Johnstone 11
Match Information
Attendance: 18,000
Referee: Tom Dougray (Bellshill)
Matchday: Saturday
Match Trivia
You know how one pokes a fire if one wants to bring a kettle to the boil quickly – I almost felt as if I would have liked to go over on to Ibrox playing pitch yesterday and poke up the players, who were contesting for League points as if it didn’t matter what happened. It’s very difficult to account for the lackadaisical display. The game opened not so badly, but the second half – well, one could have gone to sleep for most of the time, wakened up and found he had missed nothing. No, I cannot account for it. The conditions were ideal, the playing pitch was perfect, and there was a breeze to keep the players cools if they had cared to heat themselves. Everything was in favour of a sprightly display, but what did we get? A dull, drab exhibition of fusionless football. It almost made me cry to watch it. Now when I come to think of some of the things, I come to think of some of the things that were done, I can laugh – and laugh hearty. I think the backs got so fed up – excuse the vulgarism, but I must write something – watching the respective forwards that they thought they would have a wee game on their own. So, they set about kicking the ball to one another, and made the other eighteen spectators. Sometimes the ball would not go as far as they intended, and then there was a regular scramble among the others to see who would get it. Occasionally someone met with an accident, and that relieved the monotony, and once Billy McCandless left Arthur Dixon lying at his feet as he kicked the ball and charged his colleagues simultaneously. Little incident like these helped to while away the time, and I don’t suppose McCandless, being an Irishman, has any grudge against Dixon because he happens to be an Englishman. Rangers were the better team. There were occasions in the first half when we saw some very pretty touches, particularly on the Ibrox left-wing. It was, perhaps, just a shade overdone at times. Neither Archibald nor Cunningham was seen at his best, and Henderson, after shooting well in the first half, could do mothering right in the second. Cairns and Morton also fell off in the latter portion of the game. I thought Johnston the best Ibrox half-back. He played a really good game, tackling with vigour and placing beautifully. I don’t know if yesterdays was his first goal for Rangers, but it certainly was a good one, and he was heartily congratulated. Dixon and Meiklejohn did well. Bert and Billy were safe as houses, the former as shade the better, I though; and all that Robb got to do would scarcely have troubled a figure out of a museum. The Rovers were, might I say a team of misfits. From the very beginning it was evident that Raeburn was lost at inside-right, and Miller at sea as a centre. Gilmour, the young Rosslyn junior, was the best of the five, for Borland and Archibald simply skelped the ball into the centre when they got it. And Borland, who was on the right – had a strong preference to use his left foot. Morris was the outstanding half-back. Indeed, he was not far removed from being the best of the six. He had willing henchmen in Slavin and McBeth, while, behind, Barton and Moyes defended well. Brown made a valiant attempt to save the goal, and just failed. Facing a breeze, the result of Brown, their skipper, losing the toss, Rovers were first to attack and Manderson and McCandless were both called upon to clear their lines. The first real danger arrived when Meiklejohn headed over his own goal to concede a corner. Borland took the kick but made a bad miss of things. The first opportunity the Rangers crowd got to cheer was when Alan Morton raxed from midfield and shot with such power that Brown had to concede a corner. This was well placed, and another followed immediately, also putting the Rovers goal in danger. Ultimately the ball was got away. Barton brought the wrath of the home crowd down on himself when he fouled Morton, the left winger kicking over. When thirteen minutes had gone, Johnston opened the scoring for Rangers. Archibald dropped a ball over, and Brown fisted out. Rushing in, the left-half fired in a fast ball, which the goalkeeper at full stretch touched, but could not stop. It was a well-taken goal, and Johnston was heartily congratulated on his success. Cairns and Morton aided by Johnston, got in some very clever work, and latterly the first-named went through on his own. He shot hard, but the ball went behind. The Ibrox inside-left met with a face injury and had to be attended to. Henderson had a fine try for goal, but the ball just skimmed the bar. He followed with another immediately after, and Brown had again to concede a corner to save his goal from down fall. Rovers had been out of the game as an attacking force for quite a long time, but Miller got a chance which he made a bad job of. Close on the interval, Gilmour shot into Robb, who easily cleared. Rangers were attacking just before the half-time whistle went, Archibald sending a ball over the bar. Rangers Archibald, who had hone off the field at the interval, came on soon after the game was resumed, and right away he was presented with a scoring chance, which he failed to take advantaged of. The same player was at fault later on when he might have gone through. To male matters worse from a Rangers point of view, Henderson shot wildly past, and then Barton stopped Morton near the goal line. To vary matters, the Rovers did a short spell of attacking, but all that accrued from it was an apologetic shot from Archibald into Robb’s waiting hands. Play fell very flat for a time, and but for an injury to Gilmour, and a foul on Cunningham by Moyes, the whole affair would have been almost devoid of incident. The crowd were anxiously awaiting anything to cheer, and when Henderson headed past, they gave vent to their feelings. They got greater scope a little later when Archibald, to their way of thinking did something heroic. Although Rangers were doing the bulk of the attacking, it was seldom that Brown was troubled. Henderson had a shot stopped close in, but it was one of the Ibrox centre’s unfortunate days, nothing seemed to go right for him during this period of the game. Miller was just as bad on the other side. The ex-Hearts’ man didn’t get many chances certainly, but when one did come his way, he made little of it. Cunningham had an open goal to shoot at but sent the ball past. Borland spoiled a Rovers’ raid by delaying getting the ball across, McCandless stepping to clear. In a Rangers’ attack Meiklejohn ‘took the count,’ but there was still nothing to enthuse about. In an endeavour to improve matters, Brown, the Rovers’ captain, made a change. Raeburn came to right-half, Slavin went into centre, and Miller to inside-right. As there was only about three minutes remaining for play, the change had not much chance to improve matters for the Rovers. And neither it did. The end came as a relief.
