Mexborough and Swinton Times March 9, 1928
English School Shield.
Mexborough Survive
Hard Going At Liverpool.
Some Brilliant Football
Liverpool 2, Mexboro’ 2
Liverpool: Banks; Halliwell, Howard; Soo, Carter, Roberts; Rabitt, Bradshaw, Casey, Smith, Ashcroft.
Mexboro’: Stubbs; Lawrence, Hardy; Hallam, Street, Boulton; Burton, Gittins, South, Beard, Parker.
Referee: S. C. Essenhigh, Warrington.
With all the advantages on their side on the Fairfield Athletic ground on Saturday, Liverpool’s powerful team failed to beat the finest side the Mexboro’ district elementary schools have ever produced.
To counterbalance the odds against them, Mexborough and a slice or two of luck; but deserved every bit of it. One result of Saturday’s game is that Mexborough have bright hopes of going a good deal further in the national competition.
The failure of the Liverpool Association to get one of the city’s two chief’ grounds for the game probably meant the loss of at least £100 each to the two station; but as it was a £22 “gate” there will be a slight balance to divide when all expenses have been paid. The 1,000 odd spectators got an unexpected treat. They have been used this season to seeing Liverpool overcome all opponents pretty comfortably with a bit to spare. But immediately the ball was kicked off Saturday the Liverpool team and crowd could see that they had a big job on. Mexborough began in masterful style, adopting the policy of hitting the ball first time and whipping it about freely from wing to wing and wing to middle. The going was about as bad as it could be for youngsters: but a terrific pace was set by Mexborough in the first half and Liverpool responded gamely. Mexboro’ though kicking up tin appreciable slope, were the dominant side and with South at his best would have established a commanding lead before half-time. As it was, they twice got the lead and immediately lost it. But the impression left on spectators when the teams were called off for the breather was that Mexborough would have just enough in hand to master Liverpool in the Second 35. Under other circumstances that anticticipatory programme would probably have worked without a hitch; but – a near the advantages mentioned that we on the Liverpool side – the Mexborough boys had had a long and not too comfortable journey across the Pennines on a rather warm day and, moreover, were the victims of the peculiarly enervating influence of the west country climate on east side dwellers.
Mexboro’ were not the same team after the interval. After one opening burst that seemed to indicate the coming fulfilment of expectations, they tired so much that Liverpool attacked almost continuously during the remainder of the game. On the face of it appeared that Mexboro’ were a lucky side to escape unbeaten; but as a matter of fact Liverpool would have been a lucky side had they won. I say that while recording that Mr.Essenhigh, in my judgement failed to give Liverpool one clear penalty award; and that Liverpool’s outstanding player failed to score with one he did give them. These touches of good fortune were merely some compensation for the heavy odds of the conditions set against Mexboro’: under equal conditions I should say Mexboro’ are clearly the better all-round side —and I fully expect the replay at Mexboro’, or Denaby to demonstrate that.
Mexborough’s Box of Tricks
The game was the best boys’ game I have seen this season—or for two or three seasons for that matter. That first half was 35 minutes of stirring—often brilliant—football that obviously surprised the crowd and roused their impartial admiration of both sides. Yet, with 22 lads all doing well, more than half of them exceptionally well, two lads shone out from all the rest. Beard and Parker were irresistible. Liverpool, caught napping twice, concentrated their whole defensive forces against those two yet they wormed their way through practically as they willed and only atrocious luck—and South’s unfortunate inability to keep his feet—prevented Mexboro’ getting half a dozen goals. The two they did get were the direct outcome of dazzling efforts by Parker. Twice he threaded his way clean through a crowd of defenders by sheer brilliant footwork: the first time his shot crashed the ball against the crossbar and GITTINS promptly slammed it back with Banks helpless; the second time Parker’s dribble took him right over to the other side of the field and his right foot drive at an acute angle sent the ball spinning off an upright to the feet of SOUTH with an open goal the centre-forward could scarcely miss.
Liverpool in each instance scored a goal immediately after Mexboro’ did. On the first occasion Stubbs got a little too far under a high drive by Ashcroft and pulled the ball down instead of tipping it over the top; and the tall, swift-footed CASEY promptly seized the golden opportunity. On the second occasion Lawrence and Hallam both failed to make a direct tackle and allowed ASHCROFT to go clean through and whip across an excellent shot into the net.
All the scoring was done inside the first half hour of the match. Parker once again beat everybody but the goalkeeper in another glorious run through; and, while Mexboro’ themselves had one or two narrow escapes the balance of play was decidedly in their favour. A
A Mighty Atom.
At first thought Mexboro’s post-interval decline was amazing after their brilliant first half team work : but an after-consideration of the conditions already touched on—and a walk across r the playing piece at the end!—made it much less surprising. Mexboro’s forwards and halves had done a tremendous amount of work in the first 35 minutes, and done it at a thrilling pace; a, while the hardest a worked part of the Liverpool team was the defence. The Liverpool forwards were able to set about the second half with comparatively little of their energies used up. As a line they were rather the bigger lot and they had the game in their hands after the first few minutes of the half. But it must be admitted that they failed to impress by their finishing. They certainly had their chances to make the game safe: but their movements were never really well enough developed to beat a good defence. Casey, whose few bursts in the first half marked him a dangerous boy if given too much rope, was a comparatively ineffective near goal.
