The Jersey Cup

Referee: E. Richards Linesmen: Unknown

Middle Barton: Fowler G. Cox Smith Berry Bolton R. Cox Dempsey Coker Gascoigne Jarvis Bauckham

Middle Barton Scorers: Bauckham 2 R Cox 5 Dempsey 2 Jarvis 2

Croughton: Fletcher Nicholls West Savins Wait Hawkins Svensen Greenaway F. Williams L. Williams Garrett

Croughton Scorers: Svensen 1 L Williams 1 Greenaway 2

GOALS, GOALS, GOALS, FIFTEEN OF THEM
Captain’s Injury Ended Croughton’s Hope

If the soccer customer pays to see goals he had his money’s worth at the 58th Lord Jersey Cup Final at Bicester on Easter Monday. Goals? Fifteen of them! Middle Barton got the major share and set up a new post war record by trouncing Croughton 11-4.

Few folk expected that Croughton, humble members of Divison 111 of the Jersey League would offer more than a token resistance to Division 1 giants Middle Barton. Many forecast that Barton would win by a street, and this they did, but it was not quite as simple as it sounds.

Croughton had all the bad luck that was going and a first half injury to captain and centre-half P. Wait set the seal on their defeat. And on top of this glut of goals, the weather played its unkindest trick, and for the last hour a heavy thunderstorm drenched supporters and generally dampened everybody’s enthusiasm.

But back to the beginning. Barton threw off early Croughton pressure and swept up the field to force the game’s first corner. A nervy Croughton defence scrambled the ball away after the Barton forwards had shown a marked unwillingness to have a go even from half a dozen yards.
Croughton in front

In the 7th minute came the first sensation. Croughton’s 15-year-old fair-haired right winger. Svensen rounded Smith in the best Stanley Matthews tradition and found himself on the edge of the penalty area with only the goalkeeper Fowler to beat. And like a veteran of many campaigns Svensen moved coolly in and drove the ball into the net to give the Croughton supporters something to shout about.

Sensation No 2, Straight from the kick-off Barton created an opening for star left-winger Bauckham, and this most polished of local footballers danced his way through the Croughton defence and slammed the ball into the roof of the net from an almost impossible angle.

Two goals in less than two minutes really set the game alight, but there were more to come. Barton staged a positional swop-about and right-back Cox moved up to lead the attack. Schemer-in-chief Jarvis, wearing the No 9 shirt, moved over to partner Bauckham a shrewd decision which spelt success for Barton.

Bauckham made another dazzling run in the 13th minute and crossed for Cox to score from close range. Three minutes later Cox was there on his own to make it 3-1.

The game was still less than half-an-hour old, when in the 22nd minute Bauckham again split the Croughton defence and laid on another gift goal for Cox to complete his hat-trick.

Could Croughton recover? They tried hard enough and in the 30th minute came back into the game with a great goal. Sustained pressure against a Barton defence that looked anything but confident reaped its reward. Svensen was again the architect and a lovely ground pass gave Williams a chance which he took from somewhere near the penalty spot.

Now was the time for Croughton to tighten their defence and settle down to play the sort of football which surprised Steeple Aston in the semi-final. But Bauckham and Jarvis saw to it that they did not. Another left-wing move and Cox was there to collect the pass and make it 5-2 for Barton.

But barely a minute had passed before Croughton were on the attack again and Greenaway darted in to drive the ball past Fowler. The score was now 5-3 eight goals in just over half-an-hour.

Barton quickly wiped out this Croughton success, and right-winger Dempsey flung himself at a pass from Bauckham to make the score 6-3 in the 35th minute.

The last ten minutes of the first half saw the heavens open up and the crowds melt away from the touchlines. Disaster hit Croughton when Wait received a leg injury, and the scales were heavily in Barton’s favour when the teams trooped off at the interval.

Half-time: Middle Barton 6. Croughton 3.

With the rain pouring down, the second forty-five minutes was as dull as the first half had been exciting. Wait hobbled up to take over at centre-forward and the Croughton attack thus lost much of its former punch.

For most of the time it was one-way traffic to the Croughton goal, and with Croughton a very nearly spent force it was merely a matter of speculation whether Barton would race into double figures.

They never eased up and banged in another five goals before the end. Cox (50th minute). Bauckham (65th minute). Dempsey (70th minute) and Jarvis (76th and 82nd minutes) were the scorers.

Croughton’s solitary grain of success was in the 80th minute when Garrett sped up the left wing and crossed for Greenaway to score from close range.
Summing-up, Croughton never matched the experience of Barton, but with four 15-year-olds Svensen, Garrett, Savins and Hawkins in the side, they fought courageously.

Barton never reached the heights expected of them and they owe much to Bauckham, whose skill and artistry crushed gallant Croughton’s hopes.

Result: Middle Barton 11, Croughton 4. Official attendance 1,353.

The cup was presented by Mr J Edgington of Bletchley, who played for Kirtlington when they won the Lord Jersey Cup in 1899.