Thursday, 1st January 1891
ORDINARY MATCHES (SELECTED)
ABERCORN 6 LONDON CASUALS 2
Half time: 4-1 Referee:
Underwood Park, Paisley
BLACKBURN ROVERS 2 HEART of MIDLOTHIAN 2 4,000
Half time: 2-2 Referee:
At Blackburn
CELTIC 1 DUMBARTON 1 15,000
Half time: 1-1 Referee: Mr Robertson (5th KRV)
Celtic Park, Glasgow
DARLINGTON 3 CLYDE 3
Half time: 2-1 Referee: Mr R. Peel (Middlesbrough)
Feathams Ground, Darlington
MIDDLESBROUGH 3 St.MIRREN 0 5,000
Half time: 0-0 Referee:
At Middlesbrough
NEWCASTLE WEST END 0 RANGERS 3 4,000
Half time: 0-0 Referee:
St.James’ Park, Newcastle
QUEEN’S PARK 3 CORINTHIANS 1 8,000
Half time: 1-1 Referee: Mr T. Park (President, SFA)
Hampden Park, Glasgow
SUNDERLAND 4 COWLAIRS 3 8,000
Half time: 2-2 Referee:
At Sunderland
SUNDERLAND ALBION 2 CAMBUSLANG 2 5,000
Half time: 0-2 Referee:
At Sunderland
A large number of clubs crossed the border to play their traditional holiday matches against English opposition. These fixtures generally produced much interest and resulted in generous match guarantee payments for the Scots clubs. The downside was the English clubs could see at first hand players that could be potential signings. This season, however, league clubs Abercorn, Celtic, Dumbarton and Third Lanark chose to remain at home.
The match between Celtic and Dumbarton produced the biggest crowd of the day. The numbers were no doubt swelled by the introduction of Sandy McMahon, Celtic’s new signing from Hibernian.
Friday, 2nd January 1891
ORDINARY MATCHES (SELECTED)
ARBROATH 0 DUMBARTON 6
Half time: 0-3 Referee:
Gayfield Park, Arbroath
BOLTON WANDERERS 1 St.MIRREN 1
Half time: 1-1 Referee:
At Bolton
BURY 3 HEART of MIDLOTHIAN 1 6,000
Half time: 3-1 Referee:
At Bury
NEWCASTLE WEST END 1 CLYDE 1
Half time: 0-0 Referee:
St.James’ Park, Newcastle
STOCKTON 3 CAMBUSLANG 1
Half time: 2-0 Referee:
At Stockton
SUNDERLAND 3 RANGERS 1
Half time: Referee:
At Sunderland
Saturday, 3rd January 1891
ORDINARY MATCHES (SELECTED)
ARDWICK 0 St.MIRREN 1
Half time: 0-0 Referee:
At Manchester
CELTIC 5 COWLAIRS 1 4,000
Half time: 0-1 Referee: Mr Mellish (Rangers)
Celtic Park, Glasgow
KING’S PARK 3 DUMBARTON 8
Half time: 3-3 Referee:
Forthbank Park, Stirling
MIDDLESBROUGH 0 RANGERS 1
Half time: 0-0 Referee:
At Middlesbrough
MIDDLESBROUGH IRON. 2 CAMBUSLANG 1
Half time: 2-1 Referee:
At Middlesbrough
NOTTINGHAM FOREST 8 HEART of MIDLOTHIAN 2
Half time: Referee:
At Nottingham
SUNDERLAND 4 VALE of LEVEN 1
Half time: 3-1 Referee:
At Sunderland
THIRD LANARK 4 LONDON CASUALS 1
Half time: 2-1 Referee:
Cathkin Park, Glasgow
This concluded the New Year Holiday fixtures with some clubs including Cambuslang, Hearts, Rangers and St.Mirren playing three games in three days.
It was widely reported that the game between Celtic and Cowlairs was a league match, however, it was in fact only an ordinary match. Cowlairs had just returned from England the night before.
Tuesday, 7th January 1891
RENTON FC v THE SCOTTISH FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION
Lord Kincairney gave judgement at the Court of Session in Edinburgh in the action by Renton FC against the Scottish Football Association for reduction of a minute in which it was resolved that Renton be declared professional, and expelled from the association. Also contended was that the resolution was ultra vires (i.e. an act requiring legal authority but done without it). Further, Renton sought £5,000 (around £650,000) in damages.
