Team: Mason, Barrie, Ashman, March, Goodier, Blake, Emmerson, Eaton, Blackman, Langford, Brown.
Attendance: 9,701
On 18th January 1934, the R’s travelled to Coventry in a top of the table encounter. The following match report was written by “Fieldsman” and appeared in the Midlands press the next day:
‘Coventry City lost a great opportunity of greatly strengthening their position in the promotion race as a result of their home match with Queen’s Park Rangers yesterday.
But they let it slip, for they were beaten by the only goal scored, and, instead of finding themselves only one point behind the leaders, Norwich City, with the same number of games played, as would have been the case had they won yesterday, they are still three points behind, and, moreover, are pushed out of second place by the Rangers, who are a point ahead.
Coventry had not lost a league match for four months – 17 successive matches. They are entitled to a certain amount of sympathy concerning yesterday’s result, however, Queen’s Park Rangers can rarely have won a game which they so thoroughly deserved to lose, for the “Bantams” did three-quarters of the attacking.
Nearly 10,000 spectators saw an excellent game crammed full of interest and excitement. The Rangers opened with nicely combined movements, but once Coventry settled down they held a marked territorial advantage, even when the wind later changed in the Rangers’ favour.
With the wind at their backs, the “Bantams” bore down upon the Rangers’ goal, and it was only due to the brilliance of Mason, the Rangers’ goalkeeper, that their efforts were continually thwarted.
At 60 minutes the Rangers suddenly broke away, and in a lightning mass attack got past the home defenders for Emmerson to put the ball into the net. The goal was entirely unexpected, and was well against the run of the play.
Despite this set-back Coventry threw themselves into the attack again, and from then until the end the Rangers were penned in their own half. But they clung to their lead and worked like Trojans to do so. There was not a great deal of finesse in the game, but what it lacked in that respect it more than made up with keenness.
The “Bantams” had been strengthened by the return of Davison and Bisby, but they had also been weakened by the absence of “Billy” Lake, whose father, Mr W.H. Lake, vice-chairman of Walsall FC, had died on Wednesday. As a mark of respect the Coventry players wore black armlets, and the flag was at half-mast. Frith, the young reserve who deputised, proved to be a hard trier, but there was little doubt that the front-line was disorganised.
In the second-half Davison moved Frith back to Baker’s position, the right-half going into the attack, and as a final effort to change the fortunes Davison himself went into the line, moving Baker into the centre-half position. But neither change had the desired effect.
Bacon played his usual bustling game, but the ball did not run kindly for him, and Goodier was his master. Lauderdale had another unhappy game. Coventry made the mistake of ballooning the ball too much.
Emmerson played a great game on the Rangers’ right wing, while his inside man, Eaton, was also very effective.’
Norwich City were on 34 points after 24 games with the R’s in second place, two points behind with a game in hand. Coventry City were on 31 points followed by Reading and Charlton respectively, who were both on 30 points. The Canaries finished the season in top spot with Rangers in 4th position.
Steve Russell