A Morton 47
G Brown
Match Information
Attendance: 12,500
Referee: J Thomson (Hamilton)
Matchday: Saturday
Match Trivia
Montrose are out of the Scottish Cup, but with their reputation unsmirched. They fought a gallant fight at Ibrox, fought to the last ditch, and need have no regrets. For a long time, the Rangers were worried by the conditions, and by a resolute and courageous defence that refused to give anything away. The pitch was hard as a bone underneath the surface. The players could not turn with freedom, and it was difficult to judge the weight required to give the ball for the pass. The more you tried to play the correct game, the more difficult you made things for yourself. So, the quality of the football must be estimated accordingly. It was not what you would call an entertaining game, but there was a certain tenseness in it until Rangers got their second goal, and that was nit until the second half had lasted about 25 minutes. The fact that there was no scoring in the first half was a fine tribute to the fighting qualities of the Montrose defence – backs and half-backs particularly, for Gerrand was so well protected by them that he had not many difficult shots to deal with. And although the play ran mostly in favour of the Rangers, up to the interval there was always a danger of the Montrose forwards striking home in one of their few raids, in which Gentles and Muir were the chief actors. In fact, it was touch-and-go when Muir hit the post with Tom Hamilton out of reach. Rangers’ forwards were then playing an uncertain sort of game which did not promise goals. McKnight was able to keep Fleming under control, and Hamilton and McKenzie could see to it that McPhail and Morton were allowed precious little freedom. The opening goal came in quite an unexpected way. The Montrose forwards relieved hard Ibrox pressure by a dash through the middle. When Meiklejohn intervened, Williamson got badly mixed up with him. The Rangers’ pivot was thrown awkwardly and had to be assisted off the field. This looked serious for Rangers, but as things turned out, there was compensation coming to them. Meiklejohn had scarcely entered the pavilion when the free-kick was placed. Morton, who had taken a position well into the centre, got the ball and with his right foot, shot hard into the net, Gerrand having little chance with a fast-rising ball. This happened four and a half minutes after the restart. The goal took a lot of the anxiety from Rangers, and they commenced to move more freely. Rangers had to get a second goal to feel safe, and they got it with twenty-five minutes of the second half gone. Morton had begun to find a way round McKenzie, and from one of his peachy centres Brown took the ball on the drop and shot first time to give Gerrand no chance at all. But the pressure could scarcely fail to tell. About four minutes from the end a Montrose defender handled, and Morton ‘sunk’ the penalty kick. That ended it. Rangers did not scintillate. The conditions were against it. But they were not always as might be expected, the superior side in the matter of team work. Tom Hamilton had long spells of inaction, but both Gray and Robert Hamilton played a finished, safe game. Buchanan had no superior at half-back. He forced the game well, and his recovery was good. Craig played best in the second half, a remark that applies to the forwards who erred, I thought, in keeping the game so close for so long. Fleming was not in the game. Morton had a big hand in the result, and there is no doubt his ultimate mastery of the conditions paved the way to success. I cannot praise too highly the plucky resolute Montrose defence. Gerrand was cool and alive. He could not have saved any of the shots that beat him. Hamilton was a splendid back. His anticipation was sound, and his clearing was marked by sound judgment. Baird also was a gritty defender, and in the first half the half-backs forced the play well.
