Matches 16-18: It's Christmas week, with home matches against north-eastern opposition Darlington and Hartlepool sandwiching a Christmas Day trip to Halifax.
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After a blank week following their exit from the F.A. Cup, Nelson played host to Darlington for the return league fixture. On a difficult, quite boggy pitch the visitors started well, with Hooper and Bell looking particularly impressive in the centre of the park.
 | Hat-trick hero Wolstenholme |
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Young squandered the visitors best chance during the opening period, being dispossessed while dwelling on the ball in a fine shooting position. Darlington's early charge reaped no reward though, and they slowly gave way to a Nelson side who were beginning to wake up to the task.
Wilson and Hoad signalled the home side's intent by forcing Quaker's keeper Greig into action from their dipping shots, but he was powerless to prevent the Blues taking a 32nd minute lead. McCulloch swung in a perfect cross from the wing, and Wolstenholme was in the perfect spot to head firmly into the net.
Nelson were fortunate not to concede an equaliser straight from the kick-off in the second half. Darlington tore through their sleepy defence, but, with three forwards in attendance, they contrived to miss an open goal.
Birds was called into action soon after, saving well from Winship's shot from point blank range. This seemed to wake Nelson up again though, and they reasserted their authority. The impressive Hoad was unlucky not to get his name on the scoresheet after being twice superbly denied by Greig, but Wolstenholme was on hand to grab a vital second.
Eddlestone had been well shackled during the game by the visitors, but he managed to feed a ball into his fellow striker in the area, who had the simple task of poking home from close range.
Wolstenholme should then have netted his and Nelson's third soon after when he was presented with a similar chance, but somehow managed to completely miss his kick in front of goal. His performance was to be capped with a hat-trick goal against his former teammates though, as he nodded home his second headed goal of the game from another peach of a cross from Hoad.
Following a slow start at the beginning of each half, Nelson had provided an accomplished performance against a worthy footballing side, and in doing so notched up their eleventh win of the campaign to remain two points clear.
| | Match 16 summary: Saturday 23rd December 1922 | | | Nelson | (1) 3 | Darlington | (0) 0 | | Wolstenholme 3 | | | | Nelson: Joseph BIRDS, John STEELE, Clement RIGG, David WILSON, Ernie BRAIDWOOD, Jimmy BROADHEAD, Sid HOAD, Arthur WOLSTENHOLME, Joe EDDLESTON, Mike McCULLOCH, Bob HUTCHINSON | Darlington: A. Greig, T. Greaves, I. Boocock, H. Dickson, P. Sutcliffe, G. