J Smith 50
Stewart 75
Match Information
Attendance: 20,000
Referee: D.F. Riley (Port Glasgow)
Matchday: Saturday
Match Trivia
St Mirren thoroughly deserved the point they extracted from Rangers visit to Love Street. But in the first half-hour of the game, he would have been an optimistic Paisley man indeed who forecasted such a result. During that period the Ibrox machine was functioning well, and the weight of their attack was thrown with grim determination upon the St Mirren defence. Quite early on McPhail struck a post, and then he drove a good shot against Hays leg. These were lucky escapes for St Mirren, but there were other occasions on which a goal should have been scored from chances which cropped up. Gradually the intensity of the Rangers attack lessened, and in the last fifteen minutes of the first half St Mirren really came into the game on equal terms. Stewart got a share of the ball that had not been his hitherto. And he made good use of it. Three times he got the better of Gray, and the third time Simpson just got across in time to block the shot. And it was a vary narrow squeak when Gray headed away from the empty goal a ball that Thomson lofted over Tom Hamilton as the goalkeeper dived at his feet. Smith missed an easy chance close in just before half-time, but he made up for his lapse two minutes after the restart. A splendidly-judges header from a free-kick beat Fotheringham all ends up. We saw a fighting St Mirren after that in spite of an injury to Gebbie, who had to go outside-right. Another change was made in the Paisley front line, Stewart and Thomson changing places. The new centre got the vital goal, also a sequel to a free-kick. Shooting through a crowded goalmouth. The last fifteen minutes had players and spectators alike on edge. McPhail headed the ball into the net, but while it was in the air someone fouled Fotheringham, and a free-kick was given. The referee seemed rather generous to St Mirren when he gave Rangers a free a foot outside the penalty line. But it would have been a pity if Rangers had won, for St Mirren with ten man and a passenger, fought valiantly to the end, not only aiming to save a point, but actually going all out to win. Without doing any injustice to the other members of a plucky team, chief credit for St Mirrens achievement must go to Walker. He never gave Smith an inch of rope and was continually covering up his fellow-defenders when they were hard pressed. Fotheringham also played a grand game. After the first half-hour, when the St Mirren wing half-backs got time to devote themselves to the requirements of their forwards, they did very well. The forwards were disjoined but always keen to get the ball ahead. The Rangers defenders did not cover themselves with glory and got all they could do when St Mirren were handicapper in the second half. Simpson, not so strong as Walker, yet did splendid service in defence. His constructive ideas, however, are practically nil. Had there been someone with more guile in the centre-forward position, the result might have been different. Smith, rattled by Walkers tactics in the early stages, tried conclusions with him on the score of strength, and failed. But the Ibrox centre did not get a good service from his supports, and when the ball came from the wings the greater experience of Walker always told
