Denaby Win Again.
Tired Team Beat Scunthorpe.
(Denaby United 2, Scunthorpe United 1)
On Monday, Denaby United played their last home game in the Midland League competition proper, and won it. The team has come along with a fine burst of good form in these last few games, and has greatly improved the club’s league position. But they have gone through some heavy work in the last three weeks. After beating Wath, and losing to Mansfield, they beat Worksop and Scunthorpe, all in the space of ten days. Six points out of eight were gained, and with any luck two points would not even have been lost to Mansfield.
But it was a tired team that turned out against Scunthorpe last Monday. The Denaby ground is in a terrible condition, and the team had played several gruelling games upon it. Two changes were made, Bloxham having to replace Kilner, who got a kick on Saturday, and Brown coming in for Rhodes, who was absent through family trouble. The form of Saturday was not reproduced by any means, and Bussey particularly completely failed to show his true form. He appeared to be in need of a rest. But the side was quite good enough for Scunthorpe, and but for the fact that Brown had the misfortune to put the ball through his own goal, it is extremely unlikely that the visitors would have had the soluce of a single goal.
It was another unpleasant afternoon, and the light was very bad at times. Because of this a good many spectators though Cooper had scored very early, the ball flashing across the goal and out at such a pace that it was impossible to follow except from near the goal. Denaby were easily the better side, and did nearly all the attacking. But they were not good in their finishing. But Reynolds had to save from Cooper, and then to run out and clear when the same player ”middled” dangerously. Greaves missed a kick close in and Reynolds just managed to scramble the ball away from Pearson. Pearson ran nearly half the length of the field, and was clear through, but Franklin overtook and stopped him. The right wing of the Scunthorpe defence put in good defensive work against the liveliness of Cooper and Pearson. The other wing was not so good, and Bloxham and Bussey both missed good opportunities. Then Cooper ran through and passed to Pearson, who was going through when he was impeded by Burnham, and referee Bull awarded a penalty kick from which WINDLE scored after 29 minutes. Shaw had hurt his foot, and played outside-left, limping badly for the rest of the half, but resumed at centre-forward after the interval. The Scunthorpe forwards were, however, weaker than Denaby’s in finishing, and the Denaby defence was very good. Matt. Taylor playing a very fine game throughout. It might be mentioned that representatives of Doncaster Rovers, Huddersfield Town, Hull City, and other first-class clubs were watching the game.
Scunthorpe gained several corners, chiefly through the speed and trickiness of Cammack, who was the best of the Scunthorpe forwards, but they made little use of them, the Denaby defence being too smart. Bromage made one very good save during the half, from Clarkson. The rest of his work was not difficult, but he dealt with it with marked coolness and promptitude. Only the one goal was scored in this half.
Within a minute of the restart Green hit the upright with a good shot, and Reynolds comfortably saved a header from Redfern. Shaw broke clean through and was tripped by Redfern before he could shoot, a free kick just outside the penalty area being taken by Burnham. The shot was a very strong one, and Bromage brought off a fine piece of work when he saved it. Scunthorpe played a lot better in this half, but Denaby still more than held their own. Bloxham hit the bar with a good shot from the wing, and Pearson missed a glorious chance when the ball rebounded to him. Another goal for Denaby came after.