From: gjd@inf.rl.ac.uk (Graham Doe)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.soccer
Subject: Re: Football League Div Two Centenary
Date: 7 Sep 92 15:20:29 GMT
Organization: Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Informatics Department, U.K.

In <MNEWS.715525174.13908@gate.demon.co.uk>, James Ross writes:

>         The 1892-3 Football League season kicked off on 3rd September 
>         1892, Division Two was introduced from this season. Results:
...
>         Div 2
>         Ardwick             7  Bootle                0
>         Burton Swifts       7  Crewe Alexandra       1
>         Grimsby Town        2  Northwich Victoria    1
>         Sheffield United    4  Lincoln City          2
>         Small Heath         5  Burslem Port Vale     1
>         Walsall Town Swifts 1  Darwen                2
         
>         Ardwick are now Man City, Small Heath are now Birmingham City.

...and Walsall Town Swifts are just plain Walsall.  And in response to the
person who asked whether any of us actually attended games rather than just 
talking about them, here's a report on the centenary League game.


WALSALL 3 - YORK CITY 1
Attendance: 3574

Walsall: Gayle, Williams, Statham, Macdonald (O'Hara), West, Smith, Ntamark,
Clarke, Marsh, Ollerenshaw (Edwards), McDonald.
York: Kiely, McMillan, Hall, Pepper, Stancliffe, Warburton, McCarthy, 
Borthwick (Canham), Barnes, Swann, Blackstone.  Sub not used: Atkin.

York came to Bescot top of the table, with a 100% record and only one goal 
conceded in 4 League games.

Walsall's line-up was as usual, except that Gary West made his first appearance
in the centre of defence, on loan from Lincoln.  Steve O'Hara and Dean Smith 
are both useful young defenders, but don't really work together as a 
combination, and with last season's player of the year Colin Methven injured
(as well as being well past his sell-by date), West was borrowed in haste on
Friday.

Early signs were not promising, York going ahead in the 1st minute.  The 
Saddlers are acquiring a reputation for slow starts - about half the goals
conceded this season so far have been in the first 10 minutes.  This time
West headed a corner out towards the left-hand touchline, Pepper crossed it 
back, Wayne Williams failed to cut it out and Warburton was left unmarked to
head home - though Mark Gayle  got his hands to the downward header and should
perhaps have done better.

The first 20 minutes or so were desperate, with Dean Smith and Kevin Macdonald
(veteran of Liverpool's '86 double-winning side) in particular barely putting
a foot or a head right.  Fortunately we weathered the storm, largely thanks to
Derek "Sumo" Statham at left-back.  He may be fat and slow, but enough remains
of the ball skills, defensive ability and general nous that won him a handful
of England caps 10 years ago to make him comfortably the bast player in this
game, on either side.  Covering back and pushing forward he looked exceptional.

Gradually Walsall got to grips with the game, and about 8 minutes before 
half-time the pressure which we had been increasingly exerting for 15 minutes
or so paid off.  Statham fed Cameroon international Charlie Ntamark outside
the box.  He appeared to be dithering (as is his wont), but just as the chance
appeared to be gone he slipped the ball between 2 defenders to allow Chris
Marsh a shot from 10 yards out.  This bounced off 'keeper Kiely (a candidate
for any imaginary team of players with silly haircuts) allowing Australian
international Scott Ollerenshaw to score his first goal in English football.

Rod McDonald - last season's leading scorer - miskicked in front of goal to
miss a glorious chance to put us ahead 5 minutes later, but 1-1 at the break
was reasonably satisfying after such a shaky start.  West was winning a good
deal in the air at the back, Statham and Marsh combining well down the left,
and Ollerenshaw putting in a prodigious amount of work up front.  

A good start to the second half, and now that they'd changed ends I could see
from my wing-stand seat that Wayne Williams and Rod were also doing good work 
along the other flank.  But it was Statham who provided the telling ball in 
the 52nd minute.  As York pushed out he weighted a lovely ball from around 
the halfway, which Wayne Clarke (ex-Wolves, Everton, Birmingham, Manchester 
City etc.) ran on to.  Kiely came off his line quickly and got to the ball
first, but could only block it: Clarke nudged the rebound past him and followed
up to tap in his 5th goal of the season.  Not bad for a free transfer!

And within a minute we were 3-1 up.  Williams played the ball forward to 
Ollerenshaw on the right-hand corner of the box.  He chested it down and held
off the challenging defender until Rod arrived at pace, taking it down to the
byline and knocking in a superb cross, met by Chris Marsh at the far post.
Having headed home Chris continued his run to hop over the wall and into the
jubilant Gilbert Alsop End.  Even then manager Kenny Hibbitt took the piss
afterwards, commenting how pretty-boy Chrissie didn't like heading goals 
because he got dirt in his hair and wanted to be substituted so he could get
to the shampoo first!

For ten minutes or so we ran riot, but never quite got a fourth goal, though
Ollerenshaw came closest, and York gradually reasserted themselves and got back
into the game.  West gave away a freekick just outside the box which Charlie
blocked with his stomach, which left him laid out for a couple of minutes:
Mark "George" Gayle saved superbly to push the rebound on to a post - one of
3 good saves in the closing stages.

Kevin Macdonald was pulled off and O'Hara came on in midfield - a possible 
alternative if there is no place for him in the centre of defence; he wins the 
ball well and distributes it sensibly these days.  Still York pressed and 
looked very impressive (which made the scoreline all the more satisfying), but
they were caught offside on several occasions.  Quite impressive to run a 
tight offside game with a defender who only arrived at the club 24 hours 
earlier!  Less impressive for York to get 2 players booked for arguing with a
linesman...

Anyway, Barnes (ex-Stoke) had a good chance for York in the dying moments, and
a tiring Ollerenshaw was replaced by Edwards with about 3 minutes to go, but
at the whistle the score remained 3-1.  York looked good despite losing, and
remain top of the 3rd: they'll play much worse and get more for it.  For
Walsall, the goals keep coming - 12 in 5 League games now.  And a disciplinary
"clean-sheet" - no bookings - was a first for the season.

Best for Saddlers: STATHAM, Ollerenshaw, Marsh.
Worst: Smith, Macdonald.

Saddlers move 4th in the table with 9 points from 5 games; a visit to bottom-
of-the-League Colchester next week - and a rendezvous with aging ex-Walsall
donkey Roy McDonough - gives us some hope for more points, but we have a 
tendency to save our best games for the good sides and our worst displays of
ineptitude for the worst.  In the last 2 years Doncaster, Hereford, Barnet and 
York are among the teams who have come to Bescot as League leaders - we've 
beaten them all.  But Doncaster came here as bottom club last season without 
an away win in several months and stuffed us, and a visit to Halifax about 18
months ago was far too horrific to report here...  So anything could happen.

On a related lower-division note: did you notice Hereford had 4 players sent
off yesterday?  The referee was Brian Coddington, and I can tell you from
personal experience of watching his games, he is ABYSMAL.  Inconsistent to an
appalling degree, and quite staggeringly biased in favour of home sides on 
occasion.  I'm sure there must be Newcastle fans out there who remember this
hopeless little man...

Anyway, that's my lot.  
Tararabit,

Graham Doe

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