Mexborough & Swinton Times, February 11 1927

Denaby’s Best.
J.C. Johnson’s Notable Feat.

Denaby United 6, Worksop 0

Denaby: Bromage; Taylor, Hunter; Goodison, Ogley, Windle; Wadsworth, B. Johnson, J. C. Johnson, Green, Skeels.

Worksop: Foreman; Hunt, Richardson; Edwards, Robinson, Bouton; Spink, Dransfield, Hutchinson, Tuffnell, Bluff.

Referee: W. Ball. Gainsborough.

Denaby played in such high spirits on Saturday that Worksop were taken aback at the start and never recovered. Denaby’s sprightliness was expressed in excellent teamwork and the result was due reward of merit: indeed, had Denaby’s inside forwards always kept up their sprightliness, right onto the shooting phase Worksop would have gone down even more heavily and still been unable to rail at the fates for it. Denaby made chances for a score or more goals but consummated only six of their efforts. The weight of the opposing defence had something to do with it, but Green, for instance, showed a strange unwillingness even to try his luck.

Though the surface was treacherous Denaby set a fast pace from the kick-off and kept it up throughout. It proved too fast for the Worksop halves and backs, and that was all there was about it. The Denaby halves and backs were dominating factors in the game. The halves kept a close grip on things and served and supported their forwards assiduously, with the result that the wings were kept constantly on the move, J. C. Johnson’s boldness and dash did the rest. The experiment of giving him the leadership of the line was successful. He did not swing the ball about much – but then he was rarely called upon to do so: his halves did most of that work for him, and when he got the ball the occasion usually called for a quick dash forward and a shot. Neither the courage nor the ability away lacking for the successful culmination of the manoeuvres, and Johnson did the hat-trick again – six goals in two consecutive matches.