Slaven 25
Smith >45
Match Information
Attendance: 25,000
Referee: A Allan (Glasgow)
Matchday: Saturday
Match Trivia
It took Rangers a long time to get that grip of the game which warranted them getting one of the points in their game with Hearts. As a matter of fact, so long wis it until they did take up that position that it looked as if they would have to surrender to another defeat on their home ground. Lucky for them that they didn’t fail altogether. They had a horde of followers who were prepared to fire all sorts of epithets at them. They had been practising previously, and their bittered tongues were sharpened by a tang more keen than any herbal concoction that one could think of. I had a word with some of the Hearts’ boys after the match. John White thought they shouldn’t have drawn after being two goals up. Alec Wright said something of a similar kind. But when I had finished a quiet conversation with them, they were all agreed that to take a point away from Ibrox was good going. That really is the point. It was a game keenly fought from the very first. Hearts went ahead early; Rangers came along as great fighters when the necessary fight was required, and it was only a bit of bad luck, combined with a stolid opposing defence that kept them from getting the winning goal. And yet, the nearest of all to winning came when Slaven picked up a pass from Edgar and placed the ball past. It was a gilt-edged chance – just like picking up the goods from a stock-broker’s floor. How the centre-forward missed I don’t know; but what was all this fuss made about Slaven in any case? I saw him for the first time yesterday. He’s not a football genius by any means. I don’t know what the odea of the Rangers’ director was in playing Craig at centre-forward. In know that Henderson is not quite himself just now, and perhaps they have lost a little faith in Fleming. But Craig is a half-back – first, last, and every time. It was all very well for Alloa to play him in the middle while he was with them, but Alloa and Rangers are quite different propositions. To sum up the game in a word, a draw was a satisfactory result, the unprejudiced viewpoint. Hearts thought they might have won because of their two-goal lead; Rangers had similar thoughts because of their second half effort to get there. This is how the game ran and developed. Hearts made Ibrox hearts beat a bit over the ordinary in the very first minute, and Robb was fortunate not to have to strike his flag, for there was an opening. However, it was early in the game to look for the sensational, and as play progressed, we saw the Light Blues as an attacking force, with Alan Morton called upon Willie White to concede a corner. Hearts again became aggressors, and an overhead kick from John White made matters uncomfortable for Robb, who had also to give a corner away to save his citadel. He did well to do that for the shot was a tricky one and required careful watching. Archibald and McKay were combining nicely, and they raised the siege for the Rangers, the outside man getting some nice balls across. Wright, however, was almost always in position to get these crosses, and it was seldom that Willie White was called upon. The local crowd were not too well pleased at the play of their favourites, and called upon them to put a bit more in. Particularly was this the case when Cairns stumbled over the ball, the hot-heads shouting their disapproval with no uncertain voice. It was only occasionally hereabouts that Rangers mattered as an attacking force, and the most that White got to do was to attend to a long distance header from Cairns. Twenty-three minutes saw Hearts take the lead. A Smith-Hamilton bout saw the ball go to John White, who let drive a ball which bounced on its way to goal. Robb got it on his knees, and Slavin rushing in met the goalkeeper before he had properly gathered it, and the ball escaping Robb’s clutch, fell over the goal line into the net. Alan Morton forced a corner and secured another immediately afterwards. If the Rangers’ faithful had been hoping for anything tangible to accrue, they were doomed to disappointment. Wright’s height on each occasion was the deciding factor, his head reaching above all others. Rangers were certainly having more of the game now, which meant that there was a general levelling up. Archibald got a corner, and the shout of ‘Goal!’ went up. Cairns headed in, with White at the other end of the goal. But King popped up and breasted the ball out. This thrill was followed by another a few seconds later. Another Archibald corner was headed in by Muirhead, again with While well beaten. But again, King came to the rescue. On the goal line he stopped the ball with is foot thigh high and cleared. He thus saved two certain counters. Three minutes after resuming hearts were two goals up. Miller let drive a fairly high ball which Robb brought down but failed to hold. Smith, seeing his chance, rushed in, and before Robb could regain possession, slapped the ball high and dry into the netting. Two minutes later, however, the goal was neutralised. Rangers’ right wing drew the whole defence towards them. There was some finessing, and then the ball was swung over to the unmarked Morton. Alan steadied. He was at the back of everyone, and then his right foot drove the ball straight and true. White was a mere spectator of the ball as it sped into his charge. Following that goal there was a temporary change in the complexion of the game. Rangers kept up for some fifteen minutes an almost continual attack, and it was during this that they secured the all-important equaliser. Craig was the scorer, and it was the best goal of the match. Standing almost on the penalty spot with his back to White, the ball came to him, and whirling round he smashed the ball well out of the goalkeeper’s reach. Hearts’ half-backs appeared to have comparatively faded out of a game they once had safe in their keeping. As a result, the Gorgie attack became a disjoined affair and hardly to be recognised as the sweet-moving thing of the first half. Indeed, even in defence they were now not too steady, and it was a good job they had two stalwarts in Ramage and King behind them. However, even they began to crack up, and it was a sure sign of distress when they began to kick anywhere for safety. Corners galore came the way of Rangers, but these could not be improved on. Hearts at the end were played to a standstill, and the closing minutes saw Rangers crowding on all sail for the precious goal that meant victory. But it never came, and this perhaps was due in a great deal of measure to the bad finishing of the forwards. You can understand how really bad they could be when I state that one of the likeliest shots was that sent in by Arthur Dixon. It went sailing over the bar just a foot high. And then Hearts nearly provided a surprise finish. Thanks to a movement initiated by John White, Smith got off on a seemingly clear run through. But Osborne dashed across the field to intercept him, and succeeded in doing so, just in the nick of time. Regarding the players, one cannot blink the fact that Willie Robb should not have lost the first goal scored against his side. But those who don’t make mistakes make very little else, and it is not often that the Ranger lets his side down. Willie White kept a splendid goal. One cannot forget King in discussing the backs. He saved his side twice. It was claimed by Rangers people that the ball was over the line when he breasted the ball out a second time, but from the Press box it was impossible for me to secede whether he was or not. Mr Allan was on the spot, and it must be left to him to decide. Hamilton played well, Manderson was rarely at fault, and Ramage, if a bit erratic latterly, put up a barrier which kept Cairns and Morton in subjection for a long time. Rangers’ half-backs line was not up to Ibrox strength. I give Dixon first of his three, just as I place Wright on his side. But neither of them were really constructive half-backs; their plan was all laid on the defensive, although I did admire the Tynecastle man for one or two forward passes which reminded me of his best Pittodrie days. It was real Cup football that the Hearts’ forwards played. There was no pirouetting. John White saw to that. He kept the ball swinging merrily about, and he had splendid support from his partner, Jimmy Smith. The left-wing was not quite so successful, although useful, George Miller giving little Edgar many opportunities. Late in the game Alan Morton showed us the real Morton. He was Rangers’ most dangerous forward. McKay worked hard to make openings for his neighbours, but he was not too fortunate in that respect. The goals were beauties – Morton and Craig had them.
