| Match Pictures | Matches:1917 – 1918 | Pictures:1917 Pics – 1918 Pics |
Trivia
- Rangers win comfortably with two debutants (Fifer Archibald and Dundonian Brown) scoring to add to the goal scored by veteran Cairns.
- The Glasgow Herald likens this match at Celtic Park to the warring nations in the First World War. LINK
- The Herald reports that the Scottish Labour Party conference in the Central Halls Glasgow passed a resolution proposed by Mr Robert Smillie that the government should negotiate for a peaceful end to the war. The conference also passed a motion of protest against the Lanarkshire Appeal Tribunal's decision to withdraw the military exemption from trade union delegate Mr Emanuel Shinwell.
- On Page 7 of the Herald under the heading: "Cheerful troops" Philip Gibbs describes how Australian troops are enjoying their time at the front, which he says they wouldn't have missed for the world.
- The King has written to the Lord Lieutenant of Lanarkshire expressing his admiration of the new council houses at Mossend.
Review
Teams
CELTIC:
McNair, Gallacher, McColl (more details needed)
RANGERS:
Hempsey, Manderson, Blair,Gordon, Dixon, Pursell, Archibald, Bowie, Brown, Cairns, McDermid
Scorers: Archibald, Brown, Cairns
Referee:
Attendance: 40,000
Articles
- Match Report (see end of page below)
Pictures
- Match Pictures
Articles
The Glasgow Herald, Monday September 24, 1917
GLASGOW CUP SEMI-FINALS.
The Celtic team, like some of the warring nations, seem to have become war weary, anxious for peace, indifferent to terms. For the last four years they have waged incessant warfare against their neighbours, and achieved marvellous successes considering their comparatively limited resources. Four consecutive League Championships, six successive Charity Cup triumphs were gained by practically the same team that last won the Scottish Cup, and which on Saturday made a vain effort to retain the Glasgow Cup for a third term with forces impaired by accidents and the call of country. Their wonderful sequence was bound to end sooner or later, for football teams, like nations in arms, must give way in their turn.
Other clubs have given freely of their players to the great cause – Queen’s Park, Heart of Midlothian, Clyde, Rangers – every League club in fact answered the call, but only one made extraordinary efforts to fill the vacancies, and the Celts may be excused for giving way before an eleven the majority of which were but recently in the ranks of Queen’s Park, Dundee, Sheffield Wednesday, Oldham United, and other noted clubs.
The composite eleven brought fresh methods into play, held a clear lead in physique and stamina, and gained an advantage in play that rendered a margin of three goals an underestimate of their superiority. Thus the veteran McNair was ill-adapted to cope with the rushes of McDermid as were Gallagher and McColl to overcome the resistance of Purcell, and Blair; old methods were unavailing against new opponents garbed in familiar colours.
There was a semblance of a counter for ten minutes only. Then the Celtic half-backs gave way, the Ibrox line became more of a stone wall than ever, and thence to the finish the result was never in doubt. Advantage in height, weight and speed, buoyed up temperamentally by the prospect of victory, Rangers always struck one as what they were, a winning team, as much above recent form as Celtic were beneath it.