Tranmere Rovers 0 Chester 1 (FA Cup 2nd Round) – Dec 13th 1947

Posted on May 28, 2019 by kwchas

1 – Pre-Match

After the 3-1 victory over Bishop Auckland, Chester were paired with fellow Division Three North side and local rivals Tranmere Rovers in the 2nd Round. It was a tough draw against a Rovers team that had shown improved form since the opening weeks of the season. Back in August Frank Brown’s side had secured their only away win of the campaign with a 3-2 victory at Prenton Park thanks to a last minute goal. The bookmakers certainly knew where the smart money should go as Chester were rated at 2,000 to one to win the FA Cup compared with Rovers at a mere 1,000 to one.

From a financial point of view it was considered to be a good draw but, perhaps surprisingly, the game had not been made all-ticket. Prenton Park was estimated to hold between 18,000 and 20,000 and a crowd of 17,359 had already attended their local derby against New Brighton in September. Chester expected a minimum of 3,000 fans to make the short journey to Birkenhead and every available coach in the area had been chartered.

Within the ground Chester had been allocated 140 seats at 3s in the 500 capacity centre stand while the unreserved 1200 capacity wing stand was priced at 2s 6d. The paddock and covered stand behind the goal was priced at 1s 9d and the rest of the ground at 1s 3d.

Only two weeks had passed since the Bishop Auckland game and Tranmere’s confidence was high following a good showing at Halifax when they had recovered from 2-0 down, with just over 20 minutes to go, to draw 2-2. The same could not be said of Chester who had been on the end of a heavy 4-1 defeat at Stockport, regarded as their worst display of the campaign.

The game was scheduled to kick-off at 2pm and in the event of the teams being level after extra time the replay would take place the following Saturday and would be all-ticket.

2 – The Match

The trouncing at Stockport saw Frank Brown make sweeping changes to the team as he pinned his faith on the formation from the previous season. The big change was at centre half where veteran Trevor Walters was restored to the starting eleven with George Williamson taking the place of Frank Marsh at right half and Eric Lee returning to the more familiar role of left half.

There was some surprise at the dropping of Freddie Willcox, and he was replaced at right back by Reg Butcher, who had featured in that position in 1946/47. It was less of a shock to see that Dick Yates had been excluded and his place at centre forward taken by local boy Geoff Coffin. Meanwhile Tommy Astbury had recovered from a knee injury, which had forced him to miss three games, and he returned at the expense of Tommy Best while Harry Colville continued on the left wing.

Although Chester travelled to Prenton Park more in hope than confidence the manager’s gamble paid dividends as his side played with some of their old swagger and secured a place in the 3rd Round thanks to a goal from Tommy Burden thirteen minutes from time. While it was not a brilliant game Chester had the majority of possession and fully deserved the victory which was more comfortable than the scoreline suggested.

In a game dominated by defences the recall of Walters made all the difference and he stood out as a colossus as the Tranmere forwards struggled to make any headway against his rock-like presence. In addition Williamson proved that he was best suited to the half back role while Lee enhanced his reputation with a superb second-half display. Such was the performance of the Chester defence that Jim MacLaren had little to do in goal and it was only in the closing stages that he was forced into a couple of smart saves.

In the first half Chester’s best chance came when Burden sent a beautifully weighted pass through to Bobby Hamilton and his well-judged cross found Coffin but the young striker’s header was over the bar. On the stroke of half time Williamson almost gave Chester the lead but his header, from a Hamilton corner, passed a few inches wide of the upright.

After the break MacLaren saved well from Bridges while Coffin fired into the side netting and Hamilton shot wide after good work from Burden. The winning goal came in the 77th minute when Lee headed forward and the ball fell to Burden whose shot struck the inside of the far upright and rocketed into the net. Tranmere rallied in the closing stages but the Chester defence held firm and almost added a second but Payne made the save of the match from Hamilton.

Although the vast majority of Chester fans were delighted with the result there was still a small group who demonstrated to the directors after the match about the dropping of certain players.

The victory put Chester into the 3rd Round for the fifth consecutive season and a chance of drawing one of the big clubs from the top two divisions.

