South Yorkshire Times January 14, 1950
2,000 See Denaby’s Biggest Victory of Season
Boardman Gets a Hat-Trick
Denaby United 7, Goole 1
This was grand cheer for Tickhill Square; the biggest victory of the season and 2,000 fans to roar United home. The Goole defence was riddled by Denaby’s sharpshooters in the second half, and Goole, after a promising “ Peterborough ” opening, in which they led United 1-0 and played attractive football in their spasmodic spells of attack, faded outcompletely.
The story of the match was the story of 15 goal-packed minutes in the second half. For three quarters of the first half United had sailed into the Goole area as they sailed against Peterborough five days earlier. All we had seen of Goole was in hurried covering of wide paths to goal. There had been occasional sorties down the flanks without unduly harassing Cowley (in for the injured Smith, in goal), but enough to suggest that Denaby would have nothing to give away.
Then, in the 16th minute, after Cowley had saved two certain winners, HAMBLETT returned the ball over a crowd of heads into the net, and Goole were one up. It was not until the 43rd minute that United equalised (a WOODS goal), but it put their tails up, for within a minute SAXTON had given them a 2-1 lead. Came the interval and with it things really started to happen.
The Tickhill Square roar went up in the 65th minute for a lovely opportunist goal by BOARDMAN, “made” by an earlier shot from Edwards but a second chance well taken. Two minutes later BOARDMAN had put another shot clean through Ferguson’s legs, and in the 70th minute he made it five-one. A hat-trick in five minutes!
Eight minutes later SAXTON had made it six—a goal which was a tribute to Rowney’s persistent worrying – and two minutes later ROWNEY crowned his afternoon’s work by scoring himself.
When Rowney, Just refusing to be shaken off the ball, swung over his centre to Saxton, standing a couple of feet from the Goole goal-line, for this second Saxton goal, it looked as easy as falling off a log. Apart from diverting the ball into the right spot Saxton never moved, so well-timed and accurate was the cross.
In the last five minutes Goole began to worry their way through into the danger zone again, prompted by Kippax, a smart winger, Hamblett, a good inside-forward, and Brown, but there was little danger at that stage. A good all-round show by United, with no individual bouquets. It was a triumph of team-work.