Mexborough & Swinton Times – Friday 17 March 1933
Sheffield Senior Cup Final
Denaby Just Do It
Rawmarsh Defence Shines
Biggest Crowd for Years
Denaby United 1, Rawmarsh Welfare 0
Before one of the biggest crowd accommodated in the Hampden Road ground, Mexboro’. for many years, Denaby United beat Rawmarsh Welfare by a single goal scored ten minutes after the interval in the final of the Sheffield Senior Cup on Saturday.
The game was played in an atmosphere which is all too rarely created in these days, even in the finale of the main knockout competitions in this district. The enthusiasm, interest, and partisanship displayed round the rails, the exceptionally big crowd which overflowed on to the touch line, on the cricket pitch side of the ground, and the general tension which was heightened by a goalless and thrillingly contested first half, were all reminiscent of old times when money was not so tight as it is to-day and the clash of two local teams in a cup final would draw a crowd of from four to five thousand people any day. On Saturday the cup final atmosphere was complete. Hundreds of people made the journey from Rawmarsh on foot in addition to those who came by bus and there was also quite an exodus from Denaby though the whirring of rattles and the cheers which greeted the appearance of the Rawmarsh team as compared with Denaby’s rather milder reception indicated that the Sheffield Association side had the bigger, or at any rate the more vociferous, following.
Typical Cup Tie Football.
The game was typical of its kind; fast and vigorous rather than scientific, with the ball first in one goalmouth and then in the other and both goalkeepers getting plenty of chances to shine. The difference in the class of the teams was not marked, though Denaby showed more idea of constructive football, their forward movements being often full of promise in spite of the fact that they generally broke up against an unyielding Rawmarsh defence.
Defence was undoubtedly Rawmarsh’s strong point. The forwards as a line did not develop any concerted attack, most of the Rawmarsh advances being by means of strong clearances by the defenders, which the forwards were expected to follow up individually. Once or twice these tactics nearly succeeded when Stewart raced through, but Gale showed admirable judgment in coming out and got to the ball first each time. Though their defence was their strongest feature Rawmarsh did not spend all their time defending by any means and there was a period towards the end of the first half when Walker and Black had to drop back to help the Denaby halves. In Wesson and Chapman Rawmarsh had a pair of backs who with one exception, never showed any signs of faltering against the Denaby onslaughts. Wesson, in particular, caught the eye by his shrewd positioning an d resource in recovery. He played a strong game from start to finish and bad a perfect understanding with Chapman who showed up well against the speedy Siddall.
As the last line in this stubborn defence young Brownlow was exceptionally alert and made a lot of difficult shots seem quite innocuous by clever anticipation besides making a number of really brilliant saves when he had been unable to take up position in time to clear comfortably.
The Rawmarsh halves were a tenacious lot. Foster made some attempts to get Lovett going and occasionally placed the ball with precision, but the strong point of the trio was their ability as stoppers. Bland hung well back all the time and though Foster and Stokes were generally a little further up the field they never went very far from Siddall and Hagger and were always ready to fall back into the penalty area when Denaby ‘attached a particularly determined offensive. The great point about the Rawmarsh defenders was the consistent way in which they marked their opponents and took up position to intercept passes. Of the forwards Lovett was about the best, his speed making him a dangerous raider.
Barrow’s Artistry.
Denaby have played many better games but they played well enough for the occasion and deserved their victory. Apart from the soundness of the defence which relied less upon the expedient of packing the goalmouth than did Rawmarsh, but was none the less effective for all that, it was noticeable that whenever any of the Denaby halves got the ball he always tried to do something worthwhile with it. In this respect none was cleverer than Barrow whose artistry was delightful. Not once did he waste a ball by wild or purposeless kicking and his feinting and the way he often completely changed the point of attack made a baffling adversary for the Rawmarsh left flank. In the middle Seth King was as vigorous as any player on the field and adapted his game to the occasion. He performed some valuable defensive work in addition to serving both wings in a manner which against a less tenacious defence might have put Denaby on the way to a big score. Smith tackled as keenly as ever and was more deliberate than usual in his constructive work, and behind him Mountney slipped in time after time and cleared when dangerous situations threatened. His long legs and fine physique often enabled him to get to the ball where a less robust player would have failed. Matt. Taylor, wily as ever, discovered early in the game that he was no match for Lovatt’s young legs but the winger rarely got past him after a few early dashes. Taylor’s positioning left little to be desired. Gale was in great form and the way he caught the ball under the crossbar and got it away from among a crowd of players on several occasions marked him as a “class” ‘keeper in the making. One full-length save from Lovatt, too, in the second half, was as good as anything in the game. Bidden who hail steadily been regaining Ms confidence during the last few weeks was th 3 best of the forwards. He worked the ball very cleverly and his square centres I after imperilled the Rawmarsh goal. H gar did some good things but never shook off the attentions of Wesson and Crookes, and Black was not too happy, rather slower than usual.
The much criticised ADAMS got the goal which won the match for Denaby, following a wing -to-wing movement in which Nagger and Bidden was prominent. The ball went right across from left to right and was returned by Siddall to the centre-forward who drove it into the net along the ground and well to the right of Brownlow, who was unsighted. Adams did much more than score the all-important goal, however. He sent out some splendid passes to the wings, notably to Haggar and was only prevented from opening his account early in the game by a superb save by Brownlow who went full length to turn one of the Denaby leader’s “specials,” delivered from well outside the penalty area, round the post. In fact, under conditions which supposedly did not suit his style of play Adams gave a thoroughly satisfactory display. Walker, the best inside forward on the field, was as tireless as ever and with a little more steadiness might have scored. The inside forward” on both sides missed a number of chances for which the lively ball was largely to blame. The fast conditions were rather disconcerting, to several of the players who until recently have had exceptionally heavy grounds to contend with.
The “gate” receipts were £89.