NINE months ago Norwich City, already doomed to apply for re-election, provided the opposition for the last home game of the season at Griffin Park, and drew 1-1.

On Saturday they presented themselves with much more impressive credentials, as a third-in-the-table team, but looked a poorer side than on the previous visit. Scoring five goals before the interval, Brentford might have obtained as many more in the second half if they had persevered with their open style of play. As it was, they won 7-1, thereby maintaining a place on the safety section of the Southern section’s waistline and at the same time giving their goal average a very welcome boost.

It was a case of settling a few old scores, for since Brentford dropped into the Third Division in 1954, they had won only one of seven games with the City – and that in a fluky fashion. The loss of inside right Jimmy Moran after 33 minutes afforded Norwich no real alibi, for at the time of the mishap they were already three goals down. Fate, it might be observed, has some queer cards up her sleeve, and on this injury the two clubs cried quits for the season; for at Carrow Road in September, the Bees held a 2-1 lead, only to lose 3-2, primarily because left-back Russell, injured, had to limp along the left wing throughout the second half.

Norwich brought their usual large contingent of supporters with them, and the attendance would have most certainly been more than 11,840 but for the fact it had rained off an on – mostly on – for most of the morning. The City took the lead once; they were out of the field having a spot of warming up practice, nearly five minutes before Brentford left their cubby-hole. Manager MacDonald persevered with the same eleven who brought back a point from Colchester in the previous league game a fortnight earlier.

Teams: -

Brentford: Cakebread, Russell, Horne, Bristow, Dargie, Coote, Parsons, Rainford, Francis, Goundry, Newcombe.

Norwich: Nethercott, McCrohan, Ashman, Wilson, Butler, Crowe, Gordon, Moran, Gavin, Brennan, Coxon.

Parsons lost the toss and Brentford had to face a wind string enough to have the six flags straining in the direction of the Ealing Road. Even before the scoring opened, Nethercott was indebted to a smart piece of goalkeeping from left-back Ashman, who headed away from under the bar when Francis back-nodded a centre from Newcombe. The Brentford left winger, in sprightlier mood than for several weeks past, began to give McCrohan a rare run-around, and in the eighth minute another centre from the same boot was turned to full account. Again Francis made contact per noddle, and the ball flew past Nethercott.

Almost immediately came one of City’s few first-half chances. Gordon crossed from the right by-line, but Gavin was slow to get there and Dargie got there first to clear.

Back to the other end, where Ashman conceded a corner. From Parson’s flag-kick the ball fell perfectly for Rainford, whose neat header put the Bees two up in the 12 th minute.

Brentford continued their sniping at every opportunity; and there were plenty of opportunities, for the Norwich defence showed little idea of covering, and with Ashman an outstanding exception, they were frequently caught flat-footed by the speed at which Brentford manoeuvred. The Bees had a seven-man attack-in-depth. The forwards, fed ably by Bristow and Coote at wing-half, thrived on such service, and playing direct football without any extravagant trimmings, they threatened to score with almost every advance.

A goal-hungry crowd had to wait 20 minutes for the next score, which was the outcome of a hopeless midfield dither between Wilson and Butler. While the pair were in conference as to who should clear, Goundry settled their problem by flicking the ball off their toes and sending it goalwards. It was no more than a gentle sort of lob, but Nethercott, advancing a few yards, fumbled his catch, leaving Francis to walk the ball past him and pass it into the net.

Then came the accident to Moran. Near the by-line, Cakebread dived on the ball to prevent the inside-right from delivering a short centre on the left, and the forward, falling over the goalkeeper, went down with his knee on the latter’s boot. Moran had to be taken off on a stretcher, and it subsequently transpired that he had twisted ligaments of the knee.

In the 40 th minute another centre from Newcombe tangled up the Norwich defence, and after Goundry’s shot had been blocked, Parsons fired into the net from the rebound. Gordon interrupted the one-way traffic with a low left-footer that was diverted for a corner.

Incessantly harassed, the City defenders kicked the ball north, south, east, and in the 40 th minute, fatally west for a corner, from which Parsons and Rainford obliged with an encore of the second goal, the inside-right this time leaping high to head in his partner’s flag-kick. Nethercott remained rooted to his line. No mother’s boy was ever more reluctant to leave home than this keeper, who stayed under his bar, making no attempt to cut out centres and corners. Possibly he considered himself justified, for on one of the very few occasions he had ventured forth, he muffed things to present Francis with that simple third goal.

Five-nil! In the first half, Brentford had scored nearly twice as many goals as in all their previous five games. The forwards, it seemed, had not merely turned over a new leaf – they had started another book.

Manager Archie MacAuley did not visit his old haunts to see his Norwich men in action, but some City official must have put plenty of bite into the interval pep talk, for the East Anglians who had finished the first half on an ‘I’ll go quietly’ note resumed with a new found determination that could have served better purpose at a much earlier stage. Immediately after the restart a gem of a pass by Rainford enabled Parsons to scuttle away from a pair of stalwart defenders, and Nethercott brought off the best save of the best to keep Eric’s powerful high drive out of the net.

But for the next quarter of an hour the City gained a grip. It was not so much that Brentford consciously eased up, as that they shortened their passes, instead of sticking to the long open game which would have the City’s numerically reduced forces at full stretch – and possibly beyond full stretch.

When Crowe put the finishing touch to some right-wing work by Gordon and Coxon by scrambling the ball home from very short range, Norwich supporters found their tongues again, and kept them wagging freely as the City continued to attack. There was never any danger that Norwich would follow the recent epic example of Charlton against Huddersfield, but they had a couple of very good chances to make their defeat less emphatic. Brennan was the principal sinner. Once, when put in by Butler, he had a straight run in on goal, but unaccountably veered wide to the left; Russell went over to him, Dargie and Horne covered his advancing colleagues, and the effort petered out. On another occasion Brennan completely missed a hard low centre from Coxon when the merest touch of a bootlace would have turned the ball into goal.

Regaining control, Brentford took their lead to 6-1 when Russell, taking a free-kick, touched a 10-yard pass to Coote, who drove the ball past Nethercott from outside the box.

Almost on time came the seventh goal. Ashman, attempting to clear, slewed the ball across his own penalty area. Before reaching Newcombe it struck Butler’s heel, thereby ruling out any possibility of the left-winger being offside. But after Newcombe had drive the ball into the net, Norwich protested, obviously with the support of the nearer linesman, that Francis had been out of bounds. Referee J. V. Sherlock consulted his subordinates and then adhered to his ‘goal’ decision, evidently considering that Francis had not interfered with the play.

Tried at centre-forward, Irish international John Gavin, normally a winger – left or right – had a thin time against Dargie. It must be said, however, that he kicked off very nicely on eight occasions.

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