| Match Pictures | Matches: 1930 – 1931 | 1931 Pictures |
Trivia
- Jimmy Simpson is detailed to man-mark Jimmy McGrory and this tactic works for Rangers.
- The customary programme of New Year's Day League matches was carried through in Scotland in favourable weather and before uniformly large attendances. In view of the battle which is being waged between Celtic and Rangers for leadership a great deal of interest centred in the Ibrox game, and a crowd of over 80,000 saw the Rangers come out on top by the only goal scored by Alan Morton in six minutes.
- In England a good win over Aston Villa was recorded by Newcastle United who had Kelty-born Duncan "Hurricane" Hutchinson (ex-Dundee Utd) at centre-forward.
- Sheffield Wednesday, Middlesbrough, and Manchester City also won. Arsenal are top of the table on 35 points with Sheffield Wednesday second on the same points but having played two games more than Arsenal.
- The New Year was welcomed in New York with wild revelry. Despite the "dry" laws, there were abundant supplies of liquor, good, bad, and indifferent, and the police state that there was more drunkenness than ever before.
Review
Teams
RANGERS:
T Hamilton, Gray, R. Hamilton, McDonald, Simpson, Murray, Fleming, Marshall, McGowan, McPhail, Morton.
Scorers:
Morton.
CELTIC:
J. Thomson, Cook, McGonagle, Wilson, McStay, Geatons, R. Thomson, A. Thomson, McGrory, Scarff, Napier.
Scorers:
Referee: H. Watson (Glasgow).
Attendance: 81,515
Articles
- Match Report (see end of page below)
Pictures
Articles
The Scotsman – Friday, 2nd January 1931, page 4
OVER 80,000 PEOPLE AT IBROX.
The record of matches between Rangers and Celtic bristles with surprises. There was another yesterday. Compelled to play their entire Alliance half-back line, Rangers took the field with all the appearance of fighting a forlorn hope, yet pulled off a wonderful victory.
On the whole run of the game, a draw would not have been a bad result, but no praise is too high for the magnificent defensive game played by Simpson, at centre-half, for Rangers, and in a lesser degree by McDonald and Murray on the wings. Simpson held the key to victory. He shadowed McGrory without cessation, got the high balls with, his head, and kicked more surely than the great majority of the men on either side.
Morton's goal was snapped six minutes after the start in such a fashion as only a player of his genius could have snapped it. He was well into the centre, anticipating exactly what happened, and Thomson had no chance with his shot.
The conditions were very bad underfoot, and the quality of the football was affected, but there were some clever forward movements, in which Marshall for Rangers and R. Thomson for Celtic excelled.
Wilson, the Celtic right-half, was an outstanding success as a purveyor of the ball. His head work was delightful. Rangers had two goals disallowed, one of which seemed a good one. Celtic had one disallowed for offside.
The attendance was 83,500—a League record for Scotland. The gate drawings amounted to £3,392, also a money record.
"It looked as if Celtic might carry all before them following the resumption. McGrory had a clever header saved by Hamilton; a corner followed, then there was trouble between Hamilton and McGrory in the goalmouth. For a minute it seemed as if Celtic might get a penalty, but after consulting the linesman, the referee allowed play to go on."