Meiklejohn pen 47
A Morton 59
Match Information
Attendance: 12,000
Referee: T Small (Dundee)
Matchday: Saturday
Match Trivia
With a team composed as this Rangers one was, the fact of winning this Glasgow Charity tie was no doubt satisfactory to the Ibrox folk. The risk was taken, and it came off, though the display of the side, like the game in general was not thrilling. On the chances going in the first half, Rangers’ ought to have led at the interval, but the shooting was far from deadly. We had a much better second half, because after Rangers had scored a couple of goals, the Thistle fought back with rare spirit. They reduced the leeway by one, and then went out for an equaliser. This they more than once came near securing, although, on the whole, Rangers were always likely to go further ahead. Rangers’ first goal was scored less than a minute after the change of ends. The inside forwards were through at the double, and Marshall was left to do the rounding-off. He was close in for the shot when he was tripped, and Meiklejohn came along to convert the penalty kick. There was a bit of the real League champions after this, and in 12 minutes a bonnie, deceptive touch by McPherson, who ran shoulder-to-shoulder with Fleming, first drew the Thistle defence and then made it possible to give Morton the ball in a glorious position. Alan tapped it almost midway between the posts, and taking his time, shot low and hard into the net, Jackson failing in his effort to fall on the ball. Now this might have seemed to end it, but the Thistle did not think so. They got some extra bite into their attack, and the Rangers’ defenders had to extend themselves. At last, following a free kick, and a well-judged pass from Ness into the centre, Ballantyne beat Tom Hamilton from close in, the ball hitting the roof if the net. Anything might have happened after that, but nothing did – at anyrate, nothing to alter the score, and so Rangers went forward to the semi-final. Both Jackson and Tom Hamilton were safe, and they got plenty of opportunity to display their ability. Gray and Calderwood were the best of the backs. The Thistle man was very solid. Gray timed his intervention well in the first half, and it was only in the last half-hour that Torbet gave him any trouble. The half-backs play has often been better, but it is due to Ireland and Lambie to say that they stopped many a raid. Neither Elliot nor McLeod was at his best. Craig, while following up well, and on the alert for a shot, was rather quieter than usual, but he was always the brainy football on the ball. Meiklejohn put some nice passes along to his wing, and he was useful in defence. The forward play was not sustained on either side, but the Rangers quintette were the more compact and stronger. The chief fault was the shooting. McPherson is a clever little man and does wonderfully well for inches. He was too gentle with his passes to start with but got the weight of the ball in the second half. Buchanan kept going like the earnest plodder he is. Fleming and Marshall worked hard but should have scored. Morton had no easy job, but the touch was there, and when the scoring chance came, he made no mistake. Thistle’s forwards did not come on to their game until too late. Grove was the cleverest all through, but Ness did not respond as usual. Simpson got few chances, and the left wing was under a cloud until the last half-hour, and then they were really good
