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Danmark

 
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'U23' 07 vs. France
Wednesday, 26 September 1956
International Friendly Intermediate Match


Denmark 0 England 3
[0-0]

 
 
Idrætsparken, Inder Østbro, København
Kick-off (CEST):
7.00pm 6.00pm BST
Attendance: '15,000';, '20,000'; '25,000'
(under floodlights - first time for an international match in Denmark)
unknown kicked-off  
   

Many newspaper reports, Birmingham Daily Post, Birmingham Gazette, Hartlepool Northern Mail, etc, give the second goal as a second goal to Blunstone.
Only the Daily Herald and Daily Mirror name Bloomfield as the actual goalscorer, and therefore, the record books.
[0-1] Frank Blunstone 51
'pulled it back inches from the line, slid it forward to Alick Jeffrey and raced inside to crack the return pass low and hard into the corner of the net'
[0-2] Jimmy Bloomfield 81
'Hitchens hit Jeffrey's pass straight against the goalkeeper—but coolly Bloomfield took one pace forward and hit it into the roof of the net'
[0-3] Gerry Hitchens 89
'Jimmy Bloomfield again sent through a long ball for Hitchens to smash into the net'

[0-3] Ron Clayton scores disallowed: full time whistle
There is no Radio or TV coverage
 
"ENGLAND RACE TO VICTORY" Daily Mirror
Officials from Norway Denmark FIFA ruling on substitutes England
Referee
Øivind Rudolf Helgesen
49 (11 May 1907), Kristiania
The Continental ruling of allowing a substitute to replace an injured player prior to the 44th minute, and a goalkeeper at any time, is in place.
Linesmen
Leo Helge Helge Andersen
     
Denmark Intermediate Team
 
Rank No official ranking system established; Colours Red jerseys, white shorts, black socks with white tops
Captain Vagn Vesterlund Selection Team announced on Thursday, 21 September 1956
Denmark Lineup
1 Larsen, Erik 22
233 days
6 February 1934 G AC Horsens 9 21ᵍᵃ
2 Helbrandt, Henning 21
119 days
30 May 1935 RB Kjøbenhavns Bk 6 0
3 Hvidemose, Henning 21
39 days
18 August 1935 LB KFUMS Bk 3 0
4 Nielsen, Flemming Gert. 22
215 days
24 February 1934 RHB Boldklubben af 1893 6 3
5 Vesterlund, Vagn 20
82 days
6 July 1936 CHB Boldklubben 1903 3 0
6 Kramer, John 21
314 days
17 November 1934 LHB Kjøge Bk 9 1
7 Bruun, Hans Erik 20
131 days
18 May 1936 OR Odense Bk 1 0
8 Jensen, Egon 18
318 days
13 November 1937 IR Espjerg fB 1 0
only U23 app 1956
9 Andersen, Ove 19
88 days
30 June 1937 CF Brønshøj Bk 1 0
10 Nielsen, Ove 22
238 days
1 February 1934 IL Kjøge Bk 7 2
final u23 app 1955-56
11 Nielsen, Gregor 22
181 days
29 March 1934 OL Espjerg fB 4 0
final u23 app 1955-56
reserves: Niel Jensen (Kjøbenhavns Bk), Bent Krog (Kjøbenhavns Bk) and Bent Rasmussen (Næstved)
team changes: Hvidemose, one of the original reserves, replaced John Amdisen, the original chosen right-back.
 
2-3-5 Larsen -
Hvidemose, Helbrandt -
Nielsen, Vesterlund, Kramer -
Bruun, Jensen, Andersen,
O.Nielsen, G.Nielsen
Averages: Age 21 years 79 days Appearances/Goals 4.5 0.5
 
England Intermediate Team
 
Rank No official ranking system established; Colours The 1954 Umbro home uniform - White v-necked short-sleeved continental jerseys, blue shorts, black socks with white tops.

Captain
Ronnie Clayton Manager Walter Winterbottom, 43 (31 March 1913), appointed as FA national director of coaching/team manager on 8 July 1946;
first of 3, W 1 - D 0 - L 0 - F 3 - A 0. Trainer: Bill Nicholson (Tottenham Hotspur) sixth of sixteen intermediate matches, W 5 - D 0 - L 1 - F 22 - A 6.
  Team chosen by Intermediate Selection Committee, headed by Frank Adams, on Monday, 17 September.
England Lineup
  nine changes to the previous U23 match (Clayton & Smith remain) league position (17 September)  
3   Hodgkinson, Alan 20
41 days
16 August 1936 G Sheffield United FC (FL2 3rd) 1 0ᵍᵃ
32 youngest U23 gk so far
33 2 Armfield, James 21
5 days
21 September 1935 RB Blackpool FC (FL 8th) 1 0
3 Shaw, Graham L. 22
79 days
9 July 1934 LB Sheffield United FC (FL2 3rd) 2 0
4 Clayton, Ronald 22
52 days
5 August 1934 RHB Blackburn Rovers FC (FL2 18th) 3 0
5 Smith, Trevor 20
166 days
13 April 1936 CHB Birmingham City FC (FL 3rd) 5 0
mst U23 apps 55-56
34 6 Neal, Richard Marshall 22
361 days
1 October 1933 LHB Lincoln City FC (FL2 10th) 1 0
35 7 Douglas, Bryan 22
122 days
27 May 1934 OR Blackburn Rovers FC (FL2 18th) 1 0
36 8
Bloomfield, James Henry 22
224 days
15 February 1934 IR Arsenal FC (FL 15th) 1 1
37 9
Hitchens, Gerald A. 21
354 days
8 October 1934 CF Cardiff City FC (FL 16th) 1 1
only U23 app 1956
38 10
Jeffrey, Alick 17
241 days
29 January 1939 IL Doncaster Rovers FC (FL2 7th) 1 0
11
Blunstone, Frank 21
345 days
 
