Dashing Denaby

Denaby United 7 Bradford Reserves 3

In the first minute of Denaby United’s last home match of the season – against Bradford reserves on Saturday – the visitors move straight down to the Denaby goal with mechanical precision and McGarry scored for them. Remembering that Denaby had just had faculty in completing their team through the absence of 3 experienced players. I said to a colleague. “It’s going to be a massacre.” It was! – But I was wrong.

Abject apologies to Denaby. They gained their biggest victory of the season and thoroughly deserved it by rousing play and a grand copy book example by Harry Jones, slightly built, eager centre forward, of opportunism. They gained him a hat-trick, and he netted a fourth goal, which was disallowed.

The most rabid Denaby supporter would, however, be the first to admit that not a small amount of Denaby’s success was due to Craig, the Bradford goalkeeper, who just could not profit by dismal experience. Quite a number of the home goals might have been prevented by surer ball handling and he cultivated to a disastrous degree an unhappy habit of running out of goal on seemingly every possible and impossible occasion. Denaby led 5-2 at half-time.

Goals came within almost bewildering rapidity as here indicated: One minute McGarry, five minutes Strachan (Denaby), 12 minutes Strachan. 12 minutes Jones, 20 minutes McGarry, 30 minute Shephard (Denaby), 44 minutes Dickens (Denaby), 65 minutes McGarry, and 68 and 87 minutes Jones.

The cup final broadcast no doubt affected the attendance