Programme and Teamsheet: Courtesy Mark Ledgard
Match Report: Yorkshire Evening Post: 30th November 1953: Courtesy Steve Bell
CUP SEMI-FINAL UNDER LIGHTS
Leeds United and Bradford field unchanged sides
Both Leeds United and Bradford are at strength for their flood-lit West Riding Senior Cup semi-final at Elland Road tonight (7.30). United are unchanged from their 2-1 away defeat to Everton, and Bradford from their 2-0 home win over Wrexham (writes Phil Brown).
Mr. Raich Carter, United's manager, who has played in the three previous friendly games 'under the lights' at Elland Road, and also in the match with Crystal Palace in London, is, of course, ineligible for tonight's Cup tie, not being a registered United player. Captaining the Bradford side will be Jim Milburn, the former Leeds United long-service left-back, and on occasion, centre-forward.
The teams are:-
LEEDS UNITED: Wood; Dunn, Hair; Kerfoot, Marsden, Burden; Williams, Nightingale, Charles, Iggleden, Tyrer.
BRADFORD: Downie; Suddards, Milburn; Currie, Conroy, Wright; Deplidge, Beattie, Pickard, Dunlop, Whitaker.
The winners will meet the winners of the Huddersfield Town v Halifax Town semi-final. There will be considerable interest in the size of the crowd tonight. After attendances of over 30,000 at the first two floodlit games the crowd fell to 17,000 last Monday against Falkirk. A usefully-sized Bradford contingent is expected to attend tonight. United's remarkable luck with the weather for their floodlit games was still holding this afternoon on the last day of November.
Charles is NOT for Sale
By PHIL BROWN
"If Sunderland offered us their Town Hall we wouldn't take it, let alone £50,000." Mr. Sam Bolton, Leeds United's chairman declared to me today. He was commenting on reports, not confirmed at Sunderland, that, having sold Welsh International centre-forward Trevor Ford for £30,000 to Cardiff City, Sunderland were now interested in John Charles, United's "star" possibly to the extent of up to a £50,000 bid. "Sunderland have made no approach, nor would it be any good at all them making one, indeed I am getting so tired of saying 'no' that I might not even be so polite to them." he said with heat. "Our aim at Elland Road is to build a promotion team round Charles."
Ford Cost £32,500
Sunderland's board met this morning, writes our Sunderland correspondent, and from the decision taken will come moves in an endeavour to replace Trevor Ford, whose transfer fee on Saturday night was not £30,000 but £32,500, Sunderland's starting figure, I understand was £35,000. John Charles has certainly been under consideration since Thursday, when the decision to transfer Ford was made. But there have also been other names too, including Gardiner, of East Fife and Lishman of Arsenal. The suggestion that Sunderland might come along with a £50,000 offer for Charles was characterised by a Sunderland director this morning as "ridiculous nonsense." "We have made no offer for Charles" he said, "and I would not be surprised if there was a riot in Leeds if Leeds United attempted to dispose of him. He is a good player and a particularly good one at the moment, but we have other ideas." The decision to transfer Ford, we believe, was made only by a majority vote of the board.
Monday verdict
United lost, but it was a near thing
Leeds United tried hard but just not quite well enough at Goodison Park (writes Phil Brown). The Everton team could be seen heaving sighs of relief when the full-time was sounded to leave them 2-1 winners. The tense and fast game, with each side in turn having long spells on attack, deserved the cheering it mightily got from a 56,970 crowd. United's biggest audience of the season. Injury weakened Everton met United's sharp challenge bravely, and centre-half Donovan used his luck well in finding Charles a shade subdued. The centre-forward several times turned away from dribbling chances in order to distribute. But he scored a lovely goal, his twenty-fifth of the season, very well with his head, and if his colleagues had released the ball just a little more quickly to him United might have won a notable victory indeed. Kerfoot was easily the best of four good wing-haves. I again implore England to have a look at him. Marsden had trouble with their fiery centre-forward Hickson, but Dunn and Hair held their own with two good wingers, Eglington and Buckle. Indeed, this was the first moderate game against United I recall for Eglington, a player of high class.
