South Yorkshire Times, January 27th, 1933
Back’s One Costly Slip
Denaby United 0, Bradford City Reserves 1
A goal scored so near the interval that there was no time to restart the game resulted in a narrow defeat for Denaby at the hands of Bradford City on Monday at Tick-hill Square.
Denaby were without Smith, injured at Grimsby on Saturday, and brought in Revill at inside-left, Walker dropping back to take Smith’s position at left-half. Though the changes did not prove detrimental to the defence the attack was weakened and it was this fact which caused Denaby’s downfall. Walker played quite well in his unaccustomed position, but Revill, who has not played since he first turned out after being secured from .Pilkington’s last October, found the game rather too last for him and though he showed some clever touches was generally too slow to escape the swift tackling of the Bradford halves.
It was unfortunate that Revill did not fit in as he might have done for Hagger, his wing partner, had one of his best days and with the support he usually receives from Walker would probably have proved too good for the Bradford right flank. This little winger was Denaby’s best forward, as he has quite often been this season. He is a most consistent player and his ability to beat a man right on -the touch line while maintaining perfect control of the ball marks his class. He is not quite as fast as Siddall, and his size is something of handicap, but he often beats a much bigger man when going for the ball in the air.
The Denaby backs gave very little away and most of the chances which came the way of the Bradford forwards in the first half had to be taken from an acute angle and were not turned to account, though on one occasion Weaver let fly from near the edge of the penalty area and his shot hit inside one of the posts, bounced across to the other and back into Gale’s arms to be safely cleared; a very narrow escape. Mountney was if anything the better of the backs, his strong kicking and prompt intervention often easing a tight corner. It was ironical that his one slip should lead to the deciding goal. He completely missed his kick with the result that an apparently harmless situation on the edge of the penalty area developed disastrously and WEAVER slipped through to beat Gale in the easiest manner. Denaby did not deserve to be in arrears, because although Bradford had had slightly the better of the half territorially the scoring chances had been about evenly divided, Warhurst having saved a fierce drive by Siddall early on and the visitors’ goal having another narrow escape when after Adams had failed to head in a centre from Jagger, Black shot tamely from a few yards out and the Bradford goalkeeper just got his hands to the ball and stopped it on the line.
There was a good deal of too vigorous kicking and tackling in the second half, Bradford being the chief offenders in their eagerness to keep ahead. They need not have adopted such primitive tactics, for with Black injured the Denaby team had not the balance of their opponents and the forwards never looked as dangerous as the Bradford line, in which Weaver, a lively opportunist, was conspicuous. King made several efforts to set the forwards going but McDermott and Smith were generally too alert for them. Barrow, too, made praiseworthy efforts, but Siddall was well held by Mitchell and Black could only limp after the ball. Gale was very confident in the Denaby goal, his clean fielding of the ball being the feature of a flawless display.