1956-57 - a very short season

Posted by Tony Hutton


From June 1956 to November 1957 I was based at RAF North Front, Gibraltar and although I played a lot of football and saw a few games at the Victoria Stadium, all on rolled sand pitches, I have only one cutting of any note from the Gibraltar Chronicle. This is shown below and features the well known Swedish team Malmo who I saw in action, but unfortunately have no record of the result of the games which were played in March 1957.

I did manage a fortnight's leave at the end of the English season and was able to see four games in April which are listed below.

WEDNESDAY 17TH APRIL, 1957                              Attendance 34,461

EUROPEAN FAIR CITIES CUP AT ST ANDREWS, BIRMINGHAM

BIRMINGHAM CITY 2 (Govan 2) INTER MILAN 1 (Lorenzi)

Merrick; Hall, Green; Larkin, Smith, Warhurst;
Astall, Kinsey, Brown, Murphy, Govan;

Ghezzi (sub Mattencci); Invernizzi, Fongaro; Bearzot, Bernardin, Nesti;
Dorigo,Vonlanthen, Lorenzi, Campagnoli, Savoni;

Referee:- J. Gardeazabal, Spain 

This was the first time this competition, also known as the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, had been played and it actually stretched over three years from 1955-58 before a London XI were beaten by FC Barcelona in a two legged final. First leg score 2-2, second leg 6-0 to Barcelona.

This was an excellent win by the Blues, with most of their team who had been losing finalists in FA Cup Final against Manchester City last season. Scottish left winger Alex Govan was the hero of the night with two goals in the 44th and 53rd minutes against the very strong Inter Milan side. Lorenzi scored a consolation goal for Inter two minutes before the end. This win took Blues through to a semi-final place against Barcelona next season.

Report from Birmingham Post by Cyril Chapman.

Two goals by Govan were mainly instrumental in Birmingham City to win at St Andrews last night and pass into the semi-final of the Inter-Fairs City Cup. A victory over foreign invaders was about the only satisfaction to be gained from last night's game. Apart from the opening minutes there was little good football and, with fouls coming all too frequently, the game quickly developed into a war of attrition.

One was left wondering if the reward of progress in this competition was really worth some of the excessive vigour employed in trying to attain it. Birmingham won because once again the direct English type of game succeeded where the more flowery Italian methods failed. Milan controlled the ball well, sped it quickly from man to man in midfield, but could not bring it consistently to the place that mattered most - the goal area. How valuable a John Charles would have been here.

It was not until the last minute of the game that Milan were able to score through Lorenzi. By then Govan's two goals had seen City safely home. Milan had only a brief period of supremacy, the first quarter of an hour. Then picking their way daintily past defenders whose hasty tackling was so far easy to avoid, the Milan forwards rained shots all around Merrick. Their marksmanship had nothing like the quality of their approach play and City escaped unscathed.

Suddenly the game swung round completely and it was Milan's defence that was taking a battering. City's attacks were more dangerous because they came more frequently into the goal area. A free kick awarded Birmingham almost under the nose of the Milan goalkeeper produced the most concentrated goalmouth scramble so far, but Milan came through the ordeal satisfactorily. They saw less danger in a free kick taken out on the right wing by Astall a minute before half time.

Perhaps a high ball was expected. Anyway the visitors defenders stood still as Astall put in a low ball. After two colleagues had jumped over the ball Govan was left with a nice opening, of which he made the best possible use. Showing unsuspected power in his right foot the left winger sent the ball speeding past the Milan goalkeeper. Eleven minutes after half time Birmingham scored a second goal. Govan once more the opportunist was in the right spot to meet a centre from the left by Brown.

This was a bit hard on the Italians. An otherwise excellent referee, Mr Gardeazabal of Spain, had at the beginning of the goal scoring move failed to give them an obvious free kick when Vonlanthen was stopped by a City defender by the simple method of putting his arms round his neck and bearing him to the ground. From now on Milan supplemented their careful approach work with a little more urgency but could still not bring much pressure to bear on the Birmingham goalmouth.

Apart from their last minute goal, their nearest approach to scoring came when Lorenzi was through and hit a left foot shot against Merrick and when Savioni bore in from the left and put in a rising shot which Merrick fisted away. Two splendid shots from Murphy and Brown were well save by a substitute goalkeeper, Matteucchi, who came on in the second half, were the outstanding features of City's second half attacks. Most of the remaining exchanges are best forgotten.



SATURDAY 20TH APRIL 1957                                   Attendance 10,924

LEAGUE DIVISION THREE SOUTH AT FELLOWS PARK, WALSALL

WALSALL 0 QUEENS PARK RANGERS 2 (Longbottom 2)

Chilvers; Haddington, Perkins; Jarman, McPherson, Rawlings;

Moore, Brown, Richards, Hodgkisson, Taylor (D);

Springett; Woods, Ingham; Petchey, Rutter, Andrews;

Kerrins, Longbottom, Peacock, Cameron, Angell; 

Woodwork is not the only thing to be affected by dry rot. When grounds were heavy and water-logged Walsall lost only one of eighteen games, but since sun baked pitches have become the order of the day they have lost five of their last six engagements. Queens Park Rangers were the latest side to benefit from Walsall's dislike of a light ball and bone-hard pitches. The score in the Londoner's favour was somewhat flattering, yet they could have doubled the margin with better finishing.

Without the benefit of the experience and generalship of the injured Dorman, Walsall's attack did not exist as a co-ordinated unit. Richards did his best by staying upfield but Brown and Hodgkisson stayed too deep to give him the kind of passes that led to goals. At first the home defence looked sound enough to deal with Ranger's efforts but the disease of uncertainty spread from the attack to the rearguard and

covering was extremely poor during the last half hour.

Even Chilvers whose safe handling got Walsall out of endless trouble, could be faulted for Longbottom's opening goal after 59 minutes. When the visiting forward shot from the edge of the penalty area Chilvers was a fraction too late with his dive and the ball passed beneath his body into the net. Longbottom's second successful shot seven minutes from the end was a much more clear cut effort.

Collecting the ball to the left he sent it into the goal with such power that the netting was in danger ogf being broken.

The goals apart, the game provided little of note - an opinion clearly shared by many of the spectators who began to leave the ground half way through the second period. A side which does not like playing on hard grounds is not good enough. A team with promotion hopes for next season must be capable of playing football in all conditions.

(Report from Birmingham Post).

TUESDAY 23RD APRIL, 1957                          Attendance 35,585

LEAGUE DIVISION ONE AT MOLINEUX, WOLVERHAMPTON

WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS 3 (Broadbent 2, Wilshaw) ASTON VILLA 0

Finlayson; Showell, Jones; Slater, Wright (capt), Clamp;

Hooper, Murray, Wilshaw, Broadbent, Mullen; 

Pinner; Aldis, Lynn; Birch, Crowther, Saward;
Southren, Sewell, Pace, Chapman, McParland;

(Report by Cyril Chapman, Birmingham Post)

With both teams containing several reserves the return game between Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux yesterday was nothing like the trial of strength seen on the previous day and although Wanderers received nominal revenge for their defeat by 4-0 on Monday, Villa could point to the fact that for nearly all of the second half they were without winger Southren injured just before the interval in a collision with colleague Lynn.

The main disappointment was in the absence of Williams, for the Molineux crowd had reserved a great ovation for the goalkeeper who was due to play his last game on the ground he has graced for so long.

Flowers and Deeley were also missing from the Wolverhampton team and Villa looked a strange side without Sims, Dugdale, Dixon, Myerscough and Smith. 

It was an even enough game up to half time when Wolverhampton led by a goal to nil. But when Villa needed to pull out extra effort to make up for being a man short, they obviously decided that their present position hardly merited it, and were content to merely keep the margin of defeat within bounds. 

