Mexborough & Swinton Times – Saturday 08 February 1913
Denaby Beaten At Home
Denaby United 0 York City 1
Denaby United met with their usual experience on receiving a visit from York City, who won a hard and gruelling game by virtue of a goal scored by McMahon three minutes from the start. It was a brilliant point, and one which took the Denaby defence completely by surprise.
The game was played on a ground which rapidly became churned into something approaching a mud-heap, and in the circumstances mistakes made by the players were many and excusable.
There can be no mistaking that this season the club is experiencing a lot of adverse influence in regard to its home matches. Several of their “gates” have been ruined by adverse weather, and on Saturday a good deal of mischief was caused by the attractive Cup-tie at Barnsley.
Many Changes
Then, too, it was pretty evident by the strange character of the team that Denaby have been hard hit by the series of exasperating injuries to their players.
The team was re-shuffled with the idea of strengthening the half-back line, and Raybould was brought back to take the place of Pattinson, who is still on the injured list, while room was found for Brocklehurst at right-half, Portlock at inside-right, and Mercer as centre forward.
To Lang was given the unusual berth of inside-left, and he had as his partner another experiment in Frith. These changes did not work well.
Mercer was always overshadowed by Melville and Roddy Walker, while Lang, quite the best centre Denaby have had this season, could not stay in his low position, and was ever a roamer from wing to wing.
Denaby’s Revival
As for the play, it demonstrated that Denaby’s forward weakness is as pronounced as ever, and that the present material at the command of the club is not sufficient for the gathering of the goals that are urgently needed.
In the first half York City were much the smarter side, and had the Denaby defence continually on the stretch.
Well was it for the home team that that hard-worked trio, Heath, Swinbourne, and Jackson, were again in dependable form, for excepting their early slip, they presented such a solid defence that despite York’s pressure the City forwards were allowed few easy opportunities of shooting.
Now and again the Denaby attack came into the picture, but it was sadly lacking in method, and with Blackburn unable to get in one of his “extra special” clever aggressive movements always fizzled out tamely.
At the interval, York looked like fairly romping home with a big victory.
Everything But Goals
The second half, however, saw an altogether unexpected change in the condition of affairs. York started to attack in the first half way, but were beaten back.
Thereafter Denaby suddenly hit on a new lease of life and fairly revelled in the mud to almost worry the York back markers off their feet.
For a period unnecessary roughness crept into the play, and the referee, Mr. Pitchford, certainly showed strange leniency for an official with experience in the English League. Fouls were frequent, and Wilson, the York City right-half, was allowed far too much rope.
By this time most of the players were covered with mud from head to foot, but the pace they sustained was astonishing.
As the game progressed, Blackburn came into prominence with several fine centres, which, with a better set of forwards, would have been turned to account.
Even the great Walker, exceptional as he is, had at times to give way to the mud and other difficult positions.
Yet somehow or other all this pressure brought no tangible reward, and Atherton once brought off a grand save from a great drive by Raybould.
York Outstayed
Right to the end Denaby struggled hard for an equaliser, and had the hardest of hard luck with a couple of wonderful shots, one of which went just wide, and the other inches past the far upright.
York managed to cling to their lead to a desperate finish, and Denaby were somewhat unlucky to be beaten.
The football all through was resolute, though somewhat patchy, and Denaby’s revival, while it brought no tangible reward, was another evidence of the pluck of the players in continuing the fight against adversity.
Heath, for once in a way, did not have a great deal to do, but Swinbourne and Jackson throughout the first half again showed form worthy of praise.
The half-backs finished far better than they began.
The forwards, of whom little can again be said in their favour, are still not good enough for the requirements of the Midland League.
York City did not strike one as being a great side, and it was somewhat surprising that a professional team, with an average wage-earning capacity of £2 10s. per head, should have been outpaced and outplayed by lads who spend most of the week in the pit.