Mexborough & Swinton Times – Saturday 22 February 1913
Further In the Mire
Denaby United 2 Doncaster Rovers 5
Denaby succeeded in getting further embedded in the mire in two senses on Saturday, when on a mud-covered ground they were beaten by Doncaster Rovers by five goals to two.
In the face of that score, it seems somewhat daring to assert that Denaby played the Rovers a good game, and that so far as the actual exchanges went, the defeated side had rather the best of matters.
But the chronic weakness of the Denaby forwards was once again demonstrated, and quite a harvest of good scoring chances was left ungathered.
This great fault was the more costly, seeing that the Denaby defence was a long way below standard. Swinbourne, who has played consistently well for his side all through the season at either right or left full-back, as the occasion demanded, was missing from the team, having scarcely recovered from some nasty knocks administered in the Chesterfield match.
The management persisted in a previous experiment in putting Jack Westwood in the back division to partner Jackson, and once again the experiment did not work satisfactorily. Jack Westwood is not a full-back.
Wasted Chances
As a matter-of-fact, Denaby should have made the game theirs in the first ten minutes of play, during which scoring chances were missed at point-blank range by both Lang and Fitton.
The latter had been re-introduced into the team at centre-forward. Both players erred in positions in which it seemed almost a work of art to fail.
In the early stages Blackburn came along with a series of beautifully-placed centres, and Bromage, the Rovers’ goalkeeper, stood helpless, what time the Denaby inside forwards frittered and fiddled away opportunities that a schoolboy would have pocketed with a wild war-whoop.
To add to Denaby’s accumulated misfortunes, as soon as Doncaster were allowed to become aggressive, Jack Westwood promptly missed his kick and let in Astill, who scored a very soft goal.
Denaby continued to work hard, but at best they only succeeded in muddling along in a profitless sort of fashion, and the Rovers came again for Buddery, the ex-Denaby centre, to claim a really good point.
More chances were wasted at the other end, and the Rovers got their third goal through Pattinson, the Denaby defence being badly at fault when the ball should have been easily cleared.
Rovers Revel
The Rovers were now revelling in the game, mud and all, and with Denaby unable to do anything right, the visitors made up a first-half quartette with another goal from the foot of Astill, who probably never shot so well as he did on Saturday, since he joined the Rovers.
In the second half Denaby, following their usual custom, showed a capacity for lasting which somewhat astonished the visitors, and the run of the game was largely in the home team’s favour.
A bit of a sensation was caused when Nuttall, one of the Rovers’ halves, fell to the ground unconscious, without having been interfered with by the other player. He had been seized, apparently, with a sudden faintness, and one of the Rovers’ supporters informed me that this was the second occasion this season upon which the popular Doncastrian had broken down in this unlooked-for fashion.
Ten minutes in the dressing-room, however, put him right, and on his return he played a strong game right to the finish.
The exchanges were maintained at a fierce pace, and the players were splashed from head to foot with mud. The ground was churned up until good football was hopelessly bogged, and the finer touches inevitably smothered.
As a consequence mistakes were frequent, but Denaby continued to peg away, and made things extremely warm for the Rovers’ defence.
Denaby’s Couple
Gregory, the old Denaby favourite, was doing yeoman service in the visitors’ defence, but as George Blackburn came more and more into the picture, the Doncaster left full-back was apt to resort to unconventional methods in stalling off the mercurial winger.
Denaby’s persistence was at length rewarded, for the Rovers gave away a penalty, which Blackburn converted.
Even that brief advantage was likely to be quickly thrown away, however, for almost immediately in a Rovers attack a penalty was awarded, but Pattinson muffed the spot-kick and shot wide.
Denaby were going great guns towards the end, and Peters got a second goal.
For fully ten minutes Blackburn was positively brilliant whenever he got the ball, several times he swung in electric first-time shots, which brought Bromage out of his goal to make a series of scintillating saves.
In fact, the shooting of Blackburn and the goalkeeping of Bromage were the classical features of the brightest period of a by no means uneventful game.
A Review
Denaby, as a matter-of-fact, have only themselves to blame for anything less than a draw. Fitton worked hard in the centre, but like Lang he could not find his shooting boots.
The resumption of the old wing partnership between Lang and Blackburn had an invigorating effect upon the attack, but Robert Hill, who partnered Frith on the left wing, was, like Fitton, not up to concert pitch at close quarters.
Mercer once again figured at centre-half, and put up a good show, working very hard, but his lack of inches and want of the instinct for feeding, which should be in-bred in the half-back, minimised a lot of his effort.
Smith, a newcomer, was fairly good, and Tim Peters was his old bustling self and fairly effective in the existing conditions.
Jack Westwood did not accurately fill Swinbourne’s shoes, and Jackson appeared to be affected at times by the loss of his usual partner.
Heath, for once in a way, did not display his usual brilliance, and mixed, upon occasion, was guilty of faulty judgment and want of understanding amongst the back-markers, was responsible for some part of Denaby’s downfall.
As for the Rovers, though they won handsomely, their football was not convincing, and on their form on the occasion of their three visits to this part of the Don Valley, they are not by any means so effective a side as last year.
They brought a good band, and there was a fairly good gate to watch the game.