Mexborough and Swinton Times January 8, 1926

Wombwell Checked
Tired Teams at Denaby

Denaby United 5, Wombwell 2

Both Denaby and Wombwell were far from convincing in their match at Denaby on Saturday, and, the game was a rather tame affair.

The play was keen enough at times, but throughout it was scrappy. Neither side combined at all well. The Wombwell attacks were led by Crook and Ingledew, both of whom were first and foremost individualists. The Wombwell forwards were not backed up by their halves well, being at times left with their rear unsupported. The Wombwell halves being unable to sustain the pace.

It was just in this factor that Denaby got the pull. Their halves were none too good in the first half, but afterwards they improved and the Denaby attacks received good backing. The forwards also took their chances.

Wombwell finished weakly. Wombwell played some smart football and on occasions in the first half they were quite as good as Denaby. But they lost their way in the second half. The defence was rather shaky, and Smith had a lot to do. He did well, making some very smart saves, but now and then he asked for trouble by being just a little slow in getting rid of the ball. Crook was the only man of the side who showed himself a good smart man.

Denaby fell far below the form that mastered Mexborough on Christmas Day. Tommy Allen led the line, with Fred Brown on his right and Fawdon on his left. A feature of the forward work, was the combination of Fawdon, and Skeels. The passes he put out to his partner was the best part of Fawdon’s work. In the second half the experiment was tried of giving Brown the leadership. Allen going back to inside left and Fawdon to inside right. Whether this was the cause or not, the Denaby forward line certainly worked a good deal more smoothly after the interval and scored four goals.

Wombwell got there first goal after 11 minutes, there was a breakaway on the left, the Denaby defence was caught napping, Crook seizing his chance to score with a splendid cross shot. Both goals were hard pressed later, and Bromwich did some brilliant work. Denaby improved towards the interval a little and deserved their equaliser which Brown scored with a first timer in a combined advance.

Immediately on the resumption, Denaby rushed the ball into the net, but the referee did not award a goal. He was in doubt as to what had happened and consulted his linesman, then awarded a penalty, it appearing that one of the Wombwell defenders had handled the ball before the entered the net. In a misty atmosphere it was difficult to see what was happening in parts of the field. Windle took the penalty kick and a goal resulted just the same.

Two incidents stood out in their play of the following 20 minutes. Allen, who had found his form this half. Suddenly ran through and with a clear sight of the goal shot hard on the run, and Smith made a great full-length save. At the other end Wombwell made a storming attack and Bins dropped in a nasty handful. Bromwich had hard work to keep it from going in just under the bar, and his push sent it on top of the bar. There the ball balanced for three or four seconds while the players jostled each other for position underneath. But the defenders got the ball away when it did come down.

Another Denaby rush brought the third goal, Allen scoring, and then Skeels made a quick burst, cutting clean through scored another goal like the last one in the Christmas Day match. Allen scored a fifth.

Near the close a freekick was awarded Wombwell. The spot was well beyond the penalty area but Crook took the kick and scored with a great shock.

Denaby were hardly three goals better than Wombwell, but Wombwell lacked that throughout understanding and combination that would have pressed home their well-intentioned attacks. The backs were a little unsteady at times and could not all ways keep up the pace in both attack and defence. The wingers found themselves too much hampered by the Denaby wing halves. The goalkeepers on both sides distinguished themselves. The Denaby forwards were lively in the second half but they never hung together quite satisfactorily.

Teams: –

Denaby: Bromage: Wheelhouse, Bishy; Croot, Redfern,Windle; Drew, Brown (F.), Allen, Fawden, Skeels.

Wombwell: Smith; Barber, Sweeting; Roberts (Albert), Bennett, Kay; Binns, Lees, Crook, Ingledew, Smart,

Referee; J. Gilling, Rotherham