Report by SJG

CHESHIRE COUNTY LEAGUE

WHITCHURCH   vs WIGAN ATHLETIC

3^rd December 1932

LATICS BLOWN OFF COURSE IN SHROPSHIRE.

The strong wind and the hard and bumpy pitch may not have helped Wigans cause, but their inability to find the goals to see off a struggling and out of form Whitchurch side was a real disappointment for the fans who made the trip to Shropshire to watch the match in near freezing conditions.

Wigan decided to line up with Swift retaining his starting berth and Murphy had to be content with a watching brief for the afternoon. The crowd was poor and only around 500 turned out to follow the action. In fact, this was a good crowd for the home side who were regularly struggling financially due to their low attendances, the gate receipts of £23 reflected the problems that the home club were facing.

On the park, however, the side had struck a better run of form and they had recently held high flying Northwich to a draw. Maybe Wigan should have taken heed as this proved to be a portent of the events that followed.

Wigan started well enough, with the wind at their backs and the slope in their favour they quickly put the home side under pressure. Hughes got free on the flank and swung over a cross but the wind carried the ball out of play. Whitchurch then gave notice that they would be no pushovers when Williams found space to shoot over the bar. Latics grabbed the lead on five minutes, Swift and Jamieson linked well and played in CHAMBERS who netted from close range. Chambers then went close on a number of occasions but the final shots failed to hit the target. Bennett in the home goal was called upon when Hughes struck a dipping shot from the edge of the box.

On 17 minutes, and against the run of play, the hosts scored a leveller. Nixon played a long ball out of defence to relieve the pressure that Latics were applying, the ball was collected by DAVIES who broke at pace before floating in a cross that Abbott mis-judged.  The effort struck the inside of the far post before nestling in the net. The goal seemed to lift the home side who suddenly found a good rhythm to their play. Davies played in a number of good crosses and one of these released Nixon, who looked suspiciously offside, but the strikers shot was a tame effort that Abbott collected with ease. Hughes and McCabe linked well and created an opening that ended when Hughes headed against the woodwork. Chambers forced Bennett to make a couple of smart saves, but when half time arrived the scores were level, and curiously there had been no corner kicks in the first 45 minutes.

Half Time; Whitchurch 1-1 Wigan Athletic.

Latics dominated proceedings as the second half began and a string of corners failed to bring the elusive goal. The home defence was working hard and Bennett was showing good handling skills despite the pressure from the Wigan forwards. Nixon still carried a threat on the counter attack, he played right on the shoulder of the last defender and seemed to get the better of any offside decisions as he often looked to have broken forward too early. Rees broke forward well and his cross found the head of Davies and Abbott had to produce a good save to keep the scores level. At the other end Bennett fisted clear a shot by Hughes, but the keeper was a spectator when Allon headed a corner just wide of the goal. McCabe with his penchant for running at players created a shooting chance but Hughes delayed his shot and the defence was able to close down and clear the chance. The best chance of the second half fell to Whitchurch. A free kick was earned and the home side produced a set play move that saw Abbott surrounded by attacking players, when the ball came in it fell kindly to the feet of Nixon, but the chance was somehow missed as the shot went wide from close range. Then in the last-minute Davies had a great chance to claim a win, he burst free with Abbott to beat, but his shot was straight at the goalkeeper and a relieved Abbott fisted the ball away to avoid a score.

Full Time; Whitchurch. 1-1 Wigan Athletic.

Attendance; 500

Scorers; Chambers (5); Davies (17);

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

WHITCHURCH—Bennett; Rose, Evans; Reece, Newton, Pritchard; Davies, Field, Nixon, Williams, Rees.

Referee; Not known.

One interested spectator was ex-Detective Sergeant Platt, who served with the Wigan County Police at Hindley for twenty years and who, in his retirement in the Whitchurch area, is one of the Shropshire club’s supporters.

Jamieson had a disappointing debut, he seemed to want too long on the ball, and struggled to find effective links with his fellow attackers. Hopefully, with more practice and game time, he will settle into the role.

The reverse fixture with Whitchurch is Wigans next engagement at Springfield Park. It will offer Athletic an early opportunity to set the record right as they must surely believe that they underperformed against a side that was well below them in the League table.

Wigan lie in fourth place in the table their playing record now reads;

Played 17, Won 9, Drawn 5, Lost 3, Points 23.