Kinnear 25
J Smith pen 60
Match Information
Attendance: 12,000
Referee: M.C. Hutton (Glasgow)
Matchday: Wednesday
Match Trivia
Outmanoeuvred and, in the latter stages, outplayed, Hibernian were caught and whipped at Ibrox in a way that wont make pleasant reflection at Easter Road. In my most charitable mood, I write of them that they never gave up and were always there with a fight in them. But having written that, Im afraid I must stop. Really, the champions did not require to take their foot off the brake once they had broken down that fearless defence in the twenty-five minute. Until then, I had visions of a teethy rollicking struggle for early on Egan had clashed a glorious shot at Dawson, who saved as only he can. It suggested a threat in this Edinburgh attack. The longer the game went, however, the more evident became the Ibrox dominance and but for some ineffective marksmanship and the courageous stand of Culley and his backs, particularly Prior, there is no doubt I would be describing more than two goals. The first one, notched, as I have told you, with the first half still to run 18 minutes, was the climax to a magnificent heading movement by Main, Thornton and Smith. The last-named finished by adroitly nodding the ball to the unchallenged Kinnear, and from the wingers foot it raged below Culleys body. Not until 14 minutes after the tur did the champions hit again. It came through the medium of a penalty kick. Prior brought Smith down as he was tearing in on Culley, and from the resultant spot kick, big Jamie cracked it home. As a spectacle, the encounter did not rouse me as did the one at Hampden on Tuesday. The evaporation of the menace in the Hibernian attack can be blamed. Jamie Simpson, who took a terrific volley on the chin midway through the first half and was carried off, recovered to such an extent that he leisurely completed the game with the eager, energetic little Milne his prisoner. As a matter of fact, the entire Easter Road attack was trapped in the Ibrox half-back and back divisions and squeezed right out of the game apart from fleeting forays in which more was promised than achieved. While Gray was not seriously tested after the first half-hour, his quick, accurate tackling and placing were, in my opinion, one of the highlights. And to the prompting of the most intelligent middleman on view George Brown Venters and Kinnear had the tome of their lives. Kinnear is back to his best. A wealth of meaning is conveyed in that remark. Thornton, on the other hand, was far from happy on the right touch-line and though his colleagues were evidently keen to see him dazzle, it was only when he changed places with Smith late on that he struck his true vein of form. I have nothing but praise for the gallant, agile Culley, while of Logan and Prior it can be said they stuck it out with grit and not a little skill. Though repeatedly outgeneralled, the half-backs at no time allowed the Ibrox superiority to become a complete monopoly. Still, their confidence in the men ahead faded too soon.