And who can blame them?

The finish might well have been closer, however, had Villa not in the first 25 minutes discarded  a whole string of goal scoring chances as fast as they arrived. Southren and Pace were the squanderers-in-chief , both letting Finlayson off very easily when the Wanderers' defence let them through one after the other. First Southren lobbed the ball tamely into the goalkeeper's hands then when Pace was given the opportunity to show how things were done he shot outside.

Then Wolverhampton scored. Pinner, the amateur goalkeeper, missed a low ball as Hooper centred sharply from the right and Broadbent running in from the goalkeeper's other flank ran the ball in. Then came the incident in which Southren was injured and though the Villa winger continued up to half time and for a little while afterwards, he went off just before Wolverhampton scored their second goal in the 57th minute.

The scorer was Wilshaw who somehow muddled the ball past Pinner when the centre forward seemed to have lost his opportunity altogether. For the rest of the game the Wolverhampton forwards surged around the Villa goal without being able to maintain the conclusive kind of assault capable of bringing the crowd out of the torpor induced by the warm sunshine. Once, however, they managed to get right through the Villa defence, leaving Broadbent with another simple chance of which he made full use ; and so the Wanderers ended with a 3-0 victory to their credit but they could hardly feel that this had completely wiped out the memory of their setback the day before.    

SATURDAY 27TH APRIL 1957                                 Attendance 9,478

LEAGUE DIVISION THREE SOUTH AT FELLOWS PARK, WALSALL

WALSALL 1 (B. Taylor) CRYSTAL PALACE 2 (Murray, Deakin)

Chilvers; Haddington, Guttridge; Rawlings, McPherson, Tarrant;

Taylor (D), Johnston, Richards, Hodgkisson, Taylor (B);

Rouse; Edwards, Nokes; Long, Choules, Proudler; 

Berry, Murray, Deakin, Pierce, Byrne;

In their last home game of the season Walsall again disappointed their loyal supporters. They lost to a Crystal Palace side they should have beaten by a wide margin. With little to gain or loose the Fellows Park side lacked the fighting spirit of the Londoners who had to succeed to avoid the threat of seeking re-election. It was this grit and determination that won the day for the visitors for as a footballing unit they were a very poor second to Walsall.

The home forwards did practically as they wished during the first half - that is until they came within shooting distance of the Palace goal. With a strong breeze at their backs the obvious policy was to shoot at every opportunity but with the exception of Richards. the home attack dallied with the ball until a thankful defender stepped in. In the 17th minute D, Taylor centred hard from the right wing. B. Taylor running in from the left hit the ball hard past Rouse.

Instead of profiting from this experience Walsall continued to over-elaborate and the quick tackling Palace defence saw to it that moves were cut short long before the ball could be walked into the net. What the visitors lacked in polish they more than countered by the speed and determination of their work. If their attacks were much less frequent than those of the home side they certainly carried more threat.

When they got near the home goal their forwards shot hard and accurately and it was no more than their tenacity deserved when Murray equalised with a brilliant shot in the 56th minute. Even this reverse did not awaken any sense of urgency although the Palace posts were twice rapped. With six minutes to go Deakin, the Palace leader, made the most of a defensive blunder to score the winner for the visitors. Too late Walsall crammed all into attack but the nearest they got to saving the day was when McPherson headed against an upright from a corner.

(Report from the Birmingham Post).






The F.A. Cup Final of 1957 saw the unfancied Aston Villa win the trophy by beating Mancheste United in controversial fashion at Wembley. Ray Wood, the United goalkeeper was injured in a challenge from Irish winger Peter McParland and unable to continue. Two goals from McParland settled the game.

                                               Saward                 Dixon (capt)               McParland
                                  Aldis                  Dugdale                    Myerscough        Sims
                                           Lynn              Smith                Crowther             Sewell