Match Report: Yorkshire Evening Post: 15th March 1954: Courtesy Steve Bell
Two goals for Forrest
The decline of Derby County
Derby County 0 Leeds United 2
Leeds United's third away win of the season revealed more of Derby County's shortcomings than of their own virtues. The standard of the second half was that of the village green, and it was unbelievable that Derby were less than twelve months ago in the First Division. United made the better start moved the ball about briskly with the wind behind them and had the match going the way it did by the end of the first fifteen minutes. Forrest's distribution at centre-forward was quite as good as that of the star for whom he was deputising, the injured Charles, and United stood two up after eleven minutes. Forrest was the scorer of them, both with headers, one of which a more experienced centre half than the local Bell would not have allowed him.
Scott shines
Forrest continued as one of the likeable forwards of the match despite the fact that his inside men, Webb and Nightingale faded out of a most clumsy game, and that in the end few players were finding their men once in four attempts. The two best players were Scott in United's goal and Mays at right half for Derby. Scott was far harder worked than was Middleton, the Derby goalkeeper; but - once with luck on his side when a shot he could not see bounced off his feet - he kept an immaculate goal. The crowd - 12,773 - was Derby's smallest of the season, and it expressed its opinion of the play several times by slow handclapping. Derby lacked nothing in spirit at least, but much of it was translated into over-anxiety and consequent inaccuracy.
Charles may play
There is another attractive match tonight - the West Riding Senior Cup final under floodlights at Elland Road between Leeds United and Huddersfield Town. John Charles is so keen to play that he was at the ground yesterday having his injured ankle treated, and both managers say, that barring accidents, they will field their strongest teams. United's manager, Mr Raich Carter, had a feast of watching on Saturday - United's juniors in the morning and the Central League side in the afternoon. What he saw was pleasing. "In a couple of years," he said, "we shall see a lot of difference down here." He was particularly impressed with Dawson (full-back), Davies (centre half) and Vickers (Army forward on leave from Germany).
Match Report: Yorkshire Post: 16th March 1954: Courtesy Steve Bell
West Riding Cup for Leeds United
Leeds U 2 Huddersfield T 1
Huddersfield Town had the effective services of their centre-forward, Glazzard, for only ten minutes at Elland Road last night and therefore the 23,000 spectators were not surprised that they lost the West Riding Senior Cup final.
Glazzard hurt his right knee and was off the field for much of the first half and all of the second, but before that accident happened Huddersfield Town had shown little of the arts and graces which had carried them into third place of the First Division table. They were not given opportunity for so doing, for the United half-backs were onto them like a flash; tackling and harrying, tearing about like angry wasps and stinging their opponents into making passes and tackles which did not come out of the rule books. United would have had much more to show for their enterprise and enthusiasm if they had made sure that John Charles was in an onside position when they passed the ball but the most consistent feature of this match was the referee's whistle for offside, often blown unnecessarily, but usually with justice.
Nightingale put United ahead after sixteen minutes and Cavanagh equalised before half-time with an opportunist goal. Charles scored the winner five minutes after the restart after being held in check by young Ken Taylor, Town's reserve centre-half, and many people thought Burrell had put Town on level terms again or that Dunn had put through his own goal but again the whistle went - as usual, offside, this time against Burrell.
