Page:Association Football and How to Play It (1908) by John Cameron.djvu/78

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76
ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL

dwell upon the goal allowed by Mr. Kingscott to our opponents. Our players were sure that the ball had not crossed the line, but as we won on the replay at Bolton everything was forgiven and forgotten.

Another great match in the early days was at Manchester, between Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Everton, the previous Saturday, had sent a reserve team to Wolverhampton. They won quite easily. I cannot say what the score was, but it was four or five goals to nothing. In the final at Manchester, Everton were eventually beaten by a long shot in the early part of the game. There was no doubting their superior skill, but this result simply proved that cup-tie football is quite different from league football.

There are two clubs in the South that have brought Southern football to the front: Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur. To the latter all due credit must be given for winning the Cup, but the "Saints," as they are called, have done equally as good work as the 'Spurs. They were really the pioneers of professional football in the Southern League, and when one considers they were in the final in 1900, and again in 1902, when they were beaten by Sheffield United after a drawn game, it reflects great credit upon them. They do not receive the credit they deserve from their own supporters, and the severance of two of their best local players in 1906 was a severe handicap to the team. By the way, they were both born and bred in the district, and caused a great sensation in the League. Perhaps one of the biggest