Mexborough & Swinton Times – Saturday 22 November 1924
English Cup
Fourth Qualifying Round
Denaby Drop Out
A Keen Game At Kettering
“Poppies” Too Good
Kettering Town 3 Denaby United 0
Next year Remembrance Day will have a special significance for Denaby United, for the poppies will assuredly bring back memories of last Saturday, when at Kettering they were defeated in the fourth qualifying round of the English Cup competition.
In a way, Kettering were very lucky to win as they did and the score of three goals to nil is by no means a true reflex of the game. The Kettering team are known locally as the “Poppies” because they play in red jerseys, and the official programme of the Kettering Town F.C. Ltd., is known as “The Poppy.” It is not surprising therefore that Kettering was very reminiscent of the previous Saturday, for it was poppies, poppies everywhere, and the itinerant vendors of these emblems along the Rockingham Road did a roaring trade.
The Denaby team and officials travelled on Friday afternoon and made the Royal Hotel their headquarters. On Thursday night Stanley Pearson was examined by the doctor and pronounced unfit to play owing to an injury received at Castleford the previous Saturday. Bloxham, the youth who has been shaping well at centre-right with the Reserves and occasionally with the senior eleven, went in addition to those originally selected and the party consisted of Ashmore (captain), Brayshaw, Burkinshaw, Bloxham, Bromage, Cooper, Hill, Illingworth, Lack, F. Rhodes, and Reaton. Taylor and Windle (members of the team), accompanied by Mr. T. J. Gregory (chairman of the management committee), Mr. J. Hancock (secretary-manager) and Mr. W. Asbury (financial secretary), and about half-a-dozen supporters accompanied the team.
The day broke fine and warm. In fact, the sun shone through the morning and continued for the major portion of the match, so that conditions were ideal. During the morning the Denaby team were shown round the boot factory of Messrs. William Simpson, Ltd., stated to be the most up-to-date in Europe, and many were astonished at the wonderful machinery. They saw the whole process from the leather coming into the factory to the turning out of the finished article, at the rate of 12,500 pairs per week, and Mr. Hancock and Mr. Asbury expressed the team’s appreciation at the close of the tour of these extensive works.
Telegrams were received from the Trustees of the Denaby and Cadeby Welfare Institute, from “Hammie,” easily recognised as Hamilton, Denaby’s outside right of last season, and Mr. Asbury received one from “Spion Kop,” which read, “Over the top, and the best of luck.” “Lamb” was there in his amber and black striped jersey, and wearing a silk hat with yellow stripes on it. He caused a good deal of amusement on the stand when he stood on the field and informed the spectators that Denaby’s players worked down a real pit, not one like that at Wembley; and his little encounter with the “Poppies” mascot, an old man in a red jersey and a cap smothered with poppies. He helped at the preliminary shooting in, watched the toss and shook hands with the Kettering captain, Mr. R. F. Wright, the Northamptonshire County Cricketer, and the referee, Mr. T. Crew, of Leicester.
An hour before the commencement, the gates were opened, and it was soon apparent that there was to be a good attendance, for a steady stream of spectators passed the turnstiles and the sea of faces round the ropes was ever increasing until by the time of the kick-off there would be about seven thousand spectators on the field, and it appeared as if the record “gate,” one of 7,680, on November 1st, when a local team, Desborough, was knocked out of Cup, would be broken. A noticeable feature of this large attendance was the number of ladies; there must have been at least two thousand of them, and they all appeared keenly interested in the game.
The ground is pleasantly situated in Rockingham Road on the outskirts of the town and is fairly well equipped as far as stand accommodation and other facilities are concerned, though it will not hold so many persons as the Denaby ground would, and the accommodation for teams is not up to the standard of Denaby. Regarding the playing pitch there is quite a big slope, although a good deal of levelling has been done. It was this slope which cost Denaby the match, or rather, the fact that Denaby failed to take advantage of it.
They are not a very demonstrative people, and when the Kettering team took the field there was not very much noise, less than Northerners are accustomed to for a crowd of such proportions. Kettering made no changes from the selected eleven, but Denaby’s team was vastly different from that set out on the programme. We found Illingworth leading the forward line, with Bloxham at outside right, Ashmore moved to centre-half, and F. Rhodes came in at right-half.
