Mexborough & Swinton Times, Oct 18, 1922
Denaby at York
Return of Sam Kennedy
York City 1 Denaby United 0
York City: Hendry; Lynch, and Thorpe; Maskill, Smith and Acklam; Elliott, Moult, Woods, Lemons and Harron
Denaby United: Ekins; Haslam andCoope; Reed, Cowan and Taylor; Hamilton, Kemp, Kennedy, Homer and Powell
Close upon 4000 spectators witnessed the Midland league game between York city and Denaby United at York on Wednesday, and, by the only goal scored, York took the full complement of points after which both teams had been fairly well extended.
The first half was fought at a great pace, both sets of forwards attacked in turn, and the respective goalkeepers brought off such saves as brought forth the admiration of the crowd.
York assumed the aggressive and were not repulsed until overeagerness caused the front rankers to get offside. It was then that Denaby came away, and for a time the game settled in the home quarters. By sheer pegging away at a seemingly hopeless task, York drove Denaby out of the danger zone, and it was during this period that Smith revealed himself as a really great centre half.. On the other side, the tricky Cowan, not only effectively dealt with all the ingenuity of which Woods is capable, but kept Kennedy and his wingers clearly plied with the ball. In the duel between the centre halves there was little to choose, and it is a pity that more use was not made of the excellent movement started by Cowan and carried on until either Smith or Moult came to the rescue of a many times hard pressed side. By a combination of good foot and head work, Denaby forced several corners, all of which proved abortive. The game never lost his grip on the onlookers, and each side had their sufficient share of opportunities, which failed in the effort to turn to account.
It was not until 10 min from the end that a brilliant dribble by the York forwards, with Moult ever prominent, roused the spectators to a high pitch of enthusiasm. Acklam a forward recently signed from Acomb took up the running, and at the right moment, he centred for MOULT to divert the ball and head it into the net. This was all the scoring. Though beaten, the Denaby men were by no means disgraced, for in midfield play they were the more clever and better balanced side. Denaby´s weakness was in front of goal, for the forwards were provided with many opportunities they could not score.