W Reid
A Bennett <45
Match Information
Attendance: 60,000
Referee: J.S. Muir (Glasgow)
Matchday: Saturday
Match Trivia
Tis a strange old world this. For, look you, up till Saturday Third Lanark had played five Glasgow Cup games, had drawn three, and won two, and all for what? Why, to be scurvily rated by the majority of critics who, rightly or wrongly, could see the merit of these achievements only through the wide end of the telescope. Now, in the final of the Cup Third Lanark are beaten by three clear goals and yet I have no hesitation in saying that against Rangers at Hampden Park they played what was, in many respects their best game of the whole tournament, if not their most accomplished game of the whole season. There were periods in the game when they were not only good, but a better team than the Rangers. Their attack which has been the subject of so much adverse criticism, was a very real, and a very live, factor, more particularly in the first half hour, again nearing the interval, and in the second half up till twenty minutes from the end. The forwards disclosed a consistent ability to control the ball, to pass it, and in the case of the wing men, to centre it, which had in previous games been observed in mere spasms. But the old failing; in this case fatal, still remains. There was not a first-class marksman in the line. Well may Third Lanark deplore it. On the chances going in the first half, and arising purely and solely out of the clever forcing play of the forwards, a shot of Reid’s calibre would have meant a level crossing at half time. Rangers had what Third Lanark lacked. I mean this important property of finish. The game turned on that, for although in the end Rangers were mastering the opposition, it has to be remembered that both the first and the second goals got by them followed hard on menacing, and almost successful Third Lanark assaults. For ten minutes of trilling football Rangers were supreme in all but scoring. A penalty was claimed in favour of Bennett; Reid was twice brought low when taking a pass from Bowie in the shooting zone; Logan whipped in a shot that struck Brownlie on the foot and darting upwards, was deflected off the bar; Gordon lashed a shot at goal which Brownlie could not hold at the first attempt, and so on. Third Lanark’s half-back during this stormy period rendered brilliant service, and it was they who at length turned the edge of the Rangers’ attack, and brought their own forwards so well into the game as to soon obliterate any conception of a one-sided match. Norton led his inside men prettily through the Rangers’ defences, and then whizzed along a near range shot that went whistling past the post. Again it was Norton who dribbled through, and passing out to McTavish, the latter centred a good ball that Hempsey held high up, with Rankine coming in on him. There was no keeping those light-footed Cathkin forwards away. Back they came, and Norton executing as clever a dribble as was seen in the game, sent along another bonnie shot that Hempsey, playing one of his best Rangers’ games, gathered smartly. About the play of the Rangers outfield defence there was hereabout a marked suggestion of slackness. The half-backs were being easily overrun, and the forwards could barely struggle across midfield. In 23 minutes Third Lanark should have opened the scoring. Then the transformation! Logan, to relieve the pressure, let go a strong ball up the centre meant for Reid to follow up. Standing slightly over the centre line Reid went away at once at top speed straight as a die for goal, and Lennon and Armstrong as quickly converged to meet him, and just as they all came together, Reid with his left foot shot a terrific ball that flashed towards goal, hit the inside of the post, and bounded off at such a pace behind Brownlie as to shake the net. From start to finish it was a beautiful spectacular effort, and was rewarded with a salvo of cheering. I admired nothing in the game more than the grim response of the ‘Volunteers’. For minutes at a time they were in and out and round about the Rangers’ defence in a way that brought the equaliser right on to the rim of realisation. The nearest they came to it was when Rankine, close in, found Hempsey exactly on the spot to push away a scoring ball. It was Hempsey who held up the eager Cathkin attack at this period, and I believe saved the Cup for Ibrox. Rangers’ forwards had been slipping down the field repeatedly without mush result until three minutes from the interval, when Paterson dribbled inward and passed to Bennett, who shot from well out. Brownlie seemed able to save the shot had it come true, but it appeared to touch Lennon’s boot, and got off at a slight tangent into the net. Third Lanark kept up their game for 15 minutes of the second half, when both Norton and Brown had great chances to score, both then Rangers began to bring in Paterson, who was comparatively fresh, and his delightful runs became the prettiest feature of the last 20 minutes. Rangers got their third goal from one of his centres, for Reid, foolishly left unmarked, had nothing to do but slip the ball past Brownlie. Paterson himself, with one of many good shots marked the face of the bar. I have not much space to deal with the players individually. Hempsey, even if attended with a little luck in being on the spot on two occasions, impressed me as playing with a new-born confidence. You want no better goalkeeper than he displayed. Brownlie was helpless with all three goals scored. Ha has a grievance in regard to both the second and third, but the grievance is against his own men. All the backs had to do a large amount of close tackling, and their play was therefore, less showy, but of more genuine merit than often calls forth praise. I considered Gordon in a class by himself as a half-back. His play was unlike a man who had been suffering from a severe cold, and was in doubt about turning out. His auxiliary forward service should always be a deciding argument against taking him out of the half-back line. Captain Logan’s contribution was enhanced by the fact that he gave Reid the pass to score the opening goal, and Paterson the pass from which he centred for Reid to score the third. Galt came out of his shell in the last half-hour, and helped to make the left wing a new force in the game. Third Lanark’s half-backs merit the highest praise. Steel, as a rule, dominates the line, but here both Swift and Hannah succeeded in proving their worth as aggressive factors. Hannah’s play was more like Gordon’s than anybody’d and that is compliment enough. Bowie was the governing influence of the Rangers’ attack. Others came and went but he was always the same. His drawing of the defence revealed the thinking head, and his passing was always charged with studied purpose. Ture to his reputation Reid, with his left leg still bandaged, contented himself with waiting for the passes that his colleagues glory in giving him. Third Lanark’s forwards looked like a lot bursting with enthusiasm. Riley was no decrepit invalid. His centres were in fact. The source of most danger to the Rangers’ defence, though a few low ones would have suited the smaller forwards of his side. Better at times. He is the best left winger the club has tried this season
