SOMETIMES we have to make excuses, in the interests of fairness. The
weather can be foul, the pitch difficult, the pressures great. Other
times we just have to tell it like it was.
And woeful is about right to describe the Firhill fare served up by
Partick Thistle and Rangers. Afterwards, the word heard all over the
place was ''battle,'' followed closely by ''commitment.''
If you like that kind of entertainment then you were in clover but, if
you still harbour a notion for what is subtle, skilful and instinctive,
it would have been sensible to turn your back and look out at Firhill
St. You might even have seen a couple of wee lads knocking a ball about.
Happy memories.
Rangers manager Walter Smith, perhaps diplomatically, called it
''scrappy,'' and no-one could remember more than three or four efforts
at goal. Noise there was in abundance, especially in the last few
minutes, sweat poured out of every forehead and honest endeavour could
not be a faulted.
Smith had suggested on Friday that the latter part of the season might
be dominated by hard contests against teams desperate to avoid the drop
into the first division. He was right, but his own team contributed as
little in the way of skill as Thistle who, the way things are in the
league, know that they can only match the top teams with willingess and
industry and hope that they will negate their opponents' superior
quality in so doing.
On that basis their manager, John Lambie, was entitled to be more
satisfied than Smith, although he would have been really pleased if his
team had sneaked a winner, rather than finish at 1-1. Even so, for a
side at the very bottom of the table, this was a worthy show of . . .
er, commitment.
Their full back, Alan Dinnie, put into words what players in a side in
this predicament must do. ''I have been in this situation twice with
Dundee and it is a hell of a job getting out of it. The only way is to
battle like we did today in every game from now on. But it is no good
doing it against the Rangers and Celtics if we don't do it when we meet
the Falkirks and Kilmarnocks.
''In fact, we were sick that we didn't take three points, because we
felt we took the game to Rangers. But if we play like that we are
confident we will get out of this position.''
In a sense that was not quite accurate. Both teams took the game to
the centre of the park and left it there.
The consequence was a constant midfield scrap, which neither side
really won. As a result, the defences were rarely strained, and in John
Brown, making his first start since August, Rangers had a star turn,
perhaps bettered only by Steve Welsh in the opposite defence.
Smith was not interested in citing the makeshift line-up he was fored
to produce as an exuse for a mediocre performance. But when you have to
pick a team without Richard Gough, Basile Boli, Charlie Miller, Mark
Hateley, Ally McCoist, Brian Laudrup and Gordon Durie you are
considerably restricted, even at Ibrox.
The injury sustained by Andy Goram after 29 minutes was a further blow
and increased the sensation that this was a bit like a Rangers 'B' team.
It was a tough afternoon to bring in a new lad, even one as big and
strong as Brian McGinty, who was 19 last month. If nothing else, the
young striker discovered how little time a player gets to make a move in
these games, and the experience will have been helpful.
''We think he is a better midfield player than a striker and it was
not an easy day for a new boy,''said Smith.
Nothing much happened in the first half, but there was a bit more
liveliness about the second period, when Thistle were looking the more
likely side until David Robertson stepped in with a fine right-foot shot
to put Rangers ahead 12 minutes from the end.
That lifted the Jags on to a new plane of energy and they earned their
reward seven minutes later with an equaliser from Alex Taylor.
The Ibrox fans kept up their special disaffection with Chic Charnley,
but one or two went too far and he was hit by a coin as he prepared to
take a corner.
Rangers could afford to drop a couple of points, Thistle needed
anything they could get. Nobody was a winner, least of all the paying
customers.
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