Report by SJG

CHESHIRE COUNTY LEAGUE

HURST F.C.   vs WIGAN ATHLETIC

26^th November 1932

LATICS CLIMB THE LEAGUE TABLE WITH BIG WIN.

A good following from Wigan helped to boost the attendance to around 3,000 and the game got underway on a heavy pitch in good drying conditions. The game was clearly suffering from a hangover from the previous encounter and both teams were over exuberant with their tackles and as a result the encounter, in the early stages, was punctuated with a number of fouls and stoppages. The heavy pitch was proving difficult as several players lost their footing. Latics forced a couple of early corners and Swift, who was showing up nicely, went close with a drive that was narrowly wide. McCabe also had an early effort that flew just over the crossbar.

Hurst took the lead on 10 minutes when a long clearance found Taylor, he in turned fed the ball to Slater who made good ground before sliding a pass back to TAYLOR who produced a delightful back heel finish to grab the lead. Just as at Springfield the Hurst defence was well organised and with Dennis acting as lynch-pin the offside trap was yet again proving a frustration for the Wigan forwards. The longer ball tactics that Hurst employed were proving quite effective. Wigan grabbed a surprise equaliser on 14 minutes, McCabe found Henderson, who linked nicely with Swift, the winger unleashed a shot that struck Walker and when the rebound fell to CHAMBERS the striker fired home. On 20 minutes a clash between O’Dell and Milner saw the Hurst man limp from the field with a recurrence of an injury that he had suffered in a previous match.

Hurst, now with only ten men, tried hard to compete but Latics were getting on top. Hurst still managed the occasional foray forward and Hardman was close with a shot that brought Abbott into action. Walker was the busier keeper and he made saves from Henderson and Chambers. The busiest man, however, was the referee, as the fouls, niggles and retaliations continued as tempers simmered.

Half Time; Hurst F.C. 1-1 Wigan Athletic.

The wind was helping to dry the pitch and as the game progressed the surface was steadily improving and this suited Wigans more cultured passing game. The second half had barely started when Spencer found McCabe with an accurate pass, MCCABE worked a one-two with Chambers before drilling a low cross shot that found the net. Wigan visibly grew in confidence and they netted again three minutes later. Chambers timed a break perfectly to beat the offside trap, he passed wide to SWIFT, the winger checked inside and curled a perfect shot past the stranded keeper. Taylor, who was by far the most lively of the Hurst forwards fired in a decent shot that Abbott saved well. McCabe was really busy in attack, one cross shot saw Dennis nearly deflect into his own goal and Walker did well to save another shot from the willing forward, but at the expense of a corner kick. The corner was well delivered by Hughes and it eventually fell to Allon who blasted a shot against the bar. On the hour mark Latics added to their tally, McCabe was tripped near the edge of the area as he jinked to make space for a shot and from the resulting free kick ALLON curled a drive that found the net. In the twenty minutes since the change of ends Wigan had been dominant and the game was now well in their control. Hurst tried hard to stage a recovery and a header by Slater from a Taylor cross forced Abbott into a one-handed diving save. Allon had a chance to produce a repeat of his goal when McCabe again was fouled, but this time he failed to hit the target.

From a freekick Dennis gave Slater a great chance to reduce the deficit but the wingers shot lacked power and Abbott was able to collect with ease. Then with ten minutes left to play Latics added a fifth.

McCabe produced another jinking run that took him into the Hurst penalty area, he checked inside and Lloyd swept his feet from under him. The referee had no doubt and pointed to the spot. MCCABE took the kick but was denied by a diving stop from Walker, however, the ball ran loose and the Wigan man was able to follow in and slot home the rebound.

Full Time; Hurst F.C. 1-5 Wigan Athletic.

Attendance; 3,000

Scorers; Taylor (10); Chambers (14), McCabe (46), (80), Swift (49), Allon (60);

Team; WIGAN-- Abbott; O’Dell, Callachan; Wake, Spencer, Allon; Hughes, Chambers, McCabe, Henderson, Swift;  

HURST F C—Walker; Dennis, Lloyd; Eyres, Finney, Blake; Slater, Heap, Taylor, Hardman, Milner.

Referee; Not known.