McAuley 2
J Smith 6, B McPhail 33
Main
Match Information
Attendance: 7,000
Referee: J Baillie (Motherwell)
Matchday: Saturday
Match Trivia
You may blink. I dont blame you. Nowadays, it is quite an event for Rangers to go goal crazy. Repeatedly this season they have felt in their frustration that, every time they hit the ball, the goal became no larger than a postage stamp. Kilmarnock will tell you that, yesterday, it must have seemed to them to stretch from flag to flag! When I say that every goal was deserved on play, you will wonder just what kind of opposition Kilmarnock proved themselves. Ill give you the answer by declaring I have never seen the Rugby Park boys so completely outplayed. It was not that they failed to throw themselves whole-heartedly into the fray. But on a terribly heavy ground covered with snow in places, they were reduced to impotency by the shrewdness of McKillop, Simpson and Brown. Their defenders were baffled and bewildered by the speed, cohesion, skill and strength of the Ibrox forwards, who at times rose to the heights od studied play in a way reminiscent of the good old days. Candidly, I went to Ibrox with the feeling I was to see a Rangers team of uncertainty, lacking the assurance and power of worthy league leaders. I came away convinced that the flag is going to Ibrox if this exposition is what we are to see until the curtain falls. And, in making this statement, I know all about a team playing only as well as the other fellows allow them. What impressed me so much was the confident way they went about their work. Purpose was stamped on everything they attempted, and long before the first half was over, we knew the outcome. Anyhow, they struck twice within six minutes through Macaulay and Smith and sent Kilmarnock tottering with a third through McPhail in the thirty-second. Only twelve minutes of the second-half had gone when Miller went to the back of the net for the ball again Smith put it there with his head after a remarkable swerve by Main past Milloy and a delightfully-judged cross. Five minutes more and McPhail recorded one of the most spectacular goals I have seen this season. Bringing the ball under control some twenty yards out, he turned to see his path blocked by two Kilmarnock defenders. Quicker than it takes to tell, he left them both wondering where this will o the wisp had gone. On the eighteen yards line he let go. Crack! Away the ball raged, Miller may have seen it coming, but he had no earthly chance of getting at it as it tore high into the net. A real McPhail goal. He completed the hat-trick through the medium of a penalty-kick a little later; then came one from Bobby Main before Smith raised the total to eight with a fierce, close-in volley. What can I write of the players individually? Really it would be invidious to draw a comparison between the sides. Still, the conditions were all against the Ayrshire boys. Actually, there was a lot more in it than that. As a matter of fact, only Miller, Robertson and Ross can be praised. The others will want to forget as quickly as possible. I have rarely seen Smith so colourful. His dashing raids, cute dribbling and pace made him a man to be feared. McPhails generalship was of inestimable value, while Kinnears dash, alacrity and enthusiasm made him an outstanding figure. But it was swing time throughout as far as the Ibrox forwards were concerned. And in a middle-line that was able to concentrate in construction, McKillop added to his growing reputation. Just how one-sided was the game will be gleaned when I tell you that, until Dawson rose and clutched a fast free-kick from Robertson midway through the second-half, he had never before been in danger of being beaten.
