South Yorkshire Times – Friday 25 November 1932
Welcome Point for Mexboro’
The position at the head of the Midland League remains open, and Lincoln, who visit Mexboro’ to-morrow, Bradford and Chesterfield are treading close on heels of Grimsby who were defeated by Bradford City on Saturday.
Denaby, the most promising of the local challengers, visited Bradford City on Wednesday with 19 points to their credit, nine less than Grimsby who have played eight matches more. Mexboro’ did well to take a point from Doncaster at Belle Vue but Frickley found Chesterfield in one of their most deadly moods and conceded nine goals. Wombwell, with everything against them, lost at home to the powerful Bradford side. The victory over Mansfield earlier in the season brought them the only points the have secured so far.
Mexboro’s Grit Rewarded
Doncaster Rovers Reserves 2, Mexboro’ Town 2
Mexboro’ achieved a commendable feat in sharing four goals with Doncaster Rovers Reserves at Belle Vue. The game never reached a very high standard and territorially Doncaster had undoubtedly the better of the play. The home team’s chief failing was the inability of the forwards to make the best use of their chances. Capstick, who was Mexboro’s outstanding player was also a big stumbling block to Doncaster and saved his side time after time. He was very confident and showed fine anticipation.
Mexboro’ yielded several corners in the early stages but managed to clear each time and eventually took the lead following a breakaway. FISHER shooting past Tate who was unsighted. A foul on Yeardley resulted in a penalty, from which POTTER put the scores level, and in the second half when they dictated play practically throughout, Doncaster took the lead. KELLY scoring. Mexboro’, though occupied almost continuously in defence, made isolated raids and in one these BOLAN equalised, while is the closing stages Mexboro’ made a plucky attempt to snatch a win.
Fisher was Mexboro’s cleverest forward, and Hudson worked hard in the half-back line, while Radford and Ridgeway defended doggedly.
Denaby Win Comfortably
Denaby United 3, Grantham 2
As a prelude to an important cup tie Denaby’s performance against Grantham at Tickhill square on Saturday might be very impressive. But the 2,000 or so who watched the match would realise that Denaby were playing well within themselves, and that disposition not to take risks against a hefty and none too ceremonious side was a wise policy. Denaby really won more comfortably than the score suggests: and that with Siddall partly a casualty, and without the side unduly exerting themselves in the second half.
Grantham certainly played a lot of quite good football, but it never approached the polish and understanding of Denaby’s team work in the first half, when King and his men were playing at their normal pace and with their customary pep. Grantham’s wide flung passes and sharp shooting wingers got wingers got them a couple of second half goals, but one got the impression that had their successes gone any further not all the stoutness of their defence would have prevented Denaby proving their superiority in plain figures. As it was Reeves bad to keep a pretty alert goal to hold Denaby’s score to three, while Shepherd, Codling and the bulky Barrett devoted themselves to crowding out Adams as much as possible.
One of the brightest items of the play for Denaby was the continued improvement of the centre-forward. His first goal was a classic. He took a forward punt from King, defied an awkwardly bouncing ball and a defender at either shoulder and crashed the ball past the advancing Reeves with a glorious left-foot shot. Throughout the game Adams kept the Grantham defence worried not only by his own dashes but by his shrewd passes to colleagues. But the outstanding forward of the day, on either side, was Walker. He fetched and carried tirelessly, “worked” the ball in masterly style, and gave his wing partners some ideal passes. His shooting was excellent, and the effort that got Denaby’s second goal was another of the `day’s best things.”
Haggar was the more effective winger, and certainly the liveliest on the field. The halves were again dominant with Smith always in the thick of it—he probably got through more work than any other single player on the field. The defence was good and Gale gave one of his soundest displays. He saved, the situation once in most daring fashion, timing his advance perfectly to snatch the ball from the very toes of an advancing phalanx of opponents. Grantham were usefully served by a particularly hefty set of defenders, by a shrewd half in March, by a clever inside forward in Kemp and by the crafty and experienced Death, the former Rotherham Town, Mansfield and Sunderland winger.
The game was one of two phases. In the first half Denaby quickly got going and ADAMS got that brilliant goal in six minutes. Grantham had a good deal the worse of the exchanges, though their raids sometimes looked threatening without getting to the actual danger point, and Denaby fully earned the second goal, by WALKER. After the interval Grantham opened up their game and taking advantage of a alight slackening of the pace by Denaby, did more attacking which culminated in a good goal by DEATH from a cross-field pass. ADAMS took the opportunity afforded by Reeves’s only mistake to get Denaby’s third, and KIRK a little later crashed home Grantham’s second following another open movement. Towards the end there was a bit of temper and Referee Briggs issued one or two belated cautions—he might a little earlier have checked some rather unscrupulous tendencies. At times the Grantham men appeared to be “all elbows!”
Fatal Defensive Lapses
Wombwell Town 0, Bradford Reserves 5
Wombwell suffered another heavy reverse a Saturday when they were beaten 5-0 on their own ground by Bradford Reserves. There might have been heavier considering that Bradford are one of the strongest teams in the competition, but that does not minimum the gravity of Wombwell having had 14 goals scored against them without reply in their last two matches—both at home.
As a matter of fact Wombwell have registered only four goals in nine games since they gained their only win of the season against Mansfied on August 10th. In the same period their defence has been penetrated 40 times. One bright spot on Wombwell’s horizon is that despite all these afflictions the management are showing no lack of determination.
Bradford played their usual team, and Wombwell had one newcomer, Stayton, who has been a prolific scorer for Huddersfield’s “A” team, leading the attack. Early play was confined to midfield, with Wombwell slightly the more aggressive. Stayton had a good chance in the first five minutes but the ball bounced away from him and Robertson cleared. Faulty judgment by Ward gave Bradford their first goal. He ran out to a centre by Collins from the right and missed it. ROBERTSON seized the unexpected chance and walked the ball in. Wombwell had their share of the play but the weight of the Bradford defence was too much for them. However, Reynolds put a fierce shot on to the crossbar and Brayshaw got well in only to fail at the crucial moment. Everything came off for Bradford. Once again they went up and Ward ran out to intercept another challenge by Collins, and again allowed ROBERTSON to place the ball into the empty net. For the remainder of the first half the football was fairly evenly divided, Wombwell making up by dash and determination what they lacked in polish. Robertson, the Bradford goalkeeper, was in great form. Another breakaway resulted in RHODES adding a third goal for Bradford.
A spirited attack by Wombwell created new hope on the resumption but Reynolds lifted the ball over. ‘Wombwell shaped better but still played too closely. One of the best chances of the match was missed by Clegg. Two more goals were registered by Bradford in the closing stages, the first by McLEAN, who caught Ward at a disadvantage after he had stopped a shot from Rhodes, and the other by RHODES. Wombwell tired towards the end and the football became listless. A good deal could be said in mitigation of Wombwell’s failure — the bad luck that rave Bradford two sharp coals in the early