Tranmere Rovers – Payne, Johnstone, Connor, Steele, Bell, Malcolm, Harlock, Lamb, Bridges, Leeming, Pollard

Chester – MacLaren, Butcher, McNeil, Williamson, Walters, Lee, Hamilton, Burden, Coffin, Astbury, Colville

Scorer – Burden 77

Attendance – 14,132

3- Post-match

The FA Cup victory vindicated Frank Brown’s team selection and he kept the same lineup for the following game at Oldham Athletic. Unfortunately his side couldn’t repeat the performance and were well beaten 3-1. The match at Boundary Park proved to be the last in Chester colours for Harry Colville after only four Football League appearances and two FA Cup ties. Despite a goal on his debut, ironically at Tranmere, Harry failed to create an impression at Sealand Road although the Chester Chronicle, reporting on the FA Cup tie at Prenton Park suggested that he should be given an extended trial in the first team to “overcome an obviously nervous disposition”. The former Falkirk and Raith Rovers player returned to the reserves where he played a handful of games before being given a free transfer at the end of the campaign.

Harry rejoined his former club Raith Rovers and within 12 months had won a Scottish League Cup runners-up medal and promotion from the Scottish Second Division. Despite appearing as an outside left at Chester Harry’s turn of speed and imposing presence saw him successfully converted to centre half and over the next seven seasons he made 290 first team appearances for the Kirkcaldy club. After returning to Falkirk for a season Harry signed for Dunfermline Athletic where he made 178 consecutive appearances in the centre of defence before retiring at the age of 36. In 1960 he was appointed manager of Cowdenbeath where he remained for four seasons. Away from football Harry proved himself an all-round sportsman by winning the British Curling Championship on three occasions. He died in March 1999.

Another Scotsman, Jim MacLaren, also made his final FA Cup appearance in the Tranmere game. After three league defeats in December he lost his place to George Scales but returned to first team duties in April and retained his position at the beginning of the 1948/49 season. Unfortunately, Jim did not have the best of starts to the campaign and when his error cost two points in a 2-1 home defeat to Darlington he was dropped by Frank Brown and replaced by Scales. In October Chester signed the experienced Ted Elliott from Wolves and it was clear that Jim’s days at Sealand Road were numbered. In November he asked to be put on the transfer list which resulted in a move to Carlisle United at the end of the year. Like Colville the transfer proved to be his making and the Crieff-born keeper went on to make 261 appearances for the Cumbrians including a record breaking run of over 200 consecutive league and cup games from 1950 to 1954. In 1955 Jim was given a free transfer and crossed the border to join Berwick Rangers where he played for a further 18 months. After leaving football he worked as a sales rep in both Scotland and Lincolnshire and died in August 2004.

Man of the Match Trevor Walters was the third player appearing for the final time in a Chester FA Cup tie. The veteran defender had been a stalwart at Sealand Road, having joined the club in 1937, and although he made a further 17 league appearances in 1947/48 he made just a single appearance the following year and joined Caernarvon Town as player-coach in March 1949. He later played for Flint Town.

In April 1948 Trevor was awarded a benefit game against Manchester City, attended by more than 8,000 supporters, the first player to rewarded in this way for more than 40 years. He made a total of 151 league appearances for Chester but this would have been considerably higher had it not been for the war when he served as a Sergeant-Instructor in the army. While based at Aldershot he captained the local team which included guest players like Matt Busby, Joe Mercer and Tommy Lawton. He also served in the Middle East and captained the Wanderers team that featured Tom Finney and Bob Paisley.

For many years he was landlord of the Swan Hotel in Flint and later worked for Hawker Siddeley. He continued to attend Chester home games and died in June 1989.

Opponents Tranmere Rovers faded in the second half of the campaign and, despite a run of five consecutive victories in January and February eventually finished in 18th place in the Third Division North.

Meanwhile Chester’s reward was an away trip to London in the 3rd Round and a first ever trip to Crystal Palace.

Chester 3 Bishop Auckland 1 (FA Cup 1st Round) – Nov 29th 1947

Posted on May 19, 2019 by kwchas

1 – Pre-Match

For the first time since the 1934/35 season Chester were drawn against non-league opposition in the 1st Round of the 1947/48 FA Cup. Bishop Auckland were one of the most famous names in amateur football having won the Amateur Cup on seven occasions and the Northern League nine times including the previous campaign.

The tie, against a team unbeaten in the league, was considered one of the most attractive games of the round and it was not an easy proposition for Chester who had failed to recapture their form from the previous season. They also had three key players on the injury list with goalkeeper George Scales and forwards Tommy Astbury and Phil Turner all set to miss out.

