McGrory 65
Match Information
Attendance: 55,000
Referee: Peter Craigmyle (Aberdeen)
Matchday: Saturday
Match Trivia
Wind! I am not going to tell you a long story of how King Boreas held the master-hand at Hampden Park yesterday. Suffice to say that His Highness contrived to spoil what otherwise might have been a good Glasgow Cup final – which it wasn’t. And yet there is something to be said in praise of the contestants who fought gallantly for the prize, and greatest praise of all for the team which won it. Celtic were deservedly the winners. To battle against such a gale as they did in the first half might have been the undoing of many a team. But not that way with Celtic. Their display against the gale was much superior to that of the Rangers when they had to turn their faces to the elements, and it is because of that display that I put them down as worthy winners. They were almost as often as near to scoring as the Rangers were during that period, and it must be said of the Ibrox side that they seldom looked like a winning team. The man who chiefly stood between them and victory was Willie McStay. The Celtic captain played as good a game as ever he did and brought coolness and supreme judgment into his work which carried him through to beat back the attacking forces that assailed him. In bringing the Celtic captain into relief I don’t wish to minimise in the slightest the play of any one of the others. But I would just like to mention one more player, on the inning side. I refer to Donoghue, the young centre-half, who has occupied James McStay’s place during the latter’s illness.it was a big ordeal for a youngster, but he made light of it, and emerged from the fight with great credit. Rangers had their chance in the first half. They failed to take it; and although the margin was the narrowest possible, they were thoroughly beaten. A goal might – I am sure it would – have made a mighty difference to them; but when they couldn’t get that they gradually fell back, and except for a few minutes after Celtic had scored, they did not show the fight that might have been expected of them. There was life about the winners which was absent from the losers, and that just about sums up the situation. Andy Cunningham appeared to have done his side a right good turn by winning the toss, for the first three minutes of the game saw Rangers swarming round Shevlin, but the three corners which were their only reward brought nothing tangible, and Celtic scraping clear of this early danger by some short passing keeping the ball on the carpet, made headway. McInally was the man who caught the eye, and a tricky run ended in his shooting narrowly past. Then McInally sent McLean away, and Adam shooting low on the run brought shouts of goal. But Hamilton stifled the roar by a clever safe, diving full length and turning the ball for a corner with his outstretched hands. Following this there was a period when the wind appeared to have no beneficial qualities. Indeed, at times, it puzzled and hammered the ‘Light Blues’ in their attack. Celtic on the other hand, almost forced to keep the ball on the ground, found it highly profitable, for they made great headway, and looked like opening the scoring. In point of fact McLean should have scored for a cross from Thomson gave the winger a great opportunity. Rangers cane again, and a shot of Cunningham’s was deflected for another fruitless corner. Then Purdon resumed, only for the Rangers to lose Fleming, whose leg came a cropper up against McStay. He resumed in three minutes, and so Rangers were happy again. As was to be expected under such Miami-like conditions there was little really interesting football. The ball, carried by the wind, beat the players considerably, although some of them might have shown more intelligence. Archibald, for instance, took a corner kick which landed among the crowd at the rear of the goal. McStay, the best back afield, saved what looked like a certain goal when he dispossessed Fleming just as that player was about to shoot from five yards. It had been pathetic on occasion to see the futile attempts to put the ball up to McGrory, but a minute from the interval he got a lovely ball from McInally. He could have scores, but his shot went sailing over the bar. Celtic resumed with fireworks, and twice Hamilton had to save, once from McInally, and then from Connelly. He nearly lost the latter ball, and his failure to grasp it first time led to a goal scrimmage. Then Thomson had a drive which McCandless deflected for a corner with Hamilton well beaten. McGrory nearly did the needful for his side, forcing his way through and shooting for Hamilton to save on his knees. Rangers next had a brief innings, but after Henderson had managed a corner, Celtic returned to the attack, but their shooting, as it had been all through the first half, was not one bit improved. But with it all one could see Celtic, sooner or later, getting the first goal, and it came twenty minutes after the restart. From a long way out McInally drove a grounder which Hamilton had to dive for. The ball hit the upright and rebounded to McGrory, who had nothing to do but push the ball into the net. This set-back caused Rangers to show more ‘pep’ than they had done hitherto this half, but their attack was unavailing against a defence that was more than able for the calls made upon it. Rangers appeared to reconcile themselves to their fate, and the closing minutes saw Celtic very much on the aggressive. The goalkeeper on either side was without blemish. Hamilton had the more severe trial, and one save of his from McLean in the first half was really splendid. The outside left directed the ball away from the goalkeeper, and it seemed to be getting just inside when Hamilton threw himself full length and turned it round the post. Shevlin had nothing so difficult to accomplish, but what he did get to do was done with confidence. No more need be said regarding McStay. He certainly was the outstanding back, and had a reliable partner in Hilley, who kicked and tackled well. He committed one indiscretion which was quite uncalled for. In comparison, the Ibrox backs were not so dependable. Purdon may have suffered from a facial injury which caused his retiral in the first half, but that could not account for his repeated handling of the ball when it was beating him. McCandless found Connoly troublesome, but he did quite well. Celtic had a pull at half-back, where the wing men were seen to great advantage. Indeed, Wilson and McFarlane had a big say in the success of their side, for they forced the game all through. Their young colleague I have already referred to. Craig was best of the Ibrox intermediates, of whom Muirhead was not quite so pushful as usual, while Shaw in the middle was serviceable without being at all brilliant. There was noting of much moment in the respective attacking lines. McInally worked very hard to keep his lot knitted together, but it was no easy task for anyone to do that under the circumstances. Connolly did much useful work, and McGrory was always foraging about for openings, a good few of which he failed to take advantage of. Cunningham and Fleming were best of the Ibrox line, which never got properly working. The reason for that was the keen tackling of the Celtic half-backs. Archibald and McKay did not blend, and Henderson got few favourable scoring chances.
