February 14, 1893
Match: Friendly, at Clifton Grove Ground.
Rotherham Town – Liverpool 2-2 (1-1).
Attendance: 2,500.
Referee: Mr. J. Fox (Darnall).
Rotherham Town (2-3-5): Hugh Mackay; Percy Watson, Harry Thickett; Joe Barr, H. Brown, Albert Rodgers; William Longden, Robert Leather, Charlie Leatherbarrow, Cross, John McCormick.
Liverpool (2-3-5): Sydney Ross; Andrew Hannah (C), Duncan McLean; John McCartney, Joe McQue, James McBride; Thomas Wyllie, Matt McQueen, John Miller, Malcolm McVean, John Cameron.
The Goals: 0-1 M. McQueen (35 min.), 1-1 Longden (44 min.), 2-1 Leather (60 min.), 2-2 own goal (Thickett, 80 min.).

There were between 2,000 and 3,000 spectators on Clifton Grove Ground, yesterday, to witness a friendly match between the above clubs. The visitors put their full strength into the field, whilst Rotherham were without Alf Pickering and Edward Cutts, whose places were taken by Leather and Cross.

Losing the toss Rotherham kicked off towards the park, facing the sun and strong wind. Liverpool had the best of the exchanges for the first 20 minutes, but were well kept at bay by the capital back play of the Rotherham men, Watson and Thickett (full backs) being especially prominent. Mackay, too, negotiated several difficult shots. At length McVean placed the ball in the net, but an appeal for infringement of the off-side rule was successful. Still the visitors pressed, and had a couple of fruitless corner kicks.

After 35 minutes had expired, the Liverpool forwards made a neat run, and, in the scrimmage in the home goal, M. McQueen put on the finishing touch. From the free kick the home left wing ran down, and there was a hot scrimmage in the Liverpool goal, and further attacks from the same wing enabled Longden to equalise just before half-time.

When ends were changed the wind had modified somewhat, but the Rotherham men kept the leather well in the Liverpool quarters, and they had several times hard luck. Longden, Leather and Leatherbarrow worked finely together, and once the former struck the upright. Fifteen minutes after the interval Leather neatly added a second goal for his side. From the centre kick the visitors ran down, but McVean shot across the home goal and the ball went out. Then from the goal kick the Rotherham left wing worked close in and forced Ross to concede a corner, and a second and third similar advantage occurred in succession. In eighty minutes the visitors had equalised, Cameron shooting in, and Thickett attempting to clear headed into his own net.

On the restart Rotherham resolutely attacked, but they had hard lines, McCormick struck the crossbar. Ross intervened in a capitally judged shot by Cross, Leather with a fine run looked like scoring, and there were repeated scrimmages in the visitors’ goal. Once, however, the Liverpool men broke away, and at a dangerous moment Rodgers saved splendidly. But the pressure continued at the Liverpool goal, and a hard fought game resulted in a tie.
(Sheffield Independent, 15-02-1893)