For once, no rain above, no muddy pools beneath – except for a gusty cross-wind which made marksmanship at times very like a guessing game, the weather was ideal. The City management had very wisely altered the pitch and the ground was found to be neither too hard nor too slippery. Thus the game proved to be fast and well contested, though it is a question whether the quality of play was as noteworthy as its speed. Both defences appeared to advantage time after time, promising movements by the forwards being broken up by both sides.
The City team certainly predominated, more particularly in the second half, but they appeared to rely too much on speed and their attacks did not seem sufficiently thought out, though the stubborn resistance of the visitors’ backs threw the forwards back on methods of opportunism which, though less attractive to the spectators, succeeded in “getting there”.
The left wing pair – Furness and Butcher- were very successfully nursed. They worked hard, but were not allowed to accomplish much. The City team showed little change from that which did duty in the previous week’s friendly fixture with Tufnell Spartan.
Reprinted from “The Hertfordshire News” – 21st January 1920. |