The judge acknowledged that the claim for damages had been withdrawn and allowed proof as to the averment of the pursuers, who are office-bearers and members of the club, that they were duly authorised at a meeting of the club to sue the present action.
In football terms the judgement could be given as 1-0 to Renton – they had a case to pursue. Renton’s primary objective was reinstatement and by withdrawing their claim for damages, this allowed for full focus on their claim of injustice.
MEETING OF THE SFA
The meeting began with the SFA confirming that it had instructed its agents to defend their case against Renton FC. This was in response to the judge’s decision that allowed Renton proof that they had a case against the SFA.
All three quarter-final cup ties played on Saturday, 20th December were the subject of protests. Leith Athletic protested on the state of the ground and letters were read from them, Abercorn and the referee, Mr Hay (Dumfries). In the opinion of the referee the ground on that occasion was in excellent and prime condition. A preliminary discussion was arose as to whether the referee was the only party who had the power to decide as to the condition of the ground. It was unanimously agreed that the referee had to declare the ground playable or unplayable. On this basis the protest was dismissed unanimously.
Both Celtic and Dumbarton protested on the same basis as Leith Athletic; that the ground was unplayable. Dumbarton subsequently withdrew their protest following their 3-0 win. The referee, Mr Dunn (Cambuslang), gave the opinion that the ground was perfectly playable after the snow had been cleared. Given that both teams had protested before the commencement of the game it was moved that the protest be sustained. The vote was tied at 6 each and on the casting vote of the chairman, Tom Park (Cambuslang) the protest was dismissed. There followed some heated discussion regarding Dumbarton’s action in lodging then withdrawing their protest but in the end nothing was decided.
East Stirlingshire protested their tie against Heart of Midlothian on three points; first, the state of the ground; second, that the Hearts defender, Adams, prevented a goal by “fisting out”; third, that the second goal scored by Hearts was in fact offside. The referee, Mr Anderson (Kilmarnock), stated that he did not receive a protest regarding the facts of play until after the match, these were therefore dismissed unanimously. Regarding the state of the ground the referee advised that this was never protested at all. On this point the protest was also unanimously dismissed and East Stirlingshire were ordered to pay the referee’s expenses in coming to give evidence.
A letter was read out from Heart of Midlothian complaining of the treatment they received from the spectators at Falkirk on the day of the match. The referee made a similar complaint. The East Stirlingshire representative contradicted the claims. After discussion it was resolved to censure East Stirlingshire on the account of the conduct of the crowd, and it was further decided that no cup ties be permitted to played on the club’s ground until the end of April next.
The draw for the semi-final of the Scottish Cup was made as follows: -
DUMBARTON v ABERCORN – Referee, Mr G. Sneddon (East of Scotland FA)
THIRD LANARK or QUEEN’S PARK v HEART of MIDLOTHIAN – Referee, Mr J. Robertson (5th KRV)
Once again the SFA has shown remarkable consistency in being inconsistent. In similar crowd disturbances both Ayr and Royal Albert were essentially let off yet East Stirlingshire were punished. Indeed the disturbance at Larkhall was the most serious of the three since by manufacturing an abandonment of the game Royal Albert were given a second chance at a game that was effectively lost.
Saturday, 10th January 1891
RENTON FC v THE SCOTTISH FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION
In the morning’s Court of Session hearing, Mr Dickson, for the SFA, ask for leave to appeal against the decision that Renton FC had a case against the Scottish Football Association. Lord Kincairney granted the request.
LEAGUE FIXTURES ROUND 14
COWLAIRS P RANGERS P
Match postponed. Players involved in the representative match.
RENTON V CELTIC V
Match void. Renton suspended from the SFA.
THIRD LANARK P CAMBUSLANG P
Match postponed. Third Lanark involved in a Scottish Cup tie.
