper made no attempt to save. It was a happy-go-lucky affair, one of these efforts that come off once in ten, but it was sufficient to win the Charity Cup, and help Rangers equal the record of Celtic by collecting all the prized in one season. The Celtic team played with a dash and spirit that was in contrast to the play of their more experienced opponents. As has been the case so often this season, the big man of the game was McGonagle. The left back, to my mind, was the star of the Parkhead brigade, and in his own division he had great help from Hogg. The ability of the two backs was made most obvious in the first quarter of the second half, when Rangers with gusts of wind behind them, forced the pace in an effort to get on top. The Celtic half-back line, the names and formation of which read like a scratch lot, were surprisingly good. They stuck to their guns. In defence they were strong, and in attack enterprising. For the benefit of the five in front, they initiated many moves. The attacking quintette, however, as I have stated, failed at the crucial moment. Their nearest came in the second half, just before Main scored the winning goal. Crum had a clear run in. Dawson dashed from his line and threw himself at the wingers feet just as Crum lobbed the ball. Goal shouted the crowd, but the leather did not drop quickly enough, and it struck the cross-bar. Yes, Celtic, indeed were unlucky not to score. After Mains goal, which was scored thirteen minutes from time, the young Parkheaders had a go, but they ran into a Rangers defence that was as solid as granite. The end came with Celtic unlucky to lose, but that does not mean that Rangers were lucky to win