17 October 1934
 
OL
 
Chelsea FC (FL 19th)
5 3
mst U23 apps 54-56
    final u23 app 54-56
unused substitutes: Eddie Hopkinson (Bolton Wanderers FC (FL 5th)) and Ron Flowers (Wolverhampton Wanderers FC (FL 14th)), as well as Alick Jeffrey. Jeffrey's place went to Albert Cheesebrough (Burnley FC (FL 6th)) on 21 September.
pre-match notes: According to Jimmy Armfield:Right Back To The Beginning, the players met on Monday afternoon at Lancaster Court Hotel, London. The following morning, they departed for Kastrup Lufthavn, Copenhagen from London Airport at 10.55am (Flight BE220A), after which they used the Hotel Cosmopolite as their base.
team changes: Johnny Haynes was the original chosen inside-left and captain, but an ongoing ankle injury brought about his withdrawal on Friday, 21 September. His place went to reserve, Alick Jeffrey the same day.
Although Jeffrey is young, he is still 130 days older than what Duncan Edwards was when he made his Intermediate debut in January 1954.
 
2-3-5 Hodgkinson -
Armfield, Shaw -
Clayton, Smith, Neal -
Douglas, Bloomfield, Hitchens, Jeffrey, Blunstone.
Averages: Age 21 years 148 days Appearances/Goals 2.0 0.1
 
              Match Report by Frank McGhee, Daily Mirror, Thursday, 27 September 1956

ELEVEN young fighting footballers from England made a terrific storming finish here tonight to thrill 25,000 Danish fans and provide the clear-cut win we all expected. In fact if the game had lasted a split second longer that victory margin would have been even greater. A terrific shot from right half Ron Clayton was already zooming towards goal as referee Helgesen of Norway was lifting the whistle to his lips.
No one in the stadium, certainly not Clayton, even more certainly Danish 'keeper, Eric Larsen, hopelessly beaten on the ground, knew whether it had actually crossed the line before the finishing blast.
   It was only when the referee raced across to console Clayton that we realised that a split second had separated England from a fourth goal.
At the end of the first half it looked all Copenhagen to a piece of Danish cheese against a win for England.
   The man who saved England in the first half was goalkeeper Alan Hodgkinson.
This 5ft. 6in. soldier who most people feared would be too 12pt for international football flung himself desperately across the goal in a back-wrenching arc to turn a terrific shot from outside-left Gregor Nielsen inches wide in the fifteenth minute. England were sadly off target at this stage with their shooting. Centre forward Gerry Hitchens, inside left Alick Jeffrey, inside right Jimmy Bloomfield and outside right Brian Douglas all missed chances. But very slowly the superior stamina of the English team started to reveal itself. In the fifty-first minute outside left Frank Blunstone went chasing after a ball that looked certain to go out of touch. He pulled it back inches from the line, slid it forward to Jeffrey and raced inside to crack the return pass low and hard into the corner of the net. For fully fifteen minutes the Danes, dredging up the last reserves of their energy, flung everything at England's defence. It stood the test—with Clayton in particular playing like a real captain. He knocked himself out in the seventieth minute with a desperate late tackle to steal the ball from Ove Andersen's feet only two yards from goal.
The came England's glorious second goal. Man behind it was Arsenal inside right Jimmy Bloomfield, who until that moment in the 81st minute had failed in his role as schemer. He worked the ball past two defenders, slipped it across the goal to Jeffrey, and then positioned himself coolly on the edge of the penalty area in case there was any slip-up. There was. Hitchens hit Jeffrey's pass straight against the goalkeeper—but coolly Bloomfield took one pace forward and hit it into the roof of the net. Two minutes from the end Bloomfield again sent through a long ball for Hitchens to smash into the net.
If only England had Johnny Haynes here tonight we would surely have won twice as easily and by twice as many goals.

  

              Match Report as appears in the F.A. Yearbook 1957-58 page 32

IN the first match of the season, before 20,000 against Denmark at Copenhagen Young England took a long time to settle down but after the interval there was no denying their superiority. Hodgkinson made a number of fine saves in the first half when the Danes were striving to take the lead, but gradually the stamina and skill of the English team - forwards in particular - began to reveal itself. Good goals by Blunstone, Bloomfield, and Hitchens ultimately gave England a comfortable victory, and Jeffrey - only 17 years old - Douglas, Clayton, and Smith all played well in the second half when eleven individuals really became a team.
  

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              Source Notes
Official matchday programme
DBU.dk
  Rothman's Yearbooks
Original newspaper reports
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