Mexborough and Swinton Times December 31, 1926

Saturday – Taylor’s winner
Christmas Day Thriller at Hampden Road
Denaby juniors notable debut

Mexborough Town 3 Denaby United 2

Mexborough: Fletcher; Burkinshaw, Hawking; Davies, Sanderson, Saxton; Ashton, Bramley, Taylor, Dent, Hetherington

Denaby: Bromage; Taylor, Hunter; Goodison, Ogly, Windle; was worse, Johnson, Mace, Green, Skeels

The Christmas Day contest on Mexborough and Denaby, at Hampden Road, lacked none of the traditional features – stern play, high excitement and a narrow margin at the close. As usual, Denny pulled out their best for the match – in the first half at any rate – and Mexborough had to go all out to win. Denaby held onto a goal lead for nearly half an hour of the second half had gone and Mexborough had to make one of the typical length outbursts to pull it off.

Denaby chose a match for the debut of Albert Green, a former Denaby Rovers inside left, and the stood the test well. He played a cool game can make good use of the ball, and crowned it all by scoring both the goals for his side – two neat pieces of opportunism that stamped him a player of distinct promise

It was a pretty even give and take in the first half, a staring struggle of keen rivals. The exam was a little too high not to affect the quality of the play but it was fast, rousing stuff as many flashes of brilliance. If anything, Denaby were slightly more masterful and certainly the attack was a little more methodical than Mexborough’s, which got going only in spasms. Those spasms were great trials to the Denaby defence, it is true, and Bromage did some splendid work. The Denaby forwards were not too dangerous in front of the goal. They did too much passing and manoeuvring when the occasion demanded the direct source – until Green showed his colleagues the way.

He and Skeels have been giving them more trouble, and when Skeels screwed over a shot centre from an acute angle, the well-built debutant nodded it in the neatest and coolest fashion you could desire.

Mexborough responded storming like but without developing sufficient deadliness in their shooting. Then Green snapped up another chance and scored with a good shot. It was a starting position for Mexborough to being inside half an hours battling with a team were not won a match for more than two months, and the team showed a keen sense of the incongruity of it. But it took them some time to break down Denaby’s determined defence and then Hetherington risked life and limb in a flying header to get a goal when Ashton dropped the ball across. Mexborough had to be satisfied with that state of affairs when they retired at the interval.

Afterwards everything was different. The Denaby men appeared to have exhausted themselves in the first half, and after the interval they were dominated by a rejuvenated Mexborough team. It was Bromages turn to distinguish himself and he did it with a series of saves all of which were meritorious. One or two were brilliant in anticipation and execution. For the third or fourth time this season, Mexborough found themselves masters of the situation yet defied. There was too much excitement in the air, causing fatal over eagerness amongst the forwards yet again and again. They swept the ball past the Denaby arms and non-plussed the backs.

The Denaby goal had one or two wonderful escape, from age perform one or two semi miracles, the next thought somehow made one or two impossible -looking misses – then Hetherington slammed the first time point black past Bromwich, again with the ball from the right.

Denaby bestirred themselves a little more after that and the attack, which had been left largely to its own devices since interval, became threatening again. Mexborough appear to have got all they were going to get. Then Sanderson started his right wing move thing from midfield. Ashton transfers the point of attack to the other side and Dent had the heaven sent inspiration to thrust the ball through the middle – and Stanley Taylor did the rest. It was a real Taylor this time; deft touches, high Street, direct action, and a parting shot that even Joe Bromage was helpless with. It was a glorious goal and crowned an afternoon’s work that suggests Taylor as got over his unhappy spell and is coming back to his old form again. Denaby made one or two rather dangerous efforts towards the end but were held and shot weakly. They had shot their bolt on Mexborough’s winning goal came well inside the last 10 minutes of the game.

Attendance 5000 receipts £118