One of the major concerns for Chester was the loss of form shown by Dick Yates. The centre forward had scored 36 goals during the previous campaign but had only managed one prior to the FA Cup tie and that had been in the first game of the season against Oldham. The previous Saturday Frank Brown’s side had lost by a single goal at Accrington Stanley when, despite having the majority of possession, they had failed to create many scoring opportunities.

The Bishop Auckland team, comprising of school teachers, steelworkers, electricians and clerks, arrived in Chester the day before the game and stayed at the Queen Hotel. The Chronicle reported that they were hopeful of securing a draw and their secretary, Kit Rudd, was quoted in the same paper as saying: ” We have a very good amateur side and we shall fight very hard.”

The game was scheduled to kick-off at 2pm with a new ruling meaning that their would be 30 minutes extra time if the game finished all square after 90 minutes in order to obviate the necessity of mid-week replays.. If a replay was required it would take place the following Saturday.

2 – The Match

The Chester team lined up with one change from the Accrington defeat with winger Joe Brown replaced by former Raith Rovers player, Harry Colville who had been playing centre forward for the reserves. Another Scot, Jimmy MacLaren, continued to deputise for George Scales in goal while Eric Lee returned to right back in a straight swap with Tommy Burden who moved to inside right as Tommy Astbury failed to recover from his knee injury.

The conditions for the game were not conducive to good football with a soft surface covering very hard ground underneath.

Chester got off to a perfect start and took the lead in the 12th minute when Dick Yates played a beautiful pass to Bobby Hamilton who beat Farrer twice before his cross-cum-shot found Yates who applied the finishing touch. In fact the centre forward should have scored before this but, when put clean through, his shot was blocked at close range by Washington

On the half hour mark the lead was extended but there was large element of doubt about the goal. Colville played a perfect ball through to Tommy Burden whose shot struck the inside of one post, bounced across the goal and was fielded by Washington. However the linesman ruled that the ball had crossed the line and a goal was given. There were no protests from the sporting visitors. Three minutes before the interval the Bishops pulled a goal back when Farrer scored from the penalty spot after Colville had been adjudged to have fouled Twigg although the decision looked harsh. On the stroke of half time Colville had the chance to make amends but he blazed over the bar with the goal at his mercy.

The goal spurred on the visitors, who were well backed by 10 coach loads of supporters, and for the first 20 minutes of the second half it looked as though they might snatch an equaliser. Nevertheless the best chance fell to Yates who headed wide of the upright from a Washington clearance. At the other end Douglass shot wide of the upright before Yates wrapped the game up in the 78th minute with a great shot from Reg Butcher’s excellent pass. The strike showed some of the hallmarks of one of his goals from the previous season. The match finished with Bishops almost scoring a second but Douglass’ well-struck shot was brilliantly saved by MacLaren.

It had been a mediocre display from Chester. They had just about deserved their victory but the visitors came out of the game with a great deal of credit. Man of the Match by some distance was Bishops’ left-half Bob Hardisty, who was competing with Eric Lee for a place in the England amateur team. The 26 year old school teacher put in an energetic performance and, according to the Chronicle reporter, his accurate passing along the ground made the Chester half-backs look shoddy by comparison.

The Cheshire Observer felt that the difference between the sides was the Chester defenders who proved to be too strong for the opposing attackers. While MacLaren dealt with everything that came his way he was ably assisted by full backs Freddie Willcox and Dave McNeill who both put in whole-hearted displays and were fast in the tackle. However, the home forward line was less impressive and looked disjointed. Although outside right Bobby Hamilton had one of his best games Colville was disappointing on the other wing. The two Tommys, Best and Burden, performed ‘quite well’ while Yates showed some glimpses of his old self and it was hoped that his goals would help increase his confidence.

Chester – MacLaren, Willcox, McNeil, Butcher, Williamson, Lee, Hamilton, Burden, Yates, Best, Colville

Scorers – Yates 12, 78 Burden 30

Bishop Auckland – Washington, Hadfield, Farrer, Egdell, Tulip, Hardisty, Twigg, Gilhome. Douglass, Teasdale, Smith

Scorer – Farrer pen 42

Attendance – 8,300

3- Post-match

Despite scoring two goals this proved to be the final FA Cup match in Chester colours for Dick Yates. The Queensferry born striker played in the next league game against Stockport County but was surprisingly transferred to Wrexham for a four figure fee in December, The move provided instant dividends for the centre forward as he scored a hat-trick in his debut for the Reds against Halifax. He went on to play for New Brighton in the Football League before turning out for Flint Town United, Colwyn Bay, Bethesda Athletic and Connah’s Quay. He later worked as a petrol pump attendant at John Summers Steelworks and died in 1976.

