Dr Marshall 80
Match Information
Attendance: 26,194
Referee: W Bell (Motherwell)
Matchday: Saturday
Match Trivia
Once again, the Glasgow Charity Cup goes to Ibrox and deservedly so. Queens Park were beaten by a solitary goal, but that does not really represent the difference in teams work of the two sides. Rangers played all through with an understanding and combination that was a bit lacking in the work of the Amateurs. It was not so good a game as that served up last week when Celtic were the visitors to Hampden, but nevertheless it was a game that provided quite a lot of incidents, and not a few thrills. The thrills, incidentally, lay in the number of missed chances in front of both goals, and there were times when both goalkeepers were lucky to escape without damage. Dawson especially made his stuff look difficult and he had to be slick to make recovery. The first half, without a doubt, was the better, for the second portion I had the feeling that the warmth of the atmosphere sapped the strength of the players. Queens, after losing the only goal of the game, did not fight back with the same spirit as they did against Celtic. Maybe their wind and limbs would not permit them to. I sat out this game in the stand, as I did last week, and the Queens Park supporters were two entirely different lots. After the Celtic defeat they stood and cheered themselves hoarse; yesterday they rose from their seats as quiet as mice looking for cheese in gas light and crept down the stairs with facial expressions that mirrored the misery of their souls. Let us express a word of sympathy for them, those ladies and gentlemen who so frequently expect so much, and as often get so little. After last Saturdays brilliant display, they were entitled to harbour the hope that the Spiders would do the Rangers, but as I have indicated the team never looked like winning. Rangers had them well held. The only goal of the game was scored by Marshall ten minutes from the end. He was standing close to the goal when Main, from the corner of the penalty box, swept the ball along the ground, through a bunch of players to the Doc, who lost no time in booting it past Smith. Those of the home supporters in the stand claimed that Marshall was offside. Frankly, I cannot express an opinion. Marshall did appear to me to be slightly ahead of the Queens defence, but I was watching the game in that particular part of the field from an angle. Referee Bell was right on the spot, and it was obvious that he had no doubt on the matter. The point stood. In the first half the Ibrox lot when on the attack brought every man on the spot into the play with a combination that spoke of the studied nature if their plan. Queens on the other hand were ragged. Often the man on the ball had to waste time to look for a colleague. In this opening period the best part of the Queens front line was on the left, and that was due to the really skilful play at times of Bremner. This man is steadily improving, and it was delightful to see the way he tricked an opponent, or swerved to deceive the other fellows defence, and then sent McKenzie away. McKenzie is not exactly a heaven-sent outside left, but he frequently caused danger to Dawsons charge in this game. He varied his crosses from the touchline by cutting into the penalty area and having a shot on his own. One of his drives nearly caught Dawson napping. The goalkeeper could not hold it, and if Dodds or Crawford had been slicker there would have been a goal. The men who mattered most in the Rangers front line were Marshall and McPhail, and the later devoted more times than is his wont, slipping the ball up the middle to Fleming. The centre, however, always had Gillespie on top of him, and when he did get possession, he cut to right or left. His intention, no doubt, was to tempt Gillespie away for when Fleming did veer his place was taken by either Main or Nicholson. Gillespie rumbled the idea, and seldom fell for it. Marshall was more individual than McPhail, but more often than not he was crowded out when reaching shooting distance. In the second half Rangers were top-dogs, and it was only occasionally that the Amateurs worked their way up the field. It was in this period that the two best shots of the game appeared. One was from McPhail, a twenty-five yarder that struck the cross-bar with great force. Smith was beaten out of sight. The other was from Crawford, who cut in with speed, and from an acute angle, smashed the leather over the bar. Each effort brought the house down. I have mentioned these shots specifically because the game was noted for bad marksmanship. A rough calculation suggests that only one shot out of six was on the target. The others were either wide of the mark or over the bar. In the games in which I have seen Rangers this season there has nearly always been lacking that indefinable something, which stamped them as the team during the post-war seasons. In this game, also I had the feeling that the team is not the complete Rangers. True, they fielded yesterday some members of the reserve eleven. Of these I liked best Kennedy in the right half position. He can take his place in the first team any day. Main was disappointing at outside right. I am afraid Rangers cannot be satisfied that he is Archibalds successor. On the other wing, Nicholson was dainty and clever, but he does not possess the punch or power desired. Queens have a good team, if one takes them individually, but collectively they fail. Their positional play was never really good. Sometimes it was annoying and as long as they are without understanding they will never achieve the big thing. With the exception of one or two positions, the talent is there to bring delight to the hearts of the supporters.