League Table
| | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | GA |
1. | Dumbarton | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 8 | 15 | 3.500 |
2. | Rangers | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 13 | 9 | 1.923 |
3. | Third Lanark | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 1.333 |
4. | Cambuslang | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 20 | 17 | 6 | 1.176 |
5. | St.Mirren | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 19 | 23 | 6 | 0.826 |
6. | Vale of Leven | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 25 | 5 | 0.440 |
7. | Heart of Midlothian | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 14 | 4 | 1.071 |
8. | Renton | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 3 | 0.769 |
9. | Celtic | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 9 | 2* | 1.889 |
10. | Abercorn | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 29 | 2 | 0.483 |
11. | Cowlairs | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 19 | 0* | 0.421 |
* Celtic and Cowlairs both deducted 4 points for fielding ineligible players
Once again, for various reasons, the scheduled league matches were all postponed.
SCOTTISH CUP, QUARTER-FINAL
THIRD LANARK 1 QUEEN’S PARK 1 12,000
Half time: 0-1 Referee: Mr Robertson (5th KRV)
Cathkin Park, Glasgow
After two postponements the last of the Scottish Cup quarter-final ties was at last played. The game ended in a draw requiring a replay at a future date.
REPRESENTATIVE MATCH
SHEFFIELD FA 4 GLASOW FA 3 10,000
Watson(2),Bridgewater,Shaw Madden,Maxwell,McPherson
Half time: 1-3 Referee: Mr W.H. Pope (Sheffield Wednesday)
Bramhall Lane, Sheffield
Sheffield: Howlett (United), Lilley (United), Whitham (United), Groves (United), Howell (United), Cross (United), Watson (United), Woolhouse (Wednesday), Mumford (Wednesday), Shaw (United), Bridgewater (United)
Glasgow: McCorkindale (Partick Thistle), Thomson (Third Lanark), Gow (Rangers), Russell (Cambuslang), Kelly (Celtic), Mitchell (Rangers), Madden (Celtic), Brown (Cambuslang), Maxwell (Cambuslang), McPherson (Rangers), McLeod (Partick Thistle)
Glasgow showed four changes to the team originally selected; Thomson (Third Lanark), Madden (Celtic), Maxwell (Cambuslang) and McLeod (Partick Thistle) replaced Smellie and Gulliland of Queen’s Park and Johnstone and Burke of Third Lanark. This was the 18th annual meeting of the two Associations, Sheffield having lost 14 of the previous 17. Sheffield’s only win was recorded 1882 and it looked like that miserable run would continue when Madden fired Glasgow ahead after just 5 minutes. Although Watson equalised for Sheffield shortly after, two further goals for Glasgow from Maxwell then McPherson gave them a comfortable half time lead. Sheffield fought back immediately from the start of the second half with Bridgewater scoring on 47 minutes. Watson equalised with his own second then with 20 minutes to go Shaw put Sheffield ahead 4-3. Sheffield held on for a famous victory despite Glasgow’s best efforts to level.
RENFREWSHIRE CUP, SEMI-FINAL
AURTHLIE P St.MIRREN P
Match postponed. Waterlogged pitch.
PORT GLASGOW ATH. P CLIPPENS THISTLE P
Match postponed. Waterlogged pitch.
ORDINARY MATCHES (SELECTED)
ABERCORN 3 LINTHOUSE 3
Half time: 0-1 Referee:
Underwood Park, Paisley
HEART of MIDLOTHIAN 6 MOTHERWELL 0
Half time: 0-0 Referee:
Tynecastle Park, Edinburgh
RANGERS 1 NOTTINGHAM FOREST 2 2,000
Half time: 1-0 Referee: Mr A. Kennedy (Third Lanark)
Ibrox Park, Glasgow
Tuesday, 13th January 1891
LETTER PUBLISHED IN THE GLASGOW EVENING NEWS
The following letter was published in the Glasgow Evening News pleading that in the interests of fair play an official should be placed behind each goal to aid the referee. Interestingly the proposal by an “ordinary fan” did not get implemented for some 110 years later and even then it was limited to “prestige” tournaments: -
“SIR, - As a lover of the sports I venture to trespass on your valuable space in order to lay before the public the advisability of an alteration in the present conduct of matches. There are now two umpires and a referee, whose duty it is to watch the game and to give unbiased decisions; but those decisions sometime differ from the opinion of the best of all referees – namely, the public; and indeed, it cannot be wondered at, for it is almost impossible foe either referee or umpire to keep up with the fast play that sometimes takes place, and such as happened on Saturday at the Queen’s Park v Third Lanark match, when the referee gave a decision of a goal to the Third Lanark, which, to those of the general public near, was adverse to what really happened. The referee was a long way off – some 15 or 20 yards, and his view of the ball was probably obstructed by anxious players. The umpires were also a long way off, and not near the line of straight to be able to see exactly what occurred. The referee no doubt saw the ball drop from the goalkeeper’s hands after being stopped by him, but it seemed to those near 12 to 18 inches away from the line on the inside, and a decision was a goal. The public at the end in question were astounded at such a decision. Smellie and Gillespie seemed amazed, and other players near seemed not to be ready for a decision. Now, to avoid a repetition of such decisions would it not be advisable to appoint a referee at each goal? It certainly would assist to arrive at decisions of off-side, for it invariably happens that off-side disputes arise near the goal, and would not a referee at the goal have been useful when the scrimmage took place at the other end close upon the line? Whether such as I have suggested be adopted or not, something should be done to arrive at correct and just decisions upon all points, which would be gratifying and satisfactory to the general public, as well as to yours, &c., A LOVER OF FAIR PLAY.”