Still, Mexboro’ would have been beaten had Hardy(picture) and Stubbs not given of their best. Parker and Beard were the stars of the first half: Hardy and Stubbs the stars of the second. Stubbs made one blight error of judgment in the first half: the one that preceded the scoring of Liverpool’s first goal; in the second half he saved Mexboro’ half a dozen times. Two pieces of work stood out: a clearance when Bradshaw got him to his knees to stop a short range drive that kept the ball very low, and Stubbs bad only a second or so in which to evade the rush of three Liverpool forwards and get the ball to safety; and a great save of another low shot by Casey that he gathered and cleared as he flung himself sideways to the ground. But apart from those more spectacular efforts Stubbs gave complete confidence throughout the half because of his astonishingly shrewd anticipation. He, dealt with many a good shot and made it look tame by being in exactly the right spot to receive it; and he was on the spot to watch into safety a dozen or more drives that sent the ball just past or over the goal. Finally, he saved a penalty kick. I grant that Soo made a sad mess of the shot: but all the odds are against the goalkeeper with any kind of penalty shot that is not wide of the mark; and the coolness and promptitude with which Stubbs caught and kicked sway the ball set the seal of class on a splendid afternoon’s work.
A Hardy Half-Hour.
And Stubbs (picture) was saved thrice as much work by the splendid staying power, positional play and hefty kicking of Hardy. He was the best of the four backs. In the first half he was sure and clean in his clearances usually, and again and again he covered and helped Lawrence, who had Liverpool’s nippiest wing to deal with. But in the second half Hardy was worth two or three lads to Mexboro’. He, like Lawrence, was often left by his half-back to face the situation single-handed: but Hardy played the right game. He was right on the toes of the oncoming forward before the latter had time to manoeuvre, tackled first time, and kicked a wonderful length. It was his strength and success.—I rarely saw him put foot or bead wrong this half—that really baulked Liverpool that and Stubbs’s cool alertness, judgment and quickness in the final resort.
The one pull Liverpool had over Mexboro’ as a team—apart from the extraordinary ones due to the conditions—was the superior strength and positional play of their halves.
Liverpool’s must surely be the best set of school team halves in the- country. Roberts, the boy who is chosen for the next international trial, is a quiet, thoughtful worker whose style, tackling and ball distribution mark him a born footballer. Carter is less of an artist but a very sound, solid defender and a good supporter of his forwards.
The Chinese Puzzle.
But the outstanding member of the trio on Saturday was the Chinese boy, Soo. He ran up against an unexpected handful in the first hair, for Beard and Parker on that form needed sheer football genius to hold them. It is just because Soo after the interval showed that genius that I give him, as Liverpool’s star of the day in a team of fairly even consistency. Parker and Beard did not have by any means so much of their own way in the second 35. Soo did not run after them; he, apparently, read their acute little minds with a mind as acute, and anticipated as many’ of their moves as not. Throughout the match his service to his own forwards was one of the classiest items of the play. I recommend Mexborough and district football lovers to go and see this little. Chinaman play one of our two chief “national” games.
Liverpool have a very good goalkeeper. He did not quite get Stubbs’s opportunities on Saturday, but he inspired complete confidence, for he gave nothing away. The backs are not quite so sound as Mexboro’s; their clearances were by no means so clean and sure in their time of trial as were Mexboro’ in theirs. At half-back Mexboro’ were by no means Liverpool’s equals; had they been, no replay would have been necessary—and moreover Mexboro’s possession of the shield for a year would be well-nigh a foregone conclusion! The Mexboro’ halves failed to put themselves in position for interception in the second half: but their chief faults were hesitation in tackling and failure to recover.
Forward, Mexboro’ were the more finished and workmanlike set. In the first half, and on the few occasions when they did get going in the second, their movements were swift and open; and they always looked the more dangerous lot. That can be said in spite of the fact that South never got the measure of the conditions, that Gittins, too, was well below his best, and that Burton sometimes failed to put just the extra spice of dash into his play that would have enabled him to beat the back or half several times when he allowed the defenders to get there first. But, all those necessary points of criticism having been made, the outstanding fact is: Mexboro’ gallantly and deservedly earned the right to fight again on their own ground; and, I confidently anticipate, to go forward and tackle Worksop in the next round.
Rally, South Yorkshire!
The Mexboro’ Association will definitely turn down any proposal to play the tie again at Liverpool. They rightly feel that such a chance as is theirs now of becoming elementary school champions of England may not come again for years: and that the effort to Will the honour is well worth the financial risk of facing the expense of staging the match in South Yorkshire.
But is there any financial risk? If football lovers for a few miles round Mexboro’ fail to pack whatever ground is obtained for this replay with Liverpool my estimation of South Yorkshire’s football judgment has been sadly too high. South Yorkshire knows a good thing when it sees it; and such football as these two teams put up on Saturday is a very good thing indeed.
A word about the excellent organisation, good sportsmanship, and warm hospitality of the Liverpool Association and their supporters; the outing was as thoroughly enjoyable as the arduous travelling would allow; and nothing was spared in, any detail to make the visitors comfortable and happy. Mexboro’ must lay itself out to return the compliment full measure when the two meet again.