Ashmore won the toss for the first time in three Cup matches, and elected to kick down the slope and to face the sun. The Kettering supporters must have appreciated this, for whenever they win the toss they always kick uphill.
It was in this half of the match that the game was won and lost, won, one might say when Burkinshaw got what appeared to be a perfectly legitimate goal very early on, to have it ruled off-side, and lost when Denaby failed to take advantage of the slope.
Kettering first advanced, but within five minutes Denaby had forced a corner, and Ashmore was unlucky when the ball came to him, and Harrison cleared. Then Cotton, a tall and fleet reserve winger, who is something of an idol locally, got into full flight, but Rhodes chased him and took the ball from him. A melee in the Denaby goal was eased by Taylor’s timely clearance. R. F. Wright got going along the left-wing, and Kettering were proving better than Denaby at footwork. From a free kick the ball went to Illingworth, who passed to Burkinshaw, and he found the net. The referee adjudged him to be off-side and turned Denaby’s gladness to gloom.
Reay was showing fine speed along the home right wing, and early on showed that trouble might be expected from that quarter. The spectators now began to liven up and to appeal to the “Poppies” to do something. There was a startling response. McClure did well from Cooper, and his clearance eventually went to Reay, who dashed along the wing like a streak of lightning, with Windle in hot pursuit. Reay got in a beautiful centre just out of the reach of Bromage and before “Joe” could turn round FOSTER had rushed in from the left, met the ball with his head and flashed it into a corner of the goal. It was a really good goal, well worked and swiftly consummated. Up to this point there had not been much between the teams, there should have been, and Denaby should have preponderated with such a slope behind them if they wanted to win that game. This goal stimulated Kettering, but one goal was nothing for Denaby had they been up to form and only nineteen minutes of the game had gone. Near the Kettering goal, Cooper, Illingworth, and Burkinshaw indulged in a little heading practice, and Burkinshaw finished the movement by heading over.
After 25 minutes Kettering might easily have obtained another goal. They had a corner which Bromage fisted out, but before he could recover the ball was back in the goal. Lack met it with his head and saved what appeared a certain addition to the score. Windle planted a free kick across the goal, and Rhodes shot into McClure’s hands. After half-an-hour Burkinshaw tried a long shot, but play went to the other end, where Foster’s centre flashed along the bar. Illingworth got going towards goal, but put over the bar, and following this came a period when Kettering’s goal bore a charmed life. Lack took a free kick, put to Ashmore, who passed to Cooper to plant the ball for Burkinshaw to hit the cross-bar. Then McClure did a lot of ball-punching in his efforts to get out of the way of the Denaby forwards, but eventually he got rid. Denaby’s chances were fast dwindling. Hope was renewed after 40 minutes, when Illingworth got his head to a corner kick, but McClure cleared it, and straight away a corner was conceded at the other end. From which Taylor cleared. Denaby advanced, and Burkinshaw again had hard luck with a grand shot that went just over the bar, his effort being roundly applauded. He had put in a number of good shots, but we had not seen much of Brayshaw, who was being closely attended to and was allowed no liberty. So half-time came with the score in Kettering’s favour and the ground conditions likewise.
Kettering had every inducement in the result to win, and Bromage had to save from Wright. There was an appeal for off-side, and the Denaby players stood. Foster’s shot fortunately going over, but the same player immediately tested Bromage again. Hope made things look dangerous for the home side, but Cotton’s back, and that chance was lost. After ten minutes had elapsed the referee blew his whistle. Some players stopped, and some went on, the commotion of the game owing to carrying on, the net result being that Denaby had to concede a corner when there should have been around a bounce in Kettering’s half. Denaby forced a corner, but Moore easily cleared Cooper’s kick. Then Matt Taylor received a knock on the knee, but it was not of bad character as anticipated, and after attention he resumed.
Up to now Cotton had done very little, but he got possession only to shoot wide.
After 15 minutes came Kettering’s second goal, from a free kick which the referee had awarded for a foul by Windle. Cotton passed to FOSTER, who had the pleasure of obtaining the second goal from very close in. Bromage, having no chance. McGill then paid Kettering some attention, first heading in, then shooting, but the goalkeeper was equal to both assaults.