Saturday, 17th January 1891
LEAGUE FIXTURES ROUND 15
CAMBUSLANG 4 COWLAIRS 0 2,000
Low,Brown,Maxwell,Untraced
Half time 3-0 Referee: Mr Grant (Rangers)
Cambuslang: Ross, Smith, Collins, Russell, Jackson, Jamieson, Low, James Buchanan, Maxwell, Gourlay, Brown
Cowlairs: Duff, McLeod, McCartney, Elliott, Buist, Masterton, Henderson, Shanks, McPherson, Peacock, Lyall
CELTIC P THIRD LANARK P
Match postponed. Third Lanark involved in a Scottish Cup tie.
DUMBARTON V RENTON V
Match void. Renton suspended from the SFA.
RANGERS P ABERCORN P
Match postponed. Abercorn involved in a Scottish Cup tie.
St.MIRREN P HEART of MIDLOTHIAN P
Match postponed. St.Mirren involved in a Renfrewshire Cup tie.
REARRANGED FIXTURE
VALE of LEVEN 1 RANGERS 3 5,000
Bruce McPherson,McCreadie,Hislop
Half time: 0-3 Referee:
Vale of Leven: Wilson, Whitelaw, Sharp, McLeod, McNicol, Cornoch, Rankin, Cowan, Graham, Mills, Bruce
Rangers: Reid, Gow, Muir, A. McCreadie, Mitchell, McIntyre, Henderson, McPherson, Kerr, H. McCreadie, Hislop
League Table
| | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | GA |
1. | Dumbarton | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 8 | 15 | 3.500 |
2. | Rangers | 7 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 28 | 14 | 11 | 2.000 |
3. | Cambuslang | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 24 | 17 | 8 | 1.412 |
4. | Third Lanark | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 1.333 |
5. | St.Mirren | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 19 | 23 | 6 | 0.826 |
6. | Vale of Leven | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 12 | 28 | 5 | 0.429 |
7. | Heart of Midlothian | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 14 | 4 | 1.071 |
8. | Renton | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 3 | 0.769 |
9. | Celtic | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 17 | 9 | 2* | 1.889 |
10. | Abercorn | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 29 | 2 | 0.483 |
11. | Cowlairs | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 23 | 0* | 0.348 |
* Celtic and Cowlairs both deducted 4 points for fielding ineligible players
Another disrupted League programme with only one of the scheduled matches going ahead, cup-ties being the main cause of the postponements. Cowlairs played their first match since 25th October 1890. With Rangers match against Abercorn postponed and Vale of Leven having a free Saturday they agreed to bring their fixture forward from the 25th January 1891 forward. Like Cowlairs, both had not played any league fixtures since the middle of October.
The match between Cambuslang and Cowlairs started at a very fast pace with both teams creating early chances. However after 10 minutes Cambuslang gained the upper hand when Low scored. This was soon followed by a second and a third with Brown then Maxwell on target. The first half finished with the villagers well on top. In the second half Cowlairs made strenuous efforts to get back into the game the experiment with James McPherson as centre forward proved fruitless. 5 minutes from time Cambuslang scored a fourth goal from a scrimmage. The win put them into third place.
