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2.0 For the Schools 3.10 Ridgeway Calling
3.40
England vs. Wales
4.15
Wednesday Matinee 5.45 Eric Winstone & His Orchestra 6.15 At Your Request 6:45 Dick Barton
Wednesday, 13 November 1946
Home International Championship 1946-47 (52nd) Match


England 3 Wales 0 [2-0]
 
 
Maine Road Football Ground, Brantingham Road, Moss Side, Manchester, Lancashire
Kick-off (GMT): 2.30pm.
Attendance: 'was 59,121'; Receipts: "paid nearly £10,000."
unknown kicked-off
[1-0] Wilf Mannion 8
 Carter's mis-hit shot hit Mannion and it spun over the line before Hughes could clear
[2-0] Tommy Lawton 39
 fine pass by Wilf Mannion placed just beyond Sidlow's reach
 
[3-0] Wilf Mannion 65
 good shot after Tommy Lawton found space for him with a pass
 
second half live on Radio Home Service - Commentator: tbc
 

"'OLD GUARD' TOO GOOD FOR WALES" Daily Mirror

Officials          England

UK ruling on substitutes

Wales
Referee
William E. Webb
Glasgow
 

Linesmen

Robert Owen
Elay
Rev. Harold James Pethybridge
36 (4 December 1909), Tipton
  
England Team
 
Rank No official ranking system established;
ELO rating 4th
Colours The 1946 home uniform - White collared jerseys, blue shorts, black socks with white tops.
P 3rd of eighteen, W 3 - D 0 - L 0 - F 11 - A 2.

Captain
George Hardwick Manager Walter Winterbottom, 33 (31 March 1913), appointed as FA national director of coaching/team manager on 8 July 1946;
3rd of 13, W 3 - D 0 - L 0 - F 11 - A 2. Trainer: Laurie Barnett (Manchester City FC) P 3rd of 139, W 3 - D 0 - L 0 - F 11 - A 2.
Team chosen by Selection Committee headed by Arthur Drewry on Wednesday, 30 October, following the trial match between the FA XI and RAF XI in Reading.
England Lineup
  unchanged from the previous two matches league position (30th October)  
  Swift, Frank V. 32
322 days
26 December 1913 G Manchester City FC (FL2 7th) 3 2ᵍᵃ
2 Scott, Lawrence 29
204 days
23 April 1917 RB Arsenal FC (FL 19th) 3 0
3 Hardwick, George F.M. 26
284 days
2 February 1920 LB Middlesbrough FC (FL 6th) 3 0
4 Wright, William A. 22
280 days
6 February 1924 RHB Wolverhampton Wanderers FC (FL 2nd) 3 0
5 Franklin, Cornelius 24
293 days
24 January 1922 CHB Stoke City FC (FL 9th) 3 0
6 Cockburn, Henry 25
60 days
14 September 1921 LHB Manchester United FC (FL 5th) 3 0
7 Finney, Thomas 24
222 days
5 April 1922 OR Preston North End FC (FL 10th) 3 2
8 Carter, Horatio S. 32
327 days
21 December 1913 IR Derby County FC (FL 16th) 9 3
9
Lawton, Thomas 27
38 days
6 October 1919 CF Chelsea FC (FL 12th) 11 8
10
Mannion, Wilfred J. 28
181 days
16 May 1918 IL Middlesbrough FC (FL 6th) 3 5
the 135th (2nd post-war) brace scored
11 Langton, Robert 28
66 days
8 September 1918 OL Blackburn Rovers FC (FL 13th) 3 1
reserves: Jimmy Hagan (Sheffield United FC (FL 11th)) and Harry Johnston (Blackpool FC (FL TOP))
records: By not conceding any goals, England have now kept four home clean sheets in a row, a new record.
They have also equalled the record of not conceding at home for 444 minutes.
The England team trained at Southport 's Haig Avenue ground and were staying at the de luxe Palace Hotel in Birkdale. They had dinner with the Mayor and Mayoress of Southport on the day before the match.
 

2-3-5

Swift  -
Scott, Hardwick -
Wright, Franklin, Cockburn -
Finney, Carter, Lawton, Mannion, Langton.
Averages: Age 27 years 233 days Appearances/Goals 4.3 1.5
 
