South Yorkshire Times September 1, 1956

Denaby blitzed at Westfield Lane:
A club record for Frickley

Frickley, 6  Denaby, 2.

A blitz hit Denaby at South Elmshall on Saturday. Giving in the first half one of the finest exhibitions ever seen at Westfield Lane, Frickley scored five goals and paved the way to a new club record, the winning of their first three matches for the first time in their 30 years membership of the Midland league. It was to Denaby’s credit that they fought back after the interval and scored twice, but the arrears were too much for their courage to overcome.

It is doubtful whether any Midland league opponents could have stood up to Frickley in the 20 minutes in which they “went nap.” Their football was superb.

The whole team moved with the precision of a machine, passes found their men with unerring accuracy, and the forwards, spearheaded effectively by Hall, completed the moves with first-class shooting that was well rewarded and might have met with even more success but for the splendid goalkeeping of Smethurst. There was no wonder that Frickley supporters were in raptures and Denaby’s in despair!

As Denaby and also won their first two matches the game – which attracted at £91 gate, and almost a cup-tie atmosphere, and for the first quarter of an hour there was little to choose between the teams. The next 20 minutes transformation followed Frickley first goal when Hall got his head to a centre from Bainbridge and the ball flew into the net.

The Colliery should have had a second goal two minutes later, when they were awarded a penalty for a foul on Wilkinson, but Harrison was too cautious in trying to place the ball, and Smethurst saved at an expense of a corner. That was Harrison’s only lapse, for his brilliant scheming had much to do with Denaby’s route before the interval.

Five Goals Behind

Following a corner Bainbridge put Frickley further ahead 18 minutes, Hall slammed across from Bainbridge into the net after 23 minutes, Wilkinson got the fourth goal with a swerving shot from the right wing after half an hour, and Harrison scored 5 minutes later when he hit another centre from Bainbridge past Smethurst. Five goals behind and completely outwitted in the scoring of them,

Denaby might have been excused for playing in a chastened mood in the second half. But there was no inferior complex about their performance, they had quite as much of the play as Frickley, and although their hopes when Holmes ran on to pass by Martin to reduce the arrears, within four minutes were dimmed by a Hargreaves header after 71 minutes, they continued to play strongly, and only in a minute had elapsed when Holmes was put through for a simple goal while the Frickley defenders stood and watched him on the impression that he was offside. But there never looked any chance of wiping out the arrears. The Frickley defence was far too reliable for such an event. There were no weakness – only 11 ‘stars’ – in the Frickley side. Smethurst was Denaby’s hero in the hectic 20 minutes, but afterwards the defence recovered its composure and the forwards played well, with Holmes the most dangerous on the left wing.