An early goal from McPherson settled Rangers and fairly dominated the Vale from that point onwards. After 17 minutes Hugh McCreadie added a second with Hislop adding a third just before half time. In the second half Vale of Leven improved but Rangers still remained comfortable with a 3-goal lead. Bruce did manage to pull one back for the Vale but the Glasgow men were never in danger of losing thus allowing them to cut Dumbarton’s lead at the top of the table.
SCOTTISH CUP, QUARTER-FINAL REPLAY
QUEEN’S PARK 2 THIRD LANARK 2 12,000
Half time: 1-2 Referee: Mr Robertson (5th KRV)
Hampden Park, Glasgow
SCOTTISH CUP, SEMI-FINAL
DUMBARTON 3 ABERCORN 1
Half time: 2-0 Referee: Mr Sneddon (East of Scotland FA)
Boghead Park, Dumbarton
Another headache for both the SFA and the League as Queen’s Park and Third Lanark fail to bring the tie to a conclusion. Meanwhile Dumbarton ease their way into the final.
RENFREWSHIRE CUP SEMI-FINALS
ARTHURLIE 1 St.MIRREN 3 3,000
Half time: 1-2 Referee: Mr Allison (Morton)
Dunterlie Park, Barrhead
PORT GLASOW ATH. 5 CLIPPENS THISTLE 1
Half time: 2-1 Referee:
Clune Park, Port Glasgow
St.Mirren will meet Port Glasgow Athletic in the Renfrewshire Cup final.
ORDINARY MATCHES (SELECTED)
CELTIC 1 CLYDE 3
Half time: 1-2 Referee: Mr G.Ward (Partick Thistle)
Celtic Park, Glasgow
HEART of MIDLOTHIAN 3 LINTHOUSE 3
Half time: 2-1 Referee:
Tynecastle Park, Edinburgh
Monday, 19th January 1891
QUEEN’S PARK AND THIRD LANARK
With both clubs drawing their Scottish Cup quarter-final replay, the second reply is due to be played on Saturday 24th January 1891 at a neutral venue. However the clubs have agreed that the match should go ahead at Hampden Park, home of Queen’s Park. This is in direct contravention of Rule 11 of the Scottish Cup competition that states – “after the fourth round clubs drawing twice must play off their tie on a neutral ground selected by the committee, and play an extra half hour in the event of a draw.” The clubs sought and were given permission to do this from the Business & Professional Committee of the SFA.
It would appear that when Queen’s Park are involved rules can be bent to suit.
Wednesday, 21st January 1891
MEETING OF THE EAST of SCOTLAND FA
The meeting discussed a request from the Dunbartonshire FA regarding the forthcoming football match between the two associations. The Dunbartonshire FA felt that a postponement of the match, due to be played on 31st January 1891, might be in order as they would be unable to select players from Dumbarton and Vale of Leven. As they would be unable to field their strongest team they did not wish to insult the East of Scotland Association. The committee agreed that the game should go ahead regardless as they would be in a similar position as regards selection since player from Heart of Midlothian would also be unavailable. The match should go ahead as scheduled with Logie Green the venue.
Saturday, 24th January 1891
LEAGUE FIXTURES ROUND 16
ABERCORN 5 St.MIRREN 0 4,000
Buchanan(2),Raeside,E.McBain(og),Wylie,
Wallace
Half time 1-1 Referee: Mr McDonald
Abercorn: Fleming, A. Cuthbertson, D. Cuthbertson, Johnstone, Bowie, Reid, Wallace, Nicol, Raeside, Buchanan, Bonnar
St.Mirren: Cameron, A. McBain, McFarlane, McCartbney, Brown, E. McBain, Morrison, McAuley, Wylie, Dunlop, Douglas
COWLAIRS V RENTON V
Match void. Renton suspended from the SFA.
DUMBARTON 5 CAMBUSLANG 0 3,000
McNaught,Bell(2),Kerr,Thomson
Half time: 3-0 Referee: Mr Marshall (Third Lanark)
Dumbarton: McLeod, Laing Miller, McMillan, Boyle, Keir, Thomson, Galbraith, Kerr, McNaught, Bell
Cambuslang: Ross, Smith, Collins, Russell, Jackson, Jamieson, Low James Buchanan, Maxwell, H. Gourlay, Brown
THIRD LANARK P HEART of MIDLOTHIAN P
Match postponed. Third Lanark involved in a Scottish Cup tie.
