Scottish Football Reminiscences and Sketches Part 7

~Mr. Dunn.~

More genuine progress has been made in goalkeeping among the Scottish a.s.sociation clubs during the last decade than the average spectator cares to admit, but it is nevertheless a fact. Mr. Dunn played in most of the best matches of that year, and while he did very creditably in some of the ties, had the misfortune to lose four goals in this contest.

The Renton forwards, however, were too smart for the bulk of the Cambuslang backs, and woe betide a goalkeeper when he is not properly supported there! Mr. Dunn had a lively time of it in the contest, and saved some splendid s.h.i.+es from taking effect.

~J. Smith.~

The Cambuslang team were never famed for the brilliancy of their back play. It was what the forward division had done for that club in some of the most severe and uncertain of their matches that forced them to be looked upon in Scotland as one of the crack elevens. Mr. Smith was rather of the quiet and una.s.suming order of players, who thought much but said little, and did his work well. He was a fine kicker with either foot, and his tackling was severe, but honest and clean. With a good wind in his favour, few backs could equal him in a long kick, but he sometimes made mistakes near goal when he was hard pressed.

~Mr. M'Farlane.~

The best back in the Cambuslang eleven that season was undoubtedly Mr.

M'Farlane. He reminded me very much of the style of Mr. A. H. Holm (Queen's Park), who captained the Scottish team against England at Sheffield in 1883. He had rare ability in close tackling; used to get the ball away by clever heading, and was the most plucky young fellow to go to the a.s.sistance of a half-back one could see anywhere. His only defect--and it was a very bad one--consisted in getting up to an opponent and trying to take the ball away from him in the rear.

Sometimes it came off well, but at others his club had to pay the penalty with a free kick.

~Mr. Russell.~

In the present contest Mr. Russell was one of the three half-backs, and in no match during that season had a trio such terrible opponents to encounter as the two Campbells, M'Call, and M'Callum, who were perfect demons among the Renton forwards. Russell held out bravely for a time, but was eventually cornered, and, in the second half particularly, "lost his head," and allowed the Renton men to get up to Dunn too often. In some of the smaller matches of the club he played brilliantly, but did not really rise to the occasion in this memorable cup tie, and in most of the tackling came off second best.

~John Gourlay.~

It has often been said about Cambuslang that it was a club of three names! Those names, however, both individually and collectively, were fearless opponents to meet in any tussle, let alone a cup tie, and to the credit of Cambuslang be it said, no combination of players ever served a club so well, and had such pleasure in their hard work, as the Buchanans, Gourlays, and Smiths. They were more feared than admired by the members of the clubs twenty miles around, than the Elliots, and Armstrongs, or, shall I say, the Graemes, of the "debatable land" long ago. Both Mr. James and Mr. John Buchanan were famous players in their way, but the back was decidedly the best man, and was selected to play against Wales the same season.

~A. Jackson.~

Cambuslang's style of play, with their fast following up and jerky kicking, suited, or, I might say, favoured the old style of six forwards and only two half-backs, but they insisted on being in the fas.h.i.+on. The three half-backs, however, were only names to conjure with, but nothing in real practice, for Mr. Jackson was always made the kind of "flying man" of the team, and was nothing more or less than a forward. He always joined the latter division when they were attacking an opponent's goal, and retired well up among the backs when his club were pressed at the lines. In 1886 Mr. Jackson played against Wales, and was also included in the team against Ireland in 1888.

~John Buchanan.~

Although Mr. John Buchanan developed into a very fair half-back, and was selected to appear against Ireland last spring, he was included in the present match under notice as a forward, and I think he then played on the right. He was the fastest dribbler in the team, and a capital tackler. The combination among the Cambuslang forward division, however, on the occasion was completely spoiled by the superior tactics of the Renton eleven, and that fine pa.s.sing for which the village team were so justly famed was awanting that afternoon on Hampden Park.

~James Buchanan.~

Although similar in name, the play of the other Buchanan was quite different from that of Mr. John. He was always cool and collected, and had a fine style of dribbling and pa.s.sing which sometimes rose to perfection itself, but in his runs he was fond of showing off, and was easily tackled in consequence. But for this fault he would have been chosen to play in one of the Internationals the previous year. No player, however, loved the game and his old club so much, and practised more self-denial to attend the field on the eve of a big match, and do his best for victory.

~J. Plenderleith.~

Every club undoubtedly has its own ideal type of player, and I am almost sure that Plenderleith was the favourite among the Cambuslang forwards.

He had speed--and rare speed, too--and with a kind of long kick that he followed up in a style of his own, made great progress down the field.

He kept too close on the touch-line, however, and his great fault was kicking out--a dangerous thing when too near goal in this age of smart throwing in--for I notice a great improvement in this art during the past few years. We are, however, still behind the Englishmen in this respect, as most of them play cricket in the summer, and are consequently good s.h.i.+ers.

~G. Smith.~

Mr. George Smith was what I might honestly term a fair forward, not brilliant, but steady, and a good backer up. He was, however, always getting too near the line, and often had to submit to the indignity of being pressed into touch, and thereby losing the leather. The fact was he took too much room to work in, and was slow in following up an advantage. To give him his due, however, he was a very earnest worker, could stand a deal of tear and wear during a season, and was always available when wanted in a hurry by his club.

~James Gourlay.~

There is not a more steady player going at the present day than Mr.

