A Cunningham 40
Missed Penalties
A Cunningham pen miss xx
Match Information
Attendance: 20,000
Referee: A Edward (Glasgow)
Matchday: Saturday
Match Trivia
The skirling blasts and torrential rainfall an hour before the kick-off affected the attendance at Ibrox Park yesterday. Fortunately, the weather cleared, and the spectators basked in a blaze of sunshine all the while the game lasted. Twenty-two thousand people paid admission. Wind and fog are the killjoys of football. The breeze moderated when the rain ceased, but it remained of strength sufficient to affect the game. It did not spoil it wholly, but it was a handicapping influence all the time, and was responsible for a good deal on the erratic football with which the game abounded. The Rangers won by a goal scored from the foot of Cunningham about seven minutes from the interval. The long-limbed captain got the ball following some hefty play close in. Andrew is generally to be found lying well back when the others are pressing ready to have a pop at goal through the ruck of players. He was well behind the attackers at the time, and a fast grounder gave Neil no chance to save the shot. About half an hour before this happened Neil distinguished himself by saving a penalty granted against Shortt. Cunningham, who took the kick from the spot, shot hard. The former Perthshire goalkeeper was lucky to be on the spot, although he deserves credit for so promptly kicking out. These were about the only incidents in a colourless first half. Kilmarnock had the wind at their backs in this period of the game. When the breeze is hard control of the ball is difficult. The Ayrshire men found it so, but they played the wrong game entirely. Instead of passing on low and spreading the ball, they kicked mostly into the feet of their opponents. The greater speed of the Light Blues was apparent in these movements, and over all the visitors were seldom dangerous. Their nearest approach to a goal was when a shot from Watson took the cross-bar and the ball went over after eighteen minutes’ play. John Nicholson, the ex-Bristol City captain, who figured in the last Anglo-Scots trial, made his debut for the winners at left half. He has not the pace of Arthur Dixon. He plays the waiting game when an opponent is in possession of the ball, and at the psychological moment when the pass is made, he darts in, and you see the ball going the other way. The man of experience was revealed in his every move. When pressed by McNaught or Watson, he slipped the ball back to McCandless. When clear, he passed it on the ground to Morton or Cairns in the way a forward delights to receive it. The man from Bristol is also an adept at heading the ball, and a venturesome shot if the occasion demands it. Twice in the second half when the Rangers transformed the run of the game and had corner kicks galore, Nicholson tested Neil with two raking shots from well out. Nearing the end of the game he got a knock to the knee, but he should be all right for the Glasgow Cup-tie with Third Lanark on Saturday first if he is called upon to defend the Ibrox colours. In the absence of Henderson, who is nursing an ankle hurt, Muirhead essayed the role of centre forward. He is a more stylish dribbler than McDiarmid, but he had many of McDiarmid’s failing when it came to shooting. The crosses that came to him so frequently in the second half ought to have been turned to account. It does not exaggerate the position to state that the Rangers ought to have won by a very decisive margin. It occurred to me that the Rangers could have improved their attack by placing Cunningham at centre. The captain dies not like the position, and he is content to partner Archibald and make most of the opening for the others. The distinguishing feature of persistent attack by the home team in the second half was the lively defence of Neil, Murray and Gibson on the Kilmarnock side. All three had a bit of luck at times when the Rangers forwards thrilled the spectators by crowding the goal area and shooting from all sorts of angles. Neil’s goalkeeping was superb, and he was not orthodox in his methods of clearing. You do not often see a goalkeeper heading the ball out, as Neil did in a match that gave the Ayrshire officials considerable satisfaction. From their point of view, it was creditable to the men of Rugby Park that they held the Rangers throughout the second half against wind and sun. The winning team passed muster in every section barring the glaring defect in the centre. McCandless was the best back on the field and was well partnered by Manderson. Dixon was again the ‘life’ of three sterling half-backs. There was no blemish in the wing play, and more on the winning side excelled Cunningham. Who was the best forward on the field. Archibald and Garrity fell foul of each other in the second half. It was an unseemly show of temper that did not enhance the reputation of either player. Archibald was a pretty live force all through the game. When Alan Morton got more of the ball late in the second half, he led the way beautifully, and best in brilliant style those who sought to bar his progress. As a whole, the Kilmarnock team lacked the nippiness of the Rangers. The forwards struck a semblance of combined action late in the game, but it was never quite convincing. With McNaught and McPhail back in the side, better form was to be expected. Culley did not appear fully trained. His usefulness was apparent when he was helping the half-backs. Culley is perhaps the most experienced forward Kilmarnock have in their ranks, but he will require to show better form to keep his place. The half-backs on the losing side were steady plodders, but the task of coping with the Rangers’ wing men was too onerous for Goldie and Garity to be ever prominent