VALE of LEVEN P RANGERS P
Match postponed. This fixture was played the previous Saturday
REARRANGED FIXTURES
HEART of MIDLOTHIAN 0 RANGERS 1 5,000
Kerr
Half time: 0-0 Referee: Mr Hastie (Abercorn)
Heart of Midlothian: Gibson, Adams, Goodfellow, Hill, Begbie, McPherson, Taylor, Mason, Russell, Scott, Baird
Rangers: Reid, Marshall, Gow, A. McCreadie, Mitchell, McIntyre, Henderson, McPherson, Kerr, H. McCreadie, Hislop
VALE of LEVEN 3 CELTIC 1 4,000
Mills, Graham, Cowan Campbell
Half time: 2-1 Referee:
Vale of Leven: Wilson, Smith, G. Sharp, Cornoch, McNicol, J. Sharp, Cowan, Rankin, T. Graham, Mills, Bruce
Celtic: Bell, Gallagher, …., Reynolds, Maley, McGhee, Madden, Boyle, McMahon, Dunbar, Campbell
League Table
| | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | GA |
1. | Dumbarton | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 8 | 17 | 4.125 |
2. | Rangers | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 29 | 14 | 13 | 2.071 |
3. | Cambuslang | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 24 | 22 | 8 | 1.091 |
4. | Vale of Leven | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 15 | 29 | 7 | 0.517 |
5. | Third Lanark | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 1.333 |
6. | St.Mirren | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 20 | 28 | 6 | 0.714 |
7. | Heart of Midlothian | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 15 | 4 | 1.000 |
8. | Abercorn | 9 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 19 | 30 | 4 | 0.633 |
9. | Renton | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 3 | 0.769 |
10. | Celtic | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 18 | 12 | 2* | 1.500 |
11. | Cowlairs | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 23 | 0* | 0.348 |
* Celtic and Cowlairs both deducted 4 points for fielding ineligible players
For the first time in months the Scottish League was able to play almost a full programme of matches, albeit with the help of some rearranged matches. The rearranged games were those postponed from 6th December 1890.
The Paisley derby produced a surprisingly heavy defeat for St.Mirren by Abercorn. Although Abercorn’s league form to date has been poor they did reach the Scottish cup semi-final and seemed determined to rectify that. It took Abercorn just 3 minutes to take the lead with a well-taken goal by Buchanan and this spurred St.Mirren into action. For a good deal of the first period they kept Abercorn in their own half but poor finishing in front of goal let them down. With just a minute to go before the end of the first half St.Mirren at last got their reward when Wylie equalised. At the start of the second half, Abercorn made their intentions clear when Raeside put them back in front on 46 minutes and 4 minutes later they were 3-1 ahead when Buchanan got his second goal. St.Mirren tried hard to get back into the game but their case was not helped when Eddie McBain headed an own goal in an attempt to clear the ball. With barely a minute left Wallace made it 5-1 to Abercorn.
Despite having several of their regular players missing, Dumbarton still proved too strong for Cambuslang. Dumbarton opened strongly and soon had Cambuslang in all sorts of trouble when McNaught put them 1-0 up after 15 minutes. Midway through the half Bell made it 2-0 after some fruitless attacks by Cambuslang. Bell got his own second and Dumbarton’s third on 35 minutes and from that point on there was no way back for the villagers. With 20 minutes to go Kerr made it 4-0 and just before the end Thomson added a fifth. At this stage of the season Dumbarton look unstoppable, still unbeaten, sitting well clear at the top of the league and in the final of the Scottish Cup.
Hearts having had a poor start to the season have improved greatly recently and reached the semi-final of the Scottish Cup so they lined up at Tynecastle confident of getting a result against Rangers. After an initial bright start from the Glasgow team, Hearts set about pressurising Rangers and soon had them on the ropes. By the end of the half, Hearts were by far the better team and only desperate defending by the visitors kept their goal intact. The second half was more of the same; Rangers were being outplayed by the Edinburgh team but could not make the vital breakthrough. In the end Hearts paid for not capitalising on their superiority when Rangers broke away and Kerr scored with 10 minutes left. Hearts protested strongly that the goal was offside but the referee let the goal stand. Hearts redoubled their efforts in the remaining minutes but to no avail and Rangers were lucky to leave Edinburgh with a victory.