Gourlay. He showed remarkable ability in pa.s.sing and middling, and his fast s.h.i.+es at goal were really splendid. In this event he was at his very best. Once or twice he started well with the ball at his toe, and made tracks for the Renton goal, but was badly supported in the following up, and often got collared by the opposing half-backs. He possessed great speed, like most of the other Cambuslang forwards, and scored a lot of the goals for his club that season in their best matches.

~H. Campbell (Renton).~

The two Campbells were young players in the Renton team three years ago, and in this match were considered sufficiently good to be included in the forward division that did so well against Cambuslang. Mr H. Campbell was a very fine dribbler and pa.s.ser, and good at close tackling. The pa.s.sing in this tie between Mr. J. M'Call and he was splendid, and went a long way in winning the match. He was also a veritable dodger when he got up to the opposing half-backs, and the partisans of the clubs who played Renton in 1888 used to hold their breath when they saw Campbell in front.

~J. Harvey (Renton).~

Unknown to fame as a regular player in the Renton eleven until the season when this event took place, or it may be the preceding one, Mr.

Harvey was one of the victorious forwards. He showed fair judgment, and middled the ball very neatly to the Campbells and M'Call. His dribbling, however, was a shade too wide, and as he had excellent speed, sometimes he over-ran the ball at a time when the other forwards were following close up, and lost chances to score.

~J. Campbell (Renton).~

Of all the young forwards who graduated in the dribbling game at the village of Renton, there never was a better shot at goal than Mr. J.

Campbell. Smart on his legs, with a good appearance, he dribbled splendidly, and half-backs caught a perfect Tartar when they came close up and attempted to take the leather away from him. His style near goal reminded me very much of Dr. John Smith, who scored so many goals in the half-a-dozen Internationals in which he took part against England.

Campbell never waited a second before making his parting shot, and sometimes the goalkeeper failed to get the ball before it went spinning through.

~The Final a.s.sociation Cup Tie of 1889.~

This tie was decided at Hampden Park on the 9th February, 1889, between the 3rd L.R.V. and Celtic, and ended in favour of the 3rd L.R.V. by two goals to one. The same clubs, however, had previously met to decide the contest, but both played under protest in consequence of the weather.

This naturally caused that additional excitement, which culminated at the final meeting on Hampden Park that Sat.u.r.day afternoon. The 3rd L.R.V. had long worked for possession of the coveted prize, and twice it was within their grasp, for they played and were defeated in the final ties on two previous occasions--viz., in 1876 by the Queen's Park, who scored two goals to none, and again in 1878 by the Vale of Leven, who overcame the warriors by one to none. If ever a team deserved victory in this event it was the 3rd Lanark Rifle Volunteers. The Celtic were more than foemen worthy of their steel, and considering the fact that the 3rd L.R.V. had come through the ties so creditably, and had that season vanquished the crack English professional combination, the victory was a most popular one all round. As for the Celtic, they are a young and powerful club, and can afford to wait a season or so for victory, for you know "everything comes to those who wait." The crowd was large, the weather fair, and the enthusiasm great. The Volunteers played with the wind, and made their first point out of a scrimmage about twenty minutes from the start, and this was all the scoring in the first round. The play after this was very even, and the Celts were showing off some grand combined efforts, but were unfortunate at goal. At length, however, the Irishmen made a brilliant sally on the Volunteers' stronghold, and Mr.

M'Callum put the ball between the posts. After this the play was so even that a draw seemed inevitable, and it was only by the determined play of the Cathkin Park team that at length the Celtic goal was taken for the second time by Mr. Oswald, junior, who was ably a.s.sisted in the successful run by Messrs. Marshall and Hannah. The Cup--that trophy which had cost some kind hearts (now silent for ever), an unsatisfied longing, and a constant anguish of patience--was safe to the old club at last! I accordingly give the players who took part in the tie, and start with the 3rd L.R.V.

~Downie (3rd L.R.V.).~

Mr. Downie deserves credit for the manner in which he has kept goal for the "warriors" during the past two seasons, when his club played and defeated some of the best in Scotland and England. In this event he had terrible work to perform, and got through it with much credit. So far as I can remember--and it is, indeed, no stretch of imagination--the goal got by Mr. M'Callum could not have been saved by any keeper, as it came out of a scrimmage from the Celtic man's foot like a rocket. Mr. Downie is a very neat kicker-out in front, and shows fine judgment with his hands in clearing the ball away from a crowd of opposing forwards.

~A. Thompson.~

Mr. Thompson is one of the best backs that last season produced, and had it not been that the two Queen's Park men--Messrs. Arnott and Smellie--had played together so well, and pleased the Committee of Selection in most of the best matches, Mr. Thompson would have been in the great International. As it was, he got the next best position, being chosen to play against Wales. He is a rare tackler, sometimes a little rough, but the finest kicker in front of a besieged goal I have ever seen. Sometimes in the heat of a scrimmage he loses the ball, but has the knack of recovering himself in an instant.

~J. Rae.~

The Volunteers were remarkably well served with their backs in this tie, and Mr. Rae made a capital companion to Mr. Thompson. He is scarcely such an accomplished tackler, but for neat kicking and feeding the forwards when they are playing an open game, I know none better. He is a splendid man for judging distances, and if he is certain the ball is nearer one of his companions than himself, gets close behind and backs up at once. To see Mr. Rae placing the leather in front of his forwards in a good match is a treat of no ordinary kind, and it may be mentioned that he played against Wales last season.