J Smith 12
Martin 60
A Venters 80
Match Information
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: unknown - to be confirmed
Matchday: Saturday
Match Trivia
I suppose I should be telling you of this strange hoodoo that seems to hang around when Queens Park come to Ibrox; of how it almost led to another extraordinary result. But I have come from that ice-field with my brain containing one vivid picture. It shows Rangers playing some of the most fascinating football I have seen this season. Forget the result for a moment. It tells you nothing of what actually happened. But what I can tell you is that the champions will play poorer many a time and have their rivals shouting for quarter! Mystifying in its accuracy, it had the gallant, defiant Queens Park half-backs and backs running around as though chasing shadows. And when you consider the conditions underfoot the wonder of their copperplate footwork will be realised. We sat aloft in the shelter of the Press-box gazing in admiration on those he-men sliding and gliding their way over this ground which the Ibrox management so commendably had cleared, but which made certain of the platers feel as unhappy as the fellow who in frock coat and tile hat, stepped on the slide made by the peeping, mischievous youngsters and went! Two men made this rangers attack. And they werent forwards. I raise my hat to McKillop and Brown. The grace, confidence and tactical shrewdness of the wing half-backs led to the complete domination by the champions for practically the whole of the first half and most of the second. Yet, although the forwards, particularly Thornton, Smith and Venters, joined with them in their schemes, only one goal could they show at the interval. This came in the twelfth minute. Ill tell you about it. Mansour, a heroic figure, who has never done a better days work for the Amateurs, had knocked aside a raging Fiddes shot. Young Thornton, who will one day wear his countrys crest, swept over the flag-kick with a curl on it. They all saw it coming. Jamie Smith rose to it. He met it with his head, and the luckless Mansour pawed the air as it flashed past him. We told ourselves that would be but one of many. Rangers were moving with such assurance; such obvious power and rhythm that nothing, we argued, the Hampden defenders could do could possibly hold-up this dynamic attack. But on we came to half-time with only that goal between them. True enough there had been enough bear things to fill my note-book twice over. It was the same weary waiting for Rangers goals after the turn. Then glory be! Queens Park equalised. While there had ever been a threat in their fleeting forays, it was such a game that, somehow or other, I never looked for a Queens Park goal that id what made it such a choice tit-bit. From a long forward pass, Willie Marton closed with Gray. Dougie should have got the ball away. He didnt and slipping round him with it tucked at his feet, the nonchalant Martin carried on and, with a flashing, low ball that whined its message of danger, beat Jenkins. So, there we were, Queens level, and this mysterious thing we call, for no better word, a hoodoo, appearing once more. For ten minutes after that staggering blow, Rangers tottered. Galvanised into action, the Amateurs suddenly awakened to the fact they had a chance. They played their most purposeful soccer then. It was not, however, sustained. Came an all-in, non-stop Ibrox bid for a goal and victory. Beaten off, they returned with greater fury. On it went. Could they, do it? I didnt think so. The ball was breaking for them. But they did! A quarter of an hour to go. Another rapier thrust by Brown. Venters seized on a cute slip. As he stumbled, he whipped in a swift, oblique ball. Mansour might have got his hands to it, but the ball striking Dicksons boot dynamited any hope he may have had, for it went into the corner of the net far out of his reach. That is how Rangers prevailed in a match they might have won by half-a-dozen; yet as it turned out, were fortunate to win. As I have told you Rangers were as comfortable as though they were at Crossmyloof with a hockey stick to steady them! They kept their feet much better than the Amateurs, or perhaps it was their overwhelmingly superiority that made it appear so, for it was a day when the challenger was at a distinct disadvantage. And with it all, I praise to the full the courageous stand by the Mount Florida defenders. How nobly Fordon and Dickson fought is reflected on the score sheet. Outwitted they were, but by sheer grit and tireless energy they made Mansour and his goal, to Rangers, shrink to the size of a postage stamp. The half-backs never got a proper hang of things, and in front, wee Davie Christie, though as game as a pebble, was too easily swept aside. In comparison with the Hampden backs, Gray and Winning experienced a comparatively happy afternoon if anyone in short pants could be happy in such as ice house. The more I see of Thornton, the more I like him. His innate skill was emphasised time and again. But actually, there was not a weak link in the Rangers band.