Celtic are another team having an erratic season; they have the players but do they have a team? Although bolstered by two new signings from dormant Hibernian, McGhee and McMahon, they were forced to play with only 10 men after full back McKeown missed the train and failed to appear. Vale of Leven seem to be in a sorry state and having lost the previous week to Rangers, expected little from this game. Those expectations did not change when Campbell put Celtic 1-0 up after 10 minutes but they soon took advantage of the weakened Glasgow team and Mills equalised for the Vale. Just before half time Graham put Vale of Leven in front. Despite being a man short, Celtic made great efforts to at least secure a draw but Vale held out. It was not until the dying minutes of the match that Cowan grabbed Vale’s third and made the game safe.
SCOTTISH CUP, QUARTER-FINAL SECOND REPLAY
QUEEN’S PARK 1 THIRD LANARK 4 10,000
Half time: 1-0 Referee: Mr Robertson (5th KRV)
Hampden Park, Glasgow
The remaining quarter-final tie was settled at last in favour of Third Lanark. They will now meet Heart of Midlothian in the semi-final.
ORDINARY MATCHES (SELECTED)
COWLAIRS 4 GLASGOW WANDERERS 2
Half time: 2-0 Referee:
Springvale Park, Glasgow
MORTON 1 CLYDE 1
Half time: 1-1 Referee:
Cappielow Park, Greenock
Monday, 26th January 1891
MEETING OF THE EAST of SCOTLAND FA
The meeting was called to select the team to play Dunbartonshire FA on Saturday, 31st January 1891. However further doubt was cast over the playing of the fixture as a telegram was received from the Dunbartonshire FA stating they would be unable to fulfil the fixture owning the fact railway facilities could not be secured. With the rail services in the grip of a national strike any services were extremely limited and unreliable. The East of Scotland FA replied by offering to pay the extra expense the team may incur by driving home.
Tuesday, 27th January 1891
MEETING OF THE SFA
The first order of business was to confirm that the final of the Scottish Cup would take place on the original date of 7th February 1891. Hampden Park was selected as the venue and the officials appointed would be: - Mr T. R. Park (SFA President) as referee, Messrs G. Sneddon (SFA Vice President) and J. Robertson (5th LRV) as umpires. It was further decided that the cup be presented on the same evening that it was won, provided no protest was lodged.
Mr W. Wilton (Rangers) raised the question of the legality of the Business & Professional Committee’s decision in reference to the appointment of Hampden Park in the recent cup-tie between Queen’s Park and Third Lanark. Mr Park ruled he was out of order, not having referred to the matter at the time the minutes were read. Wilton countered by giving notice that at the next meeting he would call attention to the matter.
In terms of the notice given at the last meeting, Wilton then moved that the following provision be added to the cup-tie rules: -
“In the event of both clubs protesting to the referee as to the unplayability of the ground, the referee shall declare the tie postponed, and intimate same to the secretary of the Association. Should one of the competing clubs protest, the referee shall examine the ground and decide whether it is playable or not, said clubs not to engage in any other game that day.”
The motion moved to a vote and was defeated, 11 votes to 4.
The first matter raised by William Wilton is one that should have not been required to be initiated from the floor. Queen’s Park, in collusion with Third Lanark and the SFA Business & Professional Committee, clearly broke Rule 11 of the cup-tie rules and therefore should have been on the agenda as a matter of course. By ruling the matter out of order on a technicality, the SFA President more or less indicated that no action would be taken over such a breach. Had any club other than Queen’s Park broken the rule it would almost certainly not have been treated so lightly. Having given formal notice that he would raise the matter at the next meeting, Wilton indicated that the matter would not just fade away.
Wilton’s motion to add a clear protocol to protests before the game kicked off was a clear reference to the tie between Dumbarton and Celtic; Dumbarton withdrew their protest having won the game. This sensible provision was stupidly defeated therefore allowing clubs to continue to attempt to hedge their bets in similar future situations.