It was also the final game for fellow striker Tommy Best who was unfortunate to miss the rest of the cup run. The first coloured player to represent Chester in the Football League Best ended the campaign as Chester’s second highest scorer behind Tommy Burden with 10 goals in 30 league games. By the start of the following season he was attracting the attention of bigger clubs with Cardiff, Blackburn and Blackpool all interested in signing him. In the end he opted to join Cardiff City and Chester received £7,000 for his services. After a season at Ninian Park he signed for QPR in 1949 but only made 12 appearances, scoring three goals before moving into non-league football with Milford Haven. This was followed by a successful three seasons at Hereford United and then 18 months at Bromsgrove Rovers. After leaving football he worked as a baker for Mother’s Pride. In February 2009 he made his first visit to Chester in 60 years when he was a guest at the game against Gillingham. Tommy died in September 2018 at the grand age of 97.

Tommy Best – Feb 2009. (photo Fraser Bird/Chester Chronicle

Opponents Bishop Auckland went on to have another successful season in the Northern League and finished as runners-up as well as reaching the semi-final of the Amateur Cup. Bob Hardisty, who had such an impressive game, went on to play alongside Eric Lee in the Great Britain team in the 1948 Olympics.

The draw for the 2nd Round handed Chester an intriguing away tie at local rivals Tranmere Rovers.

Stoke City 3 Chester 2 (FA Cup 4th Round replay) – Jan 29th 1947

Posted on May 11, 2019 by kwchas

1 – Pre-Match

Saturday’s goalless draw left Chester as the sole Division 3 representative when the draw was made for the FA Cup 5th Round the following Monday. The incentive for the winners was a home tie against the winners of the tie between Wolves and Sheffield United which had also finished 0-0.

2 – The Match

The weather had taken a turn for the worse following the match at Sealand Road and by the time the replay took place four days later the temperature had dropped and the players were faced with Arctic conditions. Heavy snow had fallen and there was a thick covering on the pitch which put the match in doubt. Nevertheless around 2,000 Chester supporters made the journey down to the Potteries but the weather conditions made the attendance lower than it might have been. A crowd of 22,683, paying receipts of £2,830 meant that Chester earned around £1,500 from the two ties.

Both teams were unchanged for the replay Given the state of the pitch the game was played at a fast pace and the players coped well with a tricky surface.

It was Stoke who adapted best to the treacherous conditions in the early stages and the Chester defence was put under intense pressure but Eric Lee, Dave McNeil and Trevor Walters all continued from where they had left off in the first game. However Stanley Matthews was seeing much more of the ball than he had at Sealand Road and he was creating chances for the forwards who were guilty of over-eagerness in front of goal. The Potters were also hampered by an early injury to Frank Mountford which left him as a passenger on the right wing for much of the game.

The home side finally made the breakthrough in the 21st minute when a cross from Matthews was headed down by Alex Ormston and finished by Steele whose shot gave George Scales no chance.

Chester responded well with some clever football but failed to trouble Arthur Jepson in the Stoke goal and at the other end McNeil cleared a Matthews shot off the line. On the stroke of half time Tommy Burden has a great chance to equalise but after breaking clear of the defence he was too cautious in trying to beat Jepson and shot wide of the upright.

Eight minutes into the second half Stoke extended their lead after great work by Ormston who beat two defenders before passing to Steele who had the simple job of scoring into an empty net.

Stoke continued to pile on the pressure and Scales made a flying save from Ormston. However, the Potters’ winger didn’t have to wait long to add to the lead when he hit a rising shot past Scales in the 65th minute.

Daily Dispatch photo of Stoke’s 3rd goal

At 3-0 Stoke looked comfortable and they took the opportunity to let the struggling Mountford leave the field with a pulled muscle for the final 20 minutes.

