A Cunningham 25
G Henderson 29, 30
Match Information
Attendance: 20,000
Referee: William Bell (Motherwell)
Matchday: Saturday
Match Trivia
The foundation of Rangers’ victory over Morton at Ibrox Park lay with their half-back line and Andrew Cunningham. Keenly contested was the game, and ere the close tempers were beginning to be a little ruffled. Rangers had a fresh breeze behind them in the first half and took full advantage of it. The Greenock defence, however, was confident and resourceful, and it took the Ibrox attack a good twenty minutes to find a weak spot. Then Cunningham, lying about twenty yards from goal, pounced on a swirling ball coming from a defender. He got it with his left foot, and although Fotheringham touched the ball, yet he failed to hold it. A pretty goal! Five minutes later Henderson picked up a nice pass from Cairns and put Rangers two up with a low drive. Immediately after the same George notched another heading a cross from Morton neatly past Fotheringham. Five minutes from the interval Rangers’ so far clean ‘goals against’ record went by the board. McCandless inadvertently handled inside the penalty box, and Bobby Orr gave Robb not a ghost of a chance from the spot. Rangers forced matters against the wind, and in twenty-five minutes Archibald, after a brilliant solo effort, rattled Morton’s rigging with an express shot from close in. Until the end Rangers held the whop hand., even without Alan Morton, who injured in a tackle with Buchanan, retired about fifteen minutes from time. In the opening half the Light Blues played devastating football. Fotheringham had not one idle minute until half-time sounded. Rangers’ half-backs plied their forwards with beautiful passes until the Morton defence laboured under the strain. Gourlay and Orr were prominent in stemming rushing attacks. Alan Morton found the veteran half-back a tough proposition. Bobby Orr had a still task looking after Archibald and Cunningham, but he stuck gamely to his job. Andy was in tip-top form, and his opening up of the game was superb. Occasional raids by the Morton wings were more or less easily repulsed. Robertson and McPhail were the more dangerous pair, but Meiklejohn’s anticipation was first-class. Henderson received passes from right and left, and more than once only force of numbers kept him from adding to his total. The second half was faster, if anything, than the first. Morton went all out to lower Robb’s colours, but a steady and clever defence held out tenaciously. The wind trouble the Rangers quite as much as it had Morton. But the home halfs eventually found their bearings and judged their passes beautifully with a spinning ball to negotiate. They bored in on Fotheringham, and Henderson hit the post with the keeper nowhere. Alan Morton was plainly suffering as the result of his knock against Buchanan, and he merely parted to a colleague whenever the ball came his way. George French was not seen to great advantage. Dixon nipped up almost every ball that came the centre’s way. In a gruelling encounter Morton’s best were Fotheringham, Orr and Gourlay in defence; while Robertson and McPhail supplied the finer touched in front. McCandless, Meiklejohn, Craig, Cunningham and Henderson, and in a lesser degree Cairns, were the most prominent of a sound Rangers’ side
