April 26, 1893
Liverpool v Preston North End; teams:
Liverpool: William McOwen, Andrew Hannah, Duncan McLean, John McCartney, Joe McQue, James McBride, Malcolm McVean, Thomas Wyllie, John Miller, Matt McQueen, Hugh McQueen.
Preston North End: Jimmy Trainer, Bob Holmes, Billy Greer, John Holmes, Moses Sanders, Richard Thornber, Jack Gordon, Jack Barton, George Drummond, Frank Becton, John Cowan.
The opening stages of the game were of a desultory character, and partook largely of long heavy kicking, without in the least troubling the defence on either side.
After some fifteen minutes’ work Wyllie instituted an attack on the North End charge, causing Trainer to handle the ball. The Liverpool men bestirred themselves, and kept play well within the Preston half, but the efforts were of a half-hearted nature, and provoked little interest.
H. McQueen made several fine tricky runs, and from a subsequent corner M. McQueen all but scored. Once or twice the North men opened up an attack, and if the ball came to their feet they kicked it away; but for the most part of the first half (which finished with a clean sheet) McOwen, the Liverpool custodian, was reclining full stretch on the ground in the shade of his goal posts.
After some 25 minutes’ “work” in the second half, during which period neither goal had been in any danger of succumbing to any of the “shots” directed against them, Becton was responsible for two capital shots, one of which McOwen cleared, while the other fairly shook the supports of the Liverpool citadel, and subsequently McOwen and the ball were charged through, but the point was disallowed for a previous infringement of “hands” or something of the kind.
Then a minute later, M. McQueen sent in a fine shot to Trainer, who just managed to finger the leather away. This, with the exception of the referee blowing his whistle to stop hostilities (which occurred soon after) was the last “exciting” incident, and no doubt Mr. Gough’s cease play signal sounded as welcome music in the ears of the players.
Result – nothing scored by either side.
(Lancashire Evening Post: April 26, 1893)
XX
"Play Up, Liverpool" 