Mexborough & Swinton Times – Saturday 04 January 1913
A Denaby Disappointment.
Denaby United 1 Grimsby Town Reserves 1
The gate at the Denaby v. Grimsby match on Saturday was disappointing in the extreme. Indeed, the Denaby support appears to be falling away as a result of their ill-success, just in the same way as the Mexboro’ support has declined.
It cannot be that the smallness of the attendance at the very good game which was played on Saturday was due to a surfeit of Christmas football at Denaby, for the holiday programme was confined to one match, and that of such an interesting description as to offer every inducement to the spectator to come again.
Saturday was a bright, pleasant day, on which football was a pleasure rather to the onlookers than to the players; for all grounds were extremely heavy with accumulations of damp and mud, and Denaby’s game with Grimsby was fought out on a mud-heap.
Denaby must strike a good winning vein if they are to get back to the standard of gates which encouraged their earlier efforts this season.
The victory over Grimsby firmly within their grasp on Saturday, and all too somewhat tamely to slip away.
As I have indicated, it was a day for rough and ready football rather than exchanges of the classical sort, and though Grimsby certainly had the advantage in training and physique, that advantage was almost neutralised by the conditions, and Denaby did not make the best of them.
Dubious Experiments.
The game was good and interesting throughout, though the football never reached a really high standard, and the difficulties which faced the players on occasion amounted almost to ludicrousness.
Grimsby had a good side in the field, and it included Duncan, a youngster whom they had that week secured from Portsmouth, and who at outside left was one of the most effective forwards on the field.
Denaby tried several changes.
Jack Westwood was fitted into the position of right full-back vice Jackson, who came across to the exclusion of Swinbourne, who hurt his foot in the Mexboro’ match.
Harry Fitton came back into the team after a lengthy absence—indeed, I believe it was his first appearance in the Midland League this season—at left half, and up forward Peters and Calladine, the inside wing men, were displaced by Haggar and Raybould.
The forward line was scarcely improved by the alteration, and was never really effective, although the men worked hard enough.
Taking the game as a whole, Grimsby had rather the better of matters, and deserved to draw, although they were lucky to do so, for after Denaby had got their goal in the first half, the Grimsby forwards threw away chance after chance until the Denaby defence had completely recovered, and only a momentary weakness let the visitors in for their equaliser.
The Two Goals.
Both the goals were scored in the same way and from the same position, at the same end, and in the same unlooked-for fashion.
Raybould got his at the end of about twenty minutes, when he received from Lang, and beat Bradley with a good long left-leg shot, which swerved slightly as it passed the goalkeeper into the far corner of the net.
It was not a strong shot, and Bradley was caught half napping.
Hawes, the Grimsby inside left, got Grimsby’s goal after the second half had been going about a quarter of an hour, with a very similar kind of shot, which, however, threaded its way through a crowd of players, and Heath was unsighted as he made a dart for it.
Heath has been giving some brilliant exhibitions in the Denaby goal of late, but for once in a way he was rather overshadowed by Bradley, who, though rather at fault with Denaby’s goal, certainly made up for the error with some magnificent goalkeeping toward the close.
Denaby’s best efforts were in the closing stages of each half, and especially in the closing stages of the game.
Bradley had all sorts of difficulties to tackle, and was particularly brilliant in meeting a point-blank shot from Blackburn as he travelled up the field and put the ball in with all his old power at point-blank range.
Then, again, when Clarke set up a good movement on the left, and the ball was bobbing about in front of goal, Lee had nearly headed it through his own citadel when Bradley threw himself at it, and pushed it into comparative safety.
There were some lusty and exciting minutes, for the Denaby forwards were trying for all they were worth, but, like Grimsby’s, they were never quite happy in front of goal.
Lang was several times in good positions when the stickiness of the turf beat him, and it was almost impossible to judge the strength of a pass.
Summary.
Blackburn put in one or two of his brilliant runs, and an occasional good shot, but he was not up to standard by any means, and Clarke did little real service, while the inside men spent a more or less unsatisfactory afternoon.
The half-backs were a good lot, and Harry Fitton did well both at forward and half-back—for he changed places with Raybould midway.
Jack Westwood was by no means a success as full-back, but Jackson on the left wing gave one of the best exhibitions I have yet seen from him.
Heath was as cool and clever as ever.
Bradley saved Grimsby from a defeat, but Lee and Spake were both sterling backs, and Johnson was the best half-back on the field.
The re-arranged front line was not a conspicuous success.
Brown and Duncan did plenty of good work on the extreme wings, and the line was well led by Thompson, but the shooting throughout was poor, and scarcely a shot was worth a goal.