Match Report: Yorkshire Post: 26th October 1954: Courtesy Steve Bell
UNITED WIN DESPITE CHARLES'S LAPSE
By RICHARD ULYATT
LEEDS UNITED 1 HUDDERSFIELD TOWN 0
Leeds United reached the second round of the West Riding Senior Cup last night at Elland Road half as easily as ought to have been the case, for John Charles - Charles the rock on which all Huddersfield attacks broke, Charles the maker of perfect passes, Charles who might by now be a £40,000 player - kicked wide from the penalty spot. One manager used to say: "I'd fine a player a week's wage for doing that."
Perhaps the haze upset Charles' aim; it was about the only time that he put a foot wrong and because United's defence was so well organised round him Huddersfield Town seldom looked like scoring. Indeed, except for their colours they seldom looked like Huddersfield Town. United's greater speed prevented passes being made with any degree of accuracy or, in many cases, made at all. Once Williams and McCall found that they could get round Town's deputy backs, if not through them, the Huddersfield defence was kept at full stretch and was not helped by Wheeler's persistance in kicking his clearances to United defenders or by the full backs inexperience.
Spectacular dive
Town had no forward like Brook, who was able to use his skill with the minimum of effort. Watson was a shadow of the resourceful player of last Saturday, Metcalfe, as usual, fared badly against Dunn; Glazzard's nearest approach to a goal was midway through the first half when his hair touched the ball as he dived spectacularly to head Metcalfe's centre, and neither Cavanagh nor Burrell offered much more than occasional worry to an adequate defence.
Williams shared the attacking distinction with Brook, and he was a constant source of anxiety to Lonsdale, Town's better back, once he had checked an inclination to be drawn offside. Even though United were on the night's play the better side, faster and more alert, the match was decided by the lucky dip of Brook's twenty yard shot which seemed to me, sitting in the stand, to be going over the bar - and to Wheeler, too, judged by his disinclination to jump for the ball. Instead, however, it dropped into goal. The 16,000 spectators saw some neat football, but more faulty passing and haphazard kicking than they were entitled to expect from teams who had done as well recently as these.
LEEDS UNITED: Wood; Dunn, Hair; Ripley, Charles, Kerfoot; Williams, Nightingale, Smith, Brook, McCall.
HUDDERSFIELD TOWN: Wheeler; Gibson, Lonsdale; McGarry, Taylor, Quested; Burrell, Watson, Glazzard, Cavanagh, Metcalfe.
