Owing to the wet weather there was only a moderate crowd in attendance and the play never rose to a very high standard.
East Ham gave a good show but the City had many more scoring chances than their opponents and had the forwards been stronger in front of goal they would have won by a far greater margin. The ground was in a shocking state and the heavy going was evidently against the liking of the home forwards, with the possible exception of Edmonds who showed form that was near his best. Hosier’s absence from the outside-right position caused the removal of Hammond from inside-right to that position and Goodfellow came in at inside-left and both players did as well as could be expected.
Palmer and Brandham changed places in the half-back line with such successful results that one wondered why such an experiment had not been made before. Further behind, Tom Hearn and Grimsdell were a safe pair of backs and Flint gave another good show in goal.
Considering the players East Ham possess and the ability and never-say-die spirit they displayed on this occasion, it is difficult to believe that the Hammers have occupied the bottom position in the League for the greater part of the season. Mann, their centre-forward, is an exceptionally clever player and although in Palmer he had a worthy opponent, the sheer cunning of his footwork surpassed all previous displays at the Park. Fisher and Hepworth were a couple of good wingers and Taylor and Graham a sound pair of backs
Reprinted from “The Herts Advertiser and St Albans Times” 4th January 1913. |