Wales Team
 
Rank No official ranking system established;
ELO rating 11th to 12th
Colours Made by Umbro - Red jerseys with white collars, white shorts with red side strip, red socks with white tops.
Captain Billy Hughes Selection Selection Committee, led by Herbert Powell
on Thursday, 31 October 1946
Wales Lineup
  Sidlow, Cyril 30
352 days
26 November 1915 G Liverpool FC, England 2 4ᵍᵃ
2 Sherwood, Alfred T. 23 13 November 1923 RB Cardiff City FC 1 0
3 Hughes, William M. 28
253 days
5 March 1918 LB Birmingham City FC, England 9 0
4 Witcomb, Douglas F. 28
209 days
18 April 1918 RHB West Bromwich Albion FC, England 2 0
5 Jones, Thomas G. 29
32 days
12 October 1917 CHB Everton FC, England 6 0
6 Burgess, W.A. Ronald 29
218 days
9 April 1917 LHB Tottenham Hotspur FC, England 2 0
7 Jones, W. Ernest A. 26
1 day
12 November 1920 OR Swansea Town FC 2 0
8 Powell, Aubrey 28
208 days
19 April 1918 IR Leeds United AFC, England 2 0
9 Richards, Stanley V. 29
296 days
21 January 1917  CF Cardiff City FC 1 0
only app 1946
10 Powell, Ivor V. 30
131 days
5 July 1916 IL Queen's Park Rangers FC, England 1 0
11 Edwards, George 25
346 days
2 December 1920 OL Birmingham City FC, England 2 0
reserve: originally Alf Sherwood
team changes: Initially, two changes were made on 11 November, Alf Sherwood replaced Ray Lambert (Liverpool FC) at right-back and Ivor Powell replaced Bryn Jones (Arsenal FC) at inside-left, both players being unfit. Then the day before this match, Swansea Town's Trevor Ford dropped out because of a pulled muscle to be replaced with Richards.
The Welsh team were based in Knutsford.
 
2-3-5 Sidlow -
Sherwood, Hughes -
Witcomb,
T.Jones, Burgess -
E.Jones, A.Powell, Richards, I.Powell, Edwards.
Averages: Age 28 years 88 days Appearances/Goals 2.7     0
 
         Match Report by Mike Payne

ENGLAND fought off the spirited challenge of the Welsh to gain at least a share of the Home International Championship for 1946-47. Several times the crowd were treated to the smooth rhythmic understanding of a team with so many outstanding talents, although the typical Welsh tenacity made sure that they knew that they had been in a very tough game.

An early goal is welcome in any game and it took England only eight minutes to take the lead. Tommy Lawton sent a long raking pass out to Bobby Langton on the left wing and Langton's cross was met by Raich Carter, who scrambled it towards goal. Wilf Mannion was also in the area and helped the ball on its way with a touch through Sidlow's legs. Although the ball was cleared by Hughes, the referee had decided that it had already crossed the goal-line.

Two good efforts by Ivor Powell then went close for Wales as they hit back strongly. The first shot went over and the second was superbly saved by Frank Swift. Then, with five minutes to go before half-time, England scored a second goal to set Wales back on their heels. Fine work and passing by Billy Wright, Carter and Mannion set up Lawton. The centre-forward needed no second bidding and Sidlow was soon picking the ball out of his net.

In the second half, Wales tried everything they knew to get back into the game. They threw everything at the home defence. Richards shot wide and Swift again saved well, this time from a header by Aubrey Powell. For 15 minutes it was all Wales but England weathered the storm and on 76 minutes they produced another flash of brilliance to finally kill off the Welsh dragons.

Tom Finney found Henry Cockburn with a pass in midfield and he, in turn, found Lawton. Mannion then came from nowhere to speed through a gap to take the final pass and settle the match with a good shot.

 

       Match Report by Norman Giller

The Home International championship was considered the most important tournament on the football calendar, and nearly 60,000 fans attended Maine Road on a windy Wednesday afternoon in October 1946 to watch England against Wales.
"Will o' the Wisp" Wilf Mannion scored two and laid on the pass for a Tommy Lawton goal against a Welsh defence in which Alf Sherwood was making his full international debut at right-back. Over the next ten years he missed only one match for Wales. Frank Swift, playing in goal on his home Manchester City ground, made half a dozen outstanding saves to break the hearts of the Welsh forwards. England were nearly always in command against the Welsh, but when they did break through Frank Swift showed just why he was rated one of the world's great goalkeepers. Swiftie! What a player, and what a man. He had huge hands like shovels and often used to walk around the penalty area holding the ball with one hand as if it was a tennis ball.  His reflexes were exceptionally quick for such a big man, and his positioning was just about perfect. They say all goalkeepers are crazy, and Frank certainly came into that category when he used to dive head first at the feet of oncoming forwards. He was the bravest of the brave, and had the full respect of not only his team-mates but always of opponents.
 

      In Other News....
It was on 12 November 1946 that 37-year-old, Emma Oxnard was found dead in her bed in Newcastle upon Tyne by her sister. She had been beaten and strangled, almost three weeks earlier. In the meantime, her 38-year-old husband, Albert had been sending letters and postcards to her sister from Blackpool, explaining that they had saved their marriage and would be coming home soon. In reality, after his wife had refused to have sex with him throughout their 16-year marriage, he had married another woman in Poulton-le-Fylde, who was pregnant with his child. Two months after the body was discovered, he was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death, but he was given a reprieve by the Home Secretary, James Chuter Ede, a few days before he was due to be hanged. Oxnard served nine years in prison and he was reunited with his second wife and son on his release.
  

 Source Notes

TheFA.com
Original newspaper reports
Wales' Complete Who's Who since 1946
  Rothman's Yearbooks
Mike Payne's England: The Complete Post-War Record

Norman Giller, Football Author
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