Mexborough & Swinton Times – Saturday 19 April 1913
Denaby Down Again.
Denaby United 1 Gainsborough Trinity 6
The keenest partisan of the home side did not expect Denaby to get the best of the argument with Gainsboro’ Trinity in their Midland League match on Saturday; but that they would meet with such a severe rout was hardly expected, and, in truth, the visitors’ superiority was a great deal exaggerated by the score of 6–1.
In accounting for Denaby’s defeat, the old, old story has to be told—the utter ineffectiveness of the forwards. Time after time in the opening stages they were within an ace of scoring, but destroyed their chances by wild, rash, and bad shooting, Calladine and Blackburn especially having apparently lost all knowledge of the geography of the goal.
It would be absurd to say that Denaby obtained even a moral victory, but had the gods of fortune smiled upon them even once when they were so near materialising their plucky efforts in the first half, a different complexion might have been put upon the result.
The Solitary Goal.
Denaby started off with all their old-time pluck and perseverance, and Blackburn was early prominent, testing Odell with a drive which the clever custodian was hard put to to negotiate.
Soon afterwards Denaby came again, but, as I have said, the forwards lacked cohesion, and chance after chance was absolutely frittered away.
When they were two goals in arrears, Denaby again took up the running, but at the time when they were having clearly the better of the game, they had the mortification of seeing Swinbourne put through his own goal.
Notwithstanding this reverse, they again attacked, and at last their efforts were rewarded, Bisby reducing the lead.
This was all the scoring in the first half. Play before the interval had been of a ding-dong character, the scene of operations constantly changing, although it was easy to see that the visitors were the smarter team, and were not exerting themselves over much.
The Triumphant Trinity.
The second moiety started with Denaby prominent, and Blackburn and Calladine early on tested Odell. Their non-success took some of the steam out of the homesters, and the second half was not very old before the defence entirely broke down, and the game was all the Trinity’s, who added another three before the final whistle went.
It would be unfair to criticise too harshly Denaby’s defence for their utter helplessness in the losing exchanges, for the weakness of the forward line had thrown all the work upon them, and they could hardly be expected, under those circumstances, to do themselves justice.
It is an old football adage that the best defence is a strong attack, and had Denaby’s quintette shown more resource and forcefulness, it is quite on the cards that Gainsboro’ Trinity would not have carried away both points.
As it was, we have to record another ignominious defeat for the colliers’ team; but this much can be said for them, that they never lost heart, and kept pegging away to the last minute.