Semi-final victory for the Town

Unfortunately heavy rain which was at times ‘almost tropical in force’ kept the crowd at Old Warwick Road down to five or six hundred for the Birmingham Junior Cup semi-final against Bournville, a team from a higher level league. 

They missed ‘a great game.   The Town’s form against a team which is supposed to play a superior class of football was truly “an eye opener”.   It was not, as frequently happens in cup matches, a case of the bigger team’s scientific play being at a discount against the less clever, if more successful, bustling, kick-and-rush tactics of the smaller side.   Bournville had met in the Town a team quite equal to themselves in every department of the game and in some respects – forward work, for instance – their superior.’

 The visitors won the toss and chose to play with the wind in their favour in the first half.  Nevertheless, the Town had the better of the opening exchanges.   Pritchard on the wing and star striker Gathercole were working together well, but the first goal was scored by Reading in a ‘goalmouth scrimmage’.   However, Bournville equalised, Allcock’s dive being a fraction too late to make the save.   Gathercole was unlucky not score from a free kick outside the penalty area, but it remained 1-1 at half time.

In the second half, Town returned to the attack.   This opened them up at the back, but Jonas was brilliant in defence.    Only Waters was thought to be below par.  The winning goal was scored 15 minutes from time by Reading, again from a scrimmage.   At this the Spa crowd lost it and ‘there was an outburst of almost delirious applause which one rarely hears from a Leamington crowd.’    Looker On concluded, ‘I have never seen the Town play such a splendid game.’