A Bennett 70
Gordon 77
A Bennett pen
Match Information
Attendance: 12,000
Referee: J.B. Stark (Airdrie)
Matchday: Wednesday
Match Trivia
Once again the Celtic and Rangers teams will come together in the final of a cup competition, the victory of the Ibrox club yesterday assuring them their position against their keenest rivals in the concluding stage of the Glasgow Cup contest. It was not a day to induce any but the keenest supporters of the game to come out, and yet 15,000 people watched the play, which, if keen enough, was disappointing in many respects. Whatever reason can be adduced for the moderate display, there was certainly lacking anything that approached brilliancy by either side in the way of combined and sustained effort. Perhaps the very keenness of the players was in part accountable for the mediocrity. It is an undoubted fact that ever since the Scottish Cup victory of the Shawfield team over the Rangers last season, an undercurrent of the very greatest rivalry has permeated the players of both sides. The Ibrox division have been longing to avenge that defeat, which they felt most keenly; at Shawfield there was a desire to emphasise the superiority. And so it was that there were teams opposed who, in a manner, were afraid of each other – one that the prestige they had gained should be lost; the other that it should be made more pronounced. In the end the Rangers had a great triumph in the matter of goals. There was nothing to suggest up to the interval that such a margin in the way of scoring would divide the teams at the finish; the more suggestive aspect was that the game would finish without scoring. For spoiling tactics entered so largely into the game – and they were not always legitimate – that neither set of forwards got an opportunity to settle. To begin with the Clyde were the better team. Stirling, on the right wing, got the measure of Richmond very early, and his centring was always a source of danger to Lock’s charge. The attacking work on the Rangers’ part consisted of daring rushes by Reid, and speedy touchline dribbling by Alex Smith. Chalmers had one splendid try for goal. Turning smartly after receiving from Morrison he shot with great force and Lock would have had some difficulty in stopping the ball had it been the inches below the bar that it was over. On several occasions Reid was almost through, to be baulked by an opposing defender when he was on the point of shooting, and McTurk’s chief anxiety was caused by magnificent efforts to open the scoring by Smith. But these were the only convincing suggestions of bringing the strenuous, although far from pretty, work of the outfield to fruition. The resumption found the Clyde forwards off to Lock’s end immediately, and a corner forced. With that the Shawfield attacking work practically concluded until the match had been lost and won. It is difficult to understand what came over the Bridgeton team after that. Falling back on their goal they gave the impression of having given up the idea of winning, and when seventeen minutes from the re-start, Alex Bennett with a beautiful shot, found the top of the rigging, and seven minutes after that Gordon, with a very similar shot, got the second goal, the match was lost and won. About ten minutes from the close Rangers were granted a penalty, and Bennett again scored making the Clyde rout complete. Both goalkeepers did well and although McTurk was beaten three times the fault was not his. Lock at times cleared his lines almost too daringly. There was nothing convincing in the back play. Law and Richmond did not do too well to begin with, and were only seen at their best when victory for their side was assured. The ex-Queen’s Park player was the better of the two. For a long time Gilligan was the best back of the four, but he gave way badly near the end, and his kicking was very weak then. In the half-back divisions only Walker worked in conjunction with his forwards. There was too much reckless kicking by the others to give the forwards a chance. Of the Ibrox lot Galt was probably the most successful, but Morrison must be mentioned for the strong defensive work he got through. In two moderate forward divisions the most successful player was Alex Smith. Bennett and Reid were fairly good, and although Gordon gave Hogg one or two nice passes it cannot be said that as a wing combination they impressed. The extreme wing men – Stirling and Booth – were easily the pick of the Clyde attacking line.
