South Yorkshire Times March 29, 1955
Little Cheer for Denaby in this Performance
(Denaby United 0; Boston United 2)
Saturdays performance at Tickhill square offered little to suggest that Denaby will solve what is fast becoming a precarious Midland league point seeking problem. This was their seventh defeat in nine matches (one Sheffield Senior cup tie) since the turn of the year and their fifth Midland league defeat in a row.
It was held that the return of the Steve Griffiths and the move to inside forward of Bobby Southall might affect some appreciable change. The forward line was so uninformly played out of this game on Saturday that it was impossible to assess the value of the move. Only in the first five minutes when Dixon was temporally troublesome and twice tried to turn the ball into the Boston goalmouth. And once in the second half when Holmes flashed across a beautifully timed centre which Middleton had to fist clear did Denaby showed any signs of hitting back at a 90 minute Boston. Holmes was a brilliant flash in an otherwise extremely dull pan.
Griffiths tried his customary prompting and Southall too worked hard but there was nothing for Denaby in Saturday’s game. Their role was almost 75% defensive and it was remarkable that Boston managed to score only two goals through Wilkins after 10 minutes and through Hazeldine 10 minutes from the end
Undiminished Vigour
Balding, Gray and Barnes had a very tiring afternoon. Barnes especially, for Wilkins was a lively proposition. The whole Boston forward line produced a speed and sparkle which was undiminished to the end. They shot at every opportunity and Wilkins was unlucky not to have had another goal to his credit when he had drove in a shot which had beaten Williamson but which Balding deflected with his head as he waited on the goal line. It was a lucky break for Denaby and there was another much later in the game when Barnes himself deflected the possible winner by heading the ball over the Denaby bar.
For the rest Williamson dealt very capably with Boston shops and the Hazeldine goal which beat him in the 80th minute was scored after a long solo run. Begun by a ball put forward to the Boston forwards well below the halfway line, and scored in spite of the worrying attention of Barnes.
Smith policed Dixon very completely. Weakley tried time and again to evade attention by roaming. Often he looked likely to affect the transmission in Denaby fortunes but the Boston defence, which gave little away, always stepped in first. Holmes never wasted a ball but the opportunities he had could be counted on one hand.
In the first half a number of Denaby infringements were penalised and several Denaby appeals infringements by Boston were waved on by the referee J.E. Banks. The crowd was not slow to show its disapproval and towards the end of the game a spectator walked onto the field.
The Boston defence had been in trouble in a goalmouth melee. The ball had struck the woodwork and had been swept back by Griffiths. Goalkeeper Middleton clutched it and fell with it surrounded by a milling crowd of Boston defenders and Denaby attackers. The referee intervened ‘amid obvious differences of opinion and it was when he took out his notebook still among the crowd of players, and sent Barnes off that the spectator began to walk on. A few seconds later, however, he returned to the touchline and the game continued.
At the end. Denaby secretary manager, Matt Taylor slipped on to the field and was seen talking with both skipper Bobby Southall and Boston goalkeeper Middleton. About the incident in the goalmouth. The referee made his way to the dressing room through a lane of booing spectators.
In Tuesdays rearrange floodlit match at Doncaster. Denaby were beaten three – one. A “double” for the Rovers. Duggan back as leader of the Denaby forward line missed with a penalty conversion and Dixon got the Denaby goal. Denaby had a good deal of the game without producing results. It was the third penalty conversion to have been missed by Denaby this season.
The team will be unchanged for the visit to Kings Lynn tomorrow. Namely Williamson: Markey, Baldin.; Southall, Barnes. Gilliott; Weakley Dixon. Duggan. Walker and Womack. Cooper is reserve,
the reserves have a Sheffield Association league match with Woodseats at Denaby, kick-off at 3.15 and will be represented by Rimmington Wroe. J. Gray; Roberts, R. Gray. Goldthorpe; forwards from: Austin, Churms, Prior. Howard. Davies and Holmes.