09-05-31: Huddersfield Town (n) 0-1 (Valley Parade, Bradford) (HT 0-1) Crowd (5,900 £340)

Match Report (Courtesy Steve Bell)

Yorkshire Post: 11th May 1931

ANOTHER TROPHY FOR TOWN.

Leeds United Defeated by a Goal.

A goal scored by Whittam in the fourth minute of the West Riding Senior Cup final between Huddersfield Town and Leeds United at Valley Parade on Saturday enabled the First Division team to retain possession of the trophy and to add it to the West Riding Supplementary Cup, the Central League Cup, and the Embleton Cup, which have already been won by Huddersfield Town Reserves. There was an attendance of 5,900, with receipts of £340. Territorially, Leeds had by far the major portion of the game. Indeed, Turner had a really busy afternoon in the Huddersfield goal, and Potts had comparitively little to do. The main difference in the sides - and this probably accounted for Town's victory - was that, whereas Huddersfield expended the minimum of energy but the maximum of craft upon their work, Leeds were continually launching attacks which were principally commendable because of their courage and virility. The Town goal had some very narrow escapes, though that it did escape only emphasises the weakness of the Leeds forwards in front of goal. In the first half Milburn failed to equalise the scores with a penalty kick, and all the Leeds forwards at one time or another shot wildly. It was during the second half that Leeds exerted the maximum of pressure, and then they found Turner in his best form. He turned round the post a good shot by Hornby, dealt similarly with a header by Keetley, later touched past a drive by Copping, and cleverly gathered and cleared a shot by Cochrane. Edwards was United's outstanding player, though even he at times hung on to the ball far too long. After Town had taken the lead - a clever bit of combination between Robert Kelly, Smith and Whittam outwitting the United defence - some of the Huddersfield players seemed to slacken in their efforts. Smith, Campbell and Kelly (G.) were cases in point, and their defection may possibly have had something to do with the amount of play which subsequently came to Leeds United. Whittam did little else but score the winning goal, and it was left to Bob Kelly to initiate what attacks Huddersfield delivered. Young was the best of the half-backs, and Goodall the outstanding player on the field. At the conclusion of the game the Lord Mayor of Bradford (Alderman Alfred Pickles) presented the cup to Smith, the Huddersfield Town captain, and handed the players all the medals they had won.

Teams:- Huddersfield Town: Turner; Goodall, Roughton; Carr, Young, Campbell; Kelly (G.), Kelly (R.), Whittam, Davies, Smith. Leeds United: Potts; Milburn (G.), Menzies; Edwards, Danskin, Copping; Green, Hornby, Keetley, Furness, Cochrane. Referee: J. E. Mellor, Bradford.