28-11-55: Huddersfield Town (h) 5-2 (HT 3-1) Crowd (12,500)

Programme:

Match Report (Courtesy Steve Bell)

Yorkshire Post: 29th November 1955

Hickson hit a post

Then four goals for Charles

By W. IAN GUILD

Leeds Utd 5 Huddersfield T 2

Playing fast, penetrating football at Elland Road last night, before a crowd of 12,500 people who paid £1,422 and had value for every penny, Leeds United retained the West Riding Senior Cup in a pulsating final. The margin in no way flattered the winners, for whom Charles scored four goals and Vickers one. Leeds were superior in every department of the game and the forwards, backed by solid half back play exposed the glaring weakness which has sent Huddersfield to the bottom of the First Division. Town's trouble was in defence, which was cut to ribbons.

Clever attack

That in no way detracted from United's fine performance, for even against a better mid-defence they would have almost certainly won. Brilliantly led by Charles, the forwards clicked into a smooth, efficient unit and there was nothing the Town defence could do about it. While it would be difficult to single out any Leeds player for special mention, reference must be made to the fine work of Overfield and Williams, made possible by the inside men, Hutchinson and Vickers, whose crafty methods of switching the point of attack threw the Town defence into confusion. What might have happened had a shot from Hickson, Town's new centre forward, found the net in the twenty-fifth minute instead of hitting the post is a matter of conjecture, for up to then Huddersfield had been in the game with a fair chance. But in the thirty-ninth minute Charles, intelligently fed by Williams after Hutchinson had made the running, opened the scoring. After that it was practically one-way traffic towards the Huddersfield goal. A minute later Charles put Vickers through and the inside left beat two defenders and coolly lobbed the ball over Wheeler's head. Four minutes later Charles scored again after a smooth exchange with Hutchinson. Huddersfield reduced the arrears with a Metcalfe penalty after Hickson had been tripped, but it was small consolation for Huddersfield who appeared acutely conscious of their inferiority.

Overfield's help

Starting the second half where they left off United continued to dominate proceedings and in the fifty-fifth minute Vickers and Overfield split what remained of the Huddersfield defence, Charles slamming home number four. A minute later Overfield, who had a great game, walked through the Town defence to give Charles his fourth goal and raise the tally to five. After that only the indomitable Quested stood between Leeds and a hatful of goals and though Metcalfe was allowed a comparitively free passage to score Huddersfield's second goal his team mates must have been heartily glad to hear the final whistle.

Teams:- Leeds United: Wood; Dunn, Hair; Nightingale, Charlton, Kerfoot; Williams, Hutchinson, Charles, Vickers, Overfield. Huddersfield Town: Wheeler; Conwell, Wilson; McGarry, Quested, Battye; Marriott, Watson, Hickson, Simpson, Metcalfe.