Match Report: Yorkshire Post: 1st December 1953: Courtesy Steve Bell
Charles had an off night
But 18.800 crowd saw United win
By LYNDON ARMITAGE
LEEDS UNITED 2 BRADFORD 1
Leeds United continued to be favoured by good weather for their floodlight games and a crowd of 18,800 last night saw them beat Bradford at Elland Road in the semi-final of the West Riding Senior Cup. Bradford, the Cup-holders, who have won the trophy more times than any other club - eight since 1911 - played as though they intended to reach the final again, and except for a spell in the first half, when they scored twice, Leeds were rarely on top. It was not John Charles' night and only occasionally did the crowd see the famous head in action. His first attempt at goal did not come for twenty minutes. Dunn put a long kick up the centre, Charles got to it but his header went over the bar. He might have scored in the second half when Currie, the Bradford Right-half, miskicked and let him through. Charles was away like a flash, but when about twenty yards from goal he passed across field to Williams, who shot wide. A few minutes from the end Charles again got away, but with three Bradford players hampering him he was not allowed to get in a shot. Conroy, the Bradford centre-half, until he was injured in the seventieth minute, had kept a tight rein on the Leeds centre-forward. Conroy was off for about five minutes after receiving a cut on his heads and returned to play at outside-right.
Milburn at home
Jim Milburn, playing in his old position of full-back, must have felt at home when he came forward to take a penalty awarded for a foul on Deplidge in the fiftieth minute. As in the days when he was the Penalty King at Elland Road he made no mistake with the kick giving Wood no chance. It was a hard fought game from start to finish, Bradford piling on the pressure in the last quarter of an hour in an effort to force the equaliser. They might have got it too, if Deplidge had taken more time over a shot almost in front of goal, and Wood had not made a brilliant save from Beattie. Nightingale's goal in the thirty-second minute was a good one. From a pass by Tyrer he scored with a rising shot from an acute angle. Williams scored five minutes later, seizing on the ball after it had bounced off Charles from Tyrer's corner kick. Downie got his hands to the ball but could not stop it entering the net. United now meet the winners of the Huddersfield Town v. Halifax Town semi-final.
Match Report: Yorkshire Evening Post: 1st December 1953: Courtesy Steve Bell
Floodlit cup game a record
Suggestion to play second semi-final under 'lights'
By PHIL BROWN
Leeds United's directors will consider at their meeting tonight whether to agree to a suggestion by the West Riding Football Association that the second semi-final of the West Riding Senior Cup should be played by floodlight. Last night's first semi-final there, won by United against Bradford, drew 18,800 spectators - which Mr. Harry Rayner, of Huddersfield Town, veteran chairman of the cup committee, thinks is the record crowd for this competition since its inception in 1911. Such is the money-spinning influence of the lights - a new financial record first time of asking! The West Riding F.A. suggestion is backed by the willingness of both Huddersfield Town and Halifax Town, the remaining semi-finalists, to play under lights at Elland Road.
Halifax waive rights
By rights of the draw the match should be played at Halifax, but their manager, Mr Gerald Henry, tells me that they are quite prepared to waive their right of venue. The matter, however, demands some consideration, Mr. Sam Bolton, United's chairman, pointed out to me today. While United, as a competing club, were on 37 1/2 per cent of last night's gate, the gross receipts being £2,100, the other semi-final would bring them a very much smaller percentage as merely the staging club. "On the other hand, if Huddersfield Town have to meet United in the final, Town's semi-final could be an excellent advertisement for the final. Whether that could be played at Elland Road, too, by floodlighting, remains to be seen.
HONOURS TO BRADFORD IN DEFEAT
Leeds United won their West Riding Senior Cup semi-final with Bradford by two goals to one at Elland Road last night, but Bradford clearly took whatever football honours there were in the game (Writes PHIL BROWN)
They played the better football from start to finish, with the vital exception of one spell three-quarters of the way through the first half, when United got into gear for the only time in the match and scored twice in five minutes. The first was by Nightingale (with an "impossible" shot spectacularly made in the air into a narrow angle) and the second by Williams, with the Bradford defence "asleep" for the only time in the game. Bradford moving the ball freely and with ideas beyond the obvious, looked far more like a Second Division side than United, whose football descended to floundering and fumbling on many occasions. Wood, in goal, nobly kept his head behind the erratic and clumsy stuff going on in front of him, and was really responsible for United's victory. Kerfoot managed to retain most of his form and Dunn, too, but United slumped badly last night. Charles, although not unduly shadowed by Conroy, had the worst match he has ever had at centre-forward, and the mainspring of a poor forward line was Iggleden. Jim Milburn produced a powerful game at left-back for Bradford against hs old club, and shot his penalty goal in the Milburn "grand manner". Bradford's inside-left, Dunlop, worked hard and well and with a trace more punch in the penalty area there would have been a dividend from all Bradford's nearly vain approach work.