Kettering attacked, McClure handled twice in a very short time, but these occasions were very rare. Bromage was having McClure’s share and his own, and was doing very well indeed. The number of free kicks awarded for foul throws by Kettering halves was surprising, but this was the only department they were weak in. Cooper and Illingworth got going and after some fine passing Cooper was left with only the goalkeeper in front of him, but he was given off-side. Another free kick close in was taken by Cotton, and this was stopped by a policeman yards wide of the mark. From a centre by Reay, Cotton headed into Bromage’s hands and Cooper made a lovely run along the left, put across a well-placed centre, but Burkinshaw was just wide of the mark. Denaby had been pushed in for a time but were now getting used to the slope and having a good deal of the play, though time was fleeting. Bloxham centred nicely but Reay took play to the other end where Bromage stopped a fine shot by R. F. Wright at the foot of the post. Another free kick just outside the penalty area but on the other side of the field proved as unfortunate for Denaby as the one before it had done. This time Moloney took the kick and COTTON put his head to it for the ball to glance swiftly out of the reach of Bromage. Cooper took the ball along and put across but Illingworth shot weakly. Just in time Lack and Reay became involved in a mix up near to the corner, but neither got hurt, though a section of the crowd invited the referee to “send him out.” After consultation with the linesman no action was taken. Kettering then pressed until time without further score.
Once again Denaby had to rely on the defence mainly, though Burkinshaw played his best game of the season. He had terribly hard luck with his shots, many times being within an ace of scoring, and he had recovered that form which for some time has deserted him. Cooper was ever conspicuous on the left, but his partner Brayshaw did not get many chances. Bloxham did what, but for bad luck, very well, but it was almost too much of an ordeal for such a youngster. With time he will develop into a fine outside-right. The changing of Illingworth to centre-forward did not produce the anticipated results. He never appeared happy in the position and could not touch the speed necessary to keep a line going under Saturday’s conditions. Denaby are quite alive to the fact that a centre-forward is necessary and one must soon be obtained. The defence could not be blamed for the goals. F. Rhodes was the pick of the halves, though Ashmore was always where he was needed and Windle did some good work, but neither combined defence and attack as well as did Rhodes. Lack and Taylor again turned and kicked well, whilst Bromage is to be commiserated with, for he had more than his share of work to do and did it well. Many anxious moments were picked up cleanly and the shots which went past him gave him no chance whatever.
Kettering’s defence was sound, the backs kicked well, but a dashing centre-forward would have seen many opportunities of getting through them. They kept a good long way apart, probably owing to the fact that they had behind them a goalkeeper who, though only 23, stands almost six feet, has taken part in two Irish Cup finals, delights in daring play and dashes out of goal. The halves were good and the forwards fast. As a team not an ounce of superfluous flesh was to be seen, and though appearing to be small for than Denaby it is probable that they said a heavier lot of fellows. Tim Peters said before the match that his men were in better condition than ever before. The forwards were tricky and fast, Reay and Foster being fleet, whilst Wright, McGill and Cotton were every ready to shoot when within reach of goal. A good deal was heard of Cotton’s prowess and the local paper published a cartoon reporting his way of threading through defenders, but he did not particularly impress.
There was a splendid gate, a record for the ground being made. The attendance was 7,652, and his gross takings £283 3s. 10d.
After the match the team returned to their temporary headquarters and after tea the landlord of the Royal Hotel, who had been highly spoken of by everyone on the party on account of his consideration for their welfare, was called into the dining room where Mr. Hancock proposed a vote of thanks on behalf of the team, expressing appreciation of the treatment they had received. This Mr. W. Asbury seconded, stating that the proprietor and his staff had done all possible to make the team’s short stay a pleasant one. The proprietor, Mr. W. A. Evans acknowledged this in his characteristic good natural manner which instinctively appeals. He appreciated the kind remarks, and stated that he had a soft place in his heart for Yorkshire. He had told them that Kettering would win and they had done so, but Denaby had taken the defeat in the correct spirit. He liked to think that they who visited the town appreciated it and that those teams had maintained the traditions of sport.
The players came home on the 7.8 from Kettering and arrived at Swinton to find a pleasant surprise, Mr. H. Burnley being there with “Happy Day” to take them back to Denaby.