South Yorkshire Times, October 6th, 1951
Denaby Win Cup Replay 2-1
57th-Minute Goal Beats Stocksbridge Works
A 57th-minute goal by Denaby outside-left, Showler (picture), gave United their Frickley Colliery F. A. Cup “date” at South Elmsall a week hence in yesterday’s preliminary round re-play with Stockbridge Works at Tickhill Square. United won 2-1, losing a 17th-minute lead two minutes before half-time and scoring their winner after an incessant siege on their goal area.
Two Match Winners
Stocksbridge supporters, who rolled up in busloads, will, I fancy, feel that United were lucky again. In many phases of the game, they were, but they had two match winners in the forward line and Works, for the most part had a potential one – Schofield.
No one tried harder than the Works’ inside-right in that desperate second half. He had two particularly brilliant shots held by Mayhall – alert and agile as – and he was he who scored Works equaliser in the 43rd minute. He was entirely on his own – in one of those rare open spaces afforded by a keen Denaby rear guard – and he took his chance with both hands. But to balance luck he had his share. The ball hit the goalpost, bounced onto Mayhall and down across the goal mouth into the net.
Cooling and Showler were the men of the Denaby forward line and Cooling who never wasted a ball, nor an opportunity got United’s first goal in the 17th minute – a gem of a shot, out on his own. Wheatley, on the Denaby right-wing, came into the pic as the game progressed and Law promised to do the same but in the first half he took a nasty spill and for the second half he hobbled about on the wing, obviously in trouble and obviously worried that he was not able to do enough. Virtually then, United won with ten men in that hard second half.
Charged with Electricity
The game was always charged with electricity. For the first ten minutes Works threatened trouble, Lee and Williams emerging from the battle with honours. Notably did Williams clear a corner forced by Kay in the fifth minute then when three minutes later Works forced a second corner on the right, Heseltine was there to head the ball into Mayhall’s waiting arms.
A patterned movement up field in which Harston, Colling Law and Woods shared saw a lovely cross by Wheatley, but Kippax was on the receiving end. Cooling got the clearance, but shot wide from a difficult and unexpected chance. Another Cooling bid, then a Cooling goal. Five minutes later a Cooling made chance from which Law brought Works’ goalkeeper Rhymer onto one knee. Fortunes swung and Kay saw a long centre roll along the Denaby cross bar; Schofield an oblique shot held by Mayhall. Carr had a go and then in the 43rd minute came Schofield’s goal and Works crossed over “as you were.”
Spaces Were Not There
The first half had revealed one major Denaby weakness: a constant attempt to manoeuvre in space which Works just did not make available. It also showed Works often unwilling to try a snap shot. This they remedied in the second half, and Mayhall pulled off a smart stroke of work when he picked an early “possible” off Schofield’s toe, just out of the goalmouth. For the first ten minutes it was a constant siege on the United goal area, then, as will happen, the ball was swung down the middle. Woods took it out to the wing, persisted against constant challenge and made Denaby’s winner for Showler as splendidly as I have seen at Tickhill Square. It was a beautiful cross; it was a lovely first time shot. Jack Williams saved a certain equaliser when, with seven minutes to go, he headed off the Denaby goal-line from Goodison, seconds after Mayhall had shot up to fist clear from an earlier assault and had not had time to get back into position. Woods was persistent to the end, and it was a source of merriment for the 2,000 crowd when with five to go, the ball burst!
Gate was £102.