A Morton pen
Fleming
Match Information
Attendance: 25,000
Referee: W.G. Holburn (Glasgow)
Matchday: Saturday
Match Trivia
It was touching the high spots this. Rangers, I should say have never played a better, a more attractive, or more powerful game. It was fast and clever, beautiful balanced, and often intricate. Kilmarnock never got a chance to find a game. The half-back were thrown on to the defensive right away, and they were kept so hard at it that they never could get time to nurse the forwards. To make matters worse, Dunlop, injured, had to go to outside right in the second half, but I cannot say that the shuffling of forces – Williamson became right-half and Hogg centre-half – affected the game to any extent. It was simply a case of the one team appointing the other, and I may tell you that the score did represent the amount of pressure applied by Rangers. Clemie was the man in the Kilmarnock team who did something really material to keep the score down, and he had occasion to thank the wood around him, for the bar stopped a terrific drive from McPhail, and the post one from Archibald. Tom Hamilton did not have one shot to save in the first half, and Rangers did not concede a corner in the whole match. I could not count the corner kicks they forced. Rangers’ half-backs worked in close harmony with the forwards, who worked the ball with deft low passing that was delightful to watch. The ground was very hard and was a handicap which told sometimes at the crucial moment. In nine minutes, Fleming was brought down when close in, and Morton converted the penalty kick. Three minutes later Meiklejohn sent a long pass through to Fleming who transferred to Archibald, who went on, and then returned the ball to Fleming, who gave Clemie no chance. The game opened out after a little, and Willaimson and Aitken got the ball into the centre, but the covering-up by the Rangers rear-men prevented an opening. Every time the Rangers forwards went on the run, they were dangerous, but it was not until near the interval that they scored again, McPhail taking an Archibald centre on the drop and banging the ball into the roof of the net. Clemie and his backs, and the half-backs as well fought a plucky second half against what often amounted to a perfect storm of attack. The goalkeeper saved all that could be saved, but he had no chance with Brown’s shot five minutes from the end. There was not a weak spot on the winning side. Hamilton and his backs had an easy day, so much of the ball had the half-backs and forwards to themselves. When Hogg went into the centre-half he defended well. McEwan wrought hard against Brown and Archibald, who were a fine wing, while on the other side of the field, McPhail and Morton, with craig co-operating, played an ideal wing game. Fleming, I would say, touched his best. Kilmarnock’s forwards never got welded into a cohesive force. Smith was always trying to steady them, but they were forced to depend on long kicking with the chance of Cunningham breaking through, which he did more than once without getting a shot on the target.