However, when all seemed lost, Chester performed a remarkable late comeback in which they almost took the game into extra-time. In the 71st minute Bobby Hamilton reduced the arrears with a spectacular strike which left Jepson rooted to the spot. Four minutes later the keeper was beaten for a second time when he failed to gather a shot from the ever-dangerous Dick Yates and the centre forward made no mistake from the rebound.

Dick Yates – scorer of Chester’s 2nd goal

The game was now heading for a thrilling finale and Stoke should have put the game beyond doubt when Lee tackled Matthews from behind in the penalty area. The England winger took the resultant spot-kick himself and showed that he was fallible when his shot was saved by Scales.

The penalty miss spurred Chester on to even greater efforts and the final five minutes saw them bombard the Stoke goal and an equaliser seemed inevitable. Jepson made two close range saves while both Neil Franklin and Billy Mould headed the ball off the line in a frenetic finish. The Mould clearance, from a Tommy Burden shot, proved particularly controversial as the Chester forwards were adamant that the ball had crossed the line.

Despite this late pressure Chester couldn’t snatch the equaliser their play deserved and a relieved Stoke held on to earn a 5th Round tie against Sheffield United who beat Wolves on the same evening.

3 – Post Match

Chester had been superb in both games against one of the best teams in the country. Although Stoke were eliminated from the FA Cup by Sheffield United in the next round their form in the league over the remainder of the season was excellent. They only suffered one more defeat going into the last match of the season when they knew that victory, ironically at Sheffield United, would hand them their first ever league title. Sadly they were beaten 2-1 at Brammall Lane and finished 4th with the title going to Liverpool.

Meanwhile, away from the FA Cup, Chester’s form had slipped after a great start to the season when they only lost one of the first 18 games. The slump coincided with a disruption to the forward line which had been lethal in the first half of the season. Jackie Arthur, Tommy Burden, Dick Yates, Tommy Astbury and Bobby Hamilton were all ever-present until December and their ability attracted the interest of bigger clubs with Sheffield Wednesday reportedly interested in taking Burden, Astbury and Yates to Hillsborough. The injury to Arthur, at Rotherham on Christmas Day, seemed to be a particular problem and he failed to regain his early season form and only made another four league appearances. At the end of the season he was released and joined Rochdale.

There was one other player who featured in his last FA Cup tie for Chester. Although Frank Marsh was still at Sealand Road during the 1947/48 season, and played 31 league games, the former Bolton player didn’t feature in the FA Cup. The right-half had originally moved to Sealand Road from Burnden Park in 1939 and after a handful of game for the Cheshire County League side in the 1948/49 campaign he eventually signed for Macclesfield in January 1949.

Chester’s regained their early season form in March and ended the campaign strongly in 3rd place, all be it 16 points behind the champions Doncaster Rovers. The points total of 56 was the highest since joining the league in 1931 and Dick Yates’ haul of 36 league goals passed the previous Football League best of 34 set by Joe Mantle in 1932/33.

Stoke City – Jepson, Mould, McCue, Mountford, Franklin, Kirton, Matthews, Peppitt, Steele, Baker, Ormston

Scorers – Steele 21, 53, Ormston 65

Chester – Scales, Butcher, McNeil, Marsh, Walters, Lee, Arthur, Burden, Yates, Astbury, Hamilton

Scorers – Hamilton 71, Yates 75

Attendance – 22,683

Chester 0 Stoke City 0 (FA Cup 4th Round) – Jan 25th 1947

Posted on May 4, 2019 by kwchas

1 – Pre-Match

After beating 2nd Division Plymouth Argyle the draw for the 4th Round was made the following Monday and Chester were given a plum tie against either Tottenham Hotspur or Stoke City. The two sides had drawn 2-2 at White Hart Lane with the replay scheduled to take place on the coming Wednesday. Within half an hour of the cup draw a crowd of around 300 had assembled outside the Stadium in a futile attempt to get tickets.

An emergency meeting was held at the ground the following day where it was decided to make 18,000 tickets available. Although it was acknowledged that another 2,000 spectators could probably be squeezed in the club decided it was better to err on the side of caution. Controversially the prices were increased for the game with tickets priced at 10s 6d for the centre stand and 6s 6d for the wing stands. Meanwhile ground tickets were set at 2s 6d although tickets for the Kop remained at 2s.