Wednesday, 28th January 1891
MEETING OF THE RENFREWSHIRE FA
The meeting confirmed that the Renfrewshire Cup Final between St.Mirren and Port Glasgow Athletic would take place at Cappielow Park, Greenock, on Saturday, 14th February 1891.
The following team was selected to play the East of Scotland FA on 21st February 1891: -
Airston (Arthurlie), A. Cuthbertson (Abercorn), D. Cuthbertson (Abercorn), Johnstone (Abercorn), Brown (St.Mirren) (Capt.), E. McBain (St.Mirren), Hughes (Arthurlie), Nicol (Abercorn), Raeside (Abercorn), Neil (Port Glasgow Athletic), Douglas (St.Mirren).
Saturday, 31st January 1891
LEAGUE FIXTURES ROUND 17
CAMBUSLANG V RENTON V
Match void. Renton suspended from the SFA.
COWLAIRS P ABERCORN P
Match postponed. Waterlogged pitch.
DUMBARTON P VALE of LEVEN P
Match postponed. Waterlogged pitch
RANGERS P CELTIC P
Match postponed. Waterlogged pitch
THIRD LANARK P St.MIRREN P
Match postponed. Third Lanark involved in a Scottish Cup tie.
League Table
| | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | GA |
1. | Dumbarton | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 8 | 17 | 4.125 |
2. | Rangers | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 29 | 14 | 13 | 2.071 |
3. | Cambuslang | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 24 | 22 | 8 | 1.091 |
4. | Vale of Leven | 9 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 15 | 29 | 7 | 0.517 |
5. | Third Lanark | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 1.333 |
6. | St.Mirren | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 20 | 28 | 6 | 0.714 |
7. | Heart of Midlothian | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 15 | 4 | 1.000 |
8. | Abercorn | 9 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 19 | 30 | 4 | 0.633 |
9. | Renton | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 3 | 0.769 |
10. | Celtic | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 18 | 12 | 2* | 1.500 |
11. | Cowlairs | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 23 | 0* | 0.348 |
* Celtic and Cowlairs both deducted 4 points for fielding ineligible players
Once again the league fixtures were wiped out, this time by torrential rain that swept the whole country leaving just about every ground waterlogged. Very few of any games survived.
SCOTTISH CUP, SEMI-FINAL
THIRD LANARK 1 HEART of MIDLOTHIAN 4 2,500
Half time: 1-3 Referee: Mr Robertson (5th KRV)
Cathkin Park, Glasgow
Both teams protested before the kick off at the state of the pitch both the referee, Mr Robertson, deemed that the match should go ahead. This was exactly the kind of scenario that William Wilton wanted to avoid when he raised the issue at the last meeting of the SFA. His proposal was rejected and the match went ahead on the referee’s say so despite the fact that the playing surface could have been deemed dangerous.
Despite both teams being league contenders, Third Lanark were by far the favourites to win the game so the final result was seen in most quarters as a shock. The atrocious weather conditions contributed to the poor turn out of spectators for such an important game, many not bothering to turn up as they expected the game to be called off.
Heart of Midlothian will now meet Dumbarton in the final on Saturday, 7th February 1891.
REPRESENTATIVE MATCHES
EAST of SCOTLAND FA P DUNBARTONSHIRE FA P
Match postponed. Waterlogged pitch.
GLASGOW N. E. FA 3 AYRSHIRE FA 1 500
Mathieson,Robb(2) Untraced
Half time: 3-0 Referee:
Barrowfield Park, Glasgow
Glasgow North Eastern FA: Fortune (Clyde), Maxwell (Clyde), MacFarlane (Thistle), Gemmell (Thistle), McKinnon (Northern), Drummond (Clyde), Mathieson (Thistle), Neaves (Clyde), Robb (Thistle), Watson (Northern), Lindsay
Ayrshire FA: Chalmers (Stevenston Thistle), Hamilton (Ayr), Orr (Kilmarnock), Jack (Ayr), Gourlay (Annbank), Smith (Hurlford), McLean (Kilmarnock Athletic), McGill (Kilmarnock Athletic), King (Hurlford), McAvoy (Kilmarnock Athletic), Houston (Stevenston Thistle)
Glasgow North Eastern FA got the better of the Ayrshire men in a match played in torrential rain at a virtually deserted Barrowfield Park.
