Nine Goals Denaby Game a Rip Snorter

Denaby United 6 Hull City Reserves 3

Saturday’s 6-3 defeat of Hull City Reserves was one of the most rip snorting Midland League games we have had at Tickhill Square in seasons. It was similar stuff to keep the customers happy and they must have left the ground truly with a feeling of “something came and got me in the spring.”

Might have been 10

There was the Tickill Square roar for all the goals, but none was louder than that for the 55 minute shot by Ron Duggan . If ever a Denaby forward deserved a goal – and has deserve goals for several weeks – it was Duggan. He must surely have counted Saturday’s game as one of his best, for rarely as the given a full-back the run around as he gave Harrison.

They might easily have been at least four more to make the total 10, and Hull, too, had one narrow Mason when centre forward Smith, following the ball into the Denaby goalmouth, found himself just the wrong side of the bounce. But that perhaps was compensated for by the “gift” Nicholas snapped up earlier in the game with the United defence at sixes and seven.

The first half particularly was a sheer delight of football craft – and a welter of goalscoring activity that left one wondering when it was all going to end. Certainly it never gave any signs of easing up, and there was little lessening of activity in the second half, though subsequently the craft was often replaced by greater inclination to force the ball through.

Hallmarked

Egan, with a really hallmarked back – heeler, made the first goal. The move was in partnership with Duggan. The winger shot excellently, the force of the drive bowled over goalkeeper Fisher and it was Martin who crashed the rebound into the back of the net. That was after five minutes.

A Lambert pasta Duggan and a forward pass from Martin to Lambert made the second goal after eight minutes (Lambert was the scorer) but within a minute Nicholas had nipped in to snap up a mistake in the Denaby goalmouth to make it 2-1. (Nine minutes)

After 30 minutes Holmes whipped across a perfect shot come centre. The ball struck the post and the rebound angled wide of Fisher to score.

Two minutes later Smith had made it 3-2 with a well taken chance and the struggle went on until the 44^th minute when Martin round off an excellent half the goal which gave Denaby a 4-2 interval lead..

Block Buster

A long ball from Roberts put Fisher “on the spot” very early in the second half. He held the ball and cleared, but he had no chance with a Lambert blockbuster, set up my Holmes after 54 minutes.

Duggan scored his goal in the 55^th minute after a brilliant run and a gem of a shot from what looked an almost impossible angle (the roar certainly went up – joined by the players themselves) and though there was some narrow squeaks before the end, principally in the Hull goal area, Hull were a good deal more active than the score suggests and five minutes from time Smith got his second to make it 6-3.

Hull, indeed, played much better football than the score gave them credit for, and certainly looked anything but a club for from the foot of the Midland League table.