It was also announced that stand and ground tickets would be available from the following Monday at the ground between 10am and midday and then in the afternoon from 2pm to 4pm. It was also possible to get tickets at various outlets in town namely Milton’s Radio Shop and Cestrian Company in Northgate Street, Uptons newsagents Handbridge, Childow newsagents on the Lache Estate, Moultons in Saltney, the Post Office Upton, director Sam Argyle’s office in Station Road, H Morgan electrical engineer Boughton and Adams and Durrant in Cherry Grove Road.

Wednesday saw the 3rd Round replay between Stoke and Tottenham in the Potteries and Chester manager Frank Brown, together with Tommy Astbury and captain Trevor Walters, went along to assess the potential opponents. The Chester contingent saw Stoke overcome their 2nd division opponents thanks to a single goal from England international Stanley Matthews. Although it was a less than vintage performance from the Potters Matthews, the outstanding player of his generation, stood out and repeatedly bewildered the Tottenham defence.

With the opposition confirmed Frank Brown was his usual circumspect self and acknowledged the quality of the opposition and expected his team to give a good account of themselves. Meanwhile captain Walters took a more gung-ho approach and confidently proclaimed:

“You can tell all our fans that I shall be disappointed if we lose. I was not particularly impressed with what I saw yesterday.”

The presence of Matthews, “the crowd-drawing magnet”, accelerated interest in the tie and secretary Billy Peters and the Stadium staff were completely overwhelmed by applications for tickets and it was recognised that many people would be disappointed. Peters acknowledged:

“I estimate the gross takings of the match at £2,500 and I can guarantee even now that we shall be sending back more than that sum to applicants for tickets.”

It is easy to see the truth in this statement as it was revealed that one request from RAF Sealand alone asked for 2,000 tickets.

The week before the game Chester drew 1-1 with Darlington in Division 3 North game in front of an attendance of 8,266 while Stoke lost 3-0 at Derby County.

At 6am on Monday morning supporters had already started to queue and when the office opened at 10am the available tickets were snapped up within 90 minutes. Meanwhile the outlets in the city all sold out within 15 minutes and it was variously estimated that the club could have sold 40,000 tickets.

An example of how keen supporters were to see the game came from workers at the Reliance Works who sent an ultimatum to management on Monday morning stating that unless they could be assured of an adequate allocation fo tickets they would down tools and take their chance in the queue. This seemed to have the desired effect and an appeal by a company official and two shop stewards to Billy Peters proved successful. Meanwhile a coach load of miners from North Wales were among the people in the queue at 6:30 in the morning and the Chronicle reporter stated that he had spoken to one man who represented a group of workmen and wanted 50 tickets. It was clear that the demand was phenomenal.

Stories circulated of Stadium regulars missing out on tickets because they couldn’t take time off work while some supporters reasonably felt that tickets should have been made available at Saturday’s match against Darlington. The process of dealing with postal enquiries also caused resentment with some people, who wrote straight after the announcement of the draw, had their applications returned 10 days later with the message “Sorry we have no tickets”

Around 4,500 tickets were made available to Stoke and these went on sale on the Tuesday morning. There had been reports that several Stoke fans had been in the queues at Sealand Road the previous day while one of the first people in the queue at the Victoria Ground was a Chester supporter.

Meanwhile Stoke had their own problems to deal with as a team of safe breakers had broken in to the ground the previous Thursday and got away with £600. They had blown up a steel safe and as well as stealing players wages had also taken advance booking payments for the Chester cup match.

The ticket furore directed much of the attention away from the game itself and while the mass scramble for tickets took place on Monday the two teams based themselves at seaside locations. While Stoke stayed at Stanley Matthews’ hotel in Blackpool the Chester team made their way back to Abergele where they had based themselves before the Plymouth tie. A party of 12 players had ideal weather for their break where they trained in the morning and spent most afternoons on the golf course and were reported to be in good spirits. The only players to miss out on the trip were Reg Butcher, who was tied up on business in Liverpool, while Tommy Burden and Bobby Hamilton were occupied with army duties The good news emerging from the Chester camp was that they expected to be at full strength with winger Jackie Arthur having responded to treatment and expected to return to the side for the first time since Christmas Day.

On the golf course at Abergele before the Stoke FA Cup tie

While Stanley Matthews was undoubtedly the star attraction the clear message coming out of the Chester camp was that there were no special plans to deal with the wizard of the dribble. Manager Brown refused to get into a panic over Matthews and said that he would be treated the same as any other dangerous wing forward. 24 year old left back Dave McNeil was the man who had the big responsibility of taming the skilful winger.

Stoke themselves were determined not to underestimate Chester and manager Bob McGrory was perhaps a little over-cautious when he commented:

“We are quietly confident of winning, for, after all, we played at Tottenham and forced a draw. Surely we can do that -or better than that – at Chester.”

The turnstiles opened at 12:45 with kick-off scheduled for 2:45.

2 – The Match

As expected Chester were back to full strength with former Everton winger Jackie Arthur starting on the right while Bobby Hamilton switched back to the left. Stoke not only included Stanley Matthews but also three other internationals in the form of England centre-half Neil Franklin, forward Freddie Steele and Scottish wartime international Jock Kirton.

Prior to kick-off supporters were once again entertained by mascot Mickey Moran, clad in blue and white with matching umbrella. Coincidentally the Stoke mascot, in red and white, went by exactly the same name and after greeting each other in the centre circle the Chester Moran went through his usual procedure of kissing the ball and shaking hands with the referee.

The match itself was dominated by both defences in a gruelling encounter but in the end a goalless draw was a fair result. While Dick Yates struggled to get change from centre half Franklin at one end the real story was the performance of McNeil ably supported by Eric Lee who successfully stifled the dangerous Matthews. While the England winger was always a menacing presence McNeil and Lee gave him no room to operate and when he switched wings or moved into the middle there was always another Chester defender ready to close him down. Frank Marsh, Reg Butcher and Trevor Walters all came out of the game with great credit with the latter efficiently dealing with the threat of Steele.

Trevor Walters

The early stages of the game saw Stoke make the running and the best opportunity came to Steele whose shot beat George Scales but McNeil appeared from nowhere to clear the ball off the line. The visitors didn’t have it all their own way as Hamilton was brought down a yard from the penalty area when running through on goal but the resulting free-lick came to nothing.

Scales made the save of the first half when he dived full length to turn a low Syd Peppitt shot around the post but he could do nothing on the stroke of half time when Frank Baker’s effort struck the upright.

The Chester defence continued to cover and block everything in the second half and Scales saved from Alex Ormston while Lee did well to bravely block an effort from Peppitt. At the other end McNeil had two long range efforts saved by Arthur Jepson while Yates headed over from a Marsh free-kick.

Chester finished the game strongly and could have snatched a late winner when an interchange of passes between Yates and Arthur saw the winger’s rising shot brilliantly saved by Jepson although it was felt he should have scored.

It was an excellent result for Chester and the Daily Mail complemented them on their performance especially with regard to their confident handling of Matthews. They also noted how worried the Stoke defence appeared in the last 15 minutes as Chester pressed forward for a winner.

The focus now turned to the replay at the Victoria Ground scheduled for the following Wednesday.

Chester – Scales, Butcher, McNeil, Marsh, Walters, Lee, Arthur, Burden, Yates, Astbury, Hamilton

Stoke City – Jepson, Mould, McCue, Mountford, Franklin, Kirton, Matthews, Peppitt, Steele, Baker, Ormston

Attendance – 18,706

3- Post-match

The attendance fell slightly short of the record set against Sheffield Wednesday in January 1939 when 18,816 crammed into the Stadium. Once again the crowd varied between newspapers and it seems as though more tickets were made available than the initial 18,000. In the end it produced record receipts of just under £2,700 with the clubs receiving a third each and the remainder going to the FA.

Despite the clamour for tickets and outcry about ticket distribution the Chronicle reported that the day went smoothly and the crowd was handled efficiently. The sports editor revealed that he saw some of the alleged unaccommodated regulars inside the ground while signatories of protest letters to the press were there with their families despite the alleged unfairness of the ticket allocation. Half an hour before the game started he circled the ground in an attempt to find ‘regulars’ without tickets and although he found three they were helped out by Stoke winger Ormston who supplied them with tickets.

Chester Football History

On The Borderline goes online

Monthly Archives: May 2019

Tranmere Rovers 0 Chester 1 (FA Cup 2nd Round) – Dec 13th 1947

Chester 3 Bishop Auckland 1 (FA Cup 1st Round) – Nov 29th 1947

Stoke City 3 Chester 2 (FA Cup 4th Round replay) – Jan 29th 1947

Chester 0 Stoke City 0 (FA Cup 4th Round) – Jan 25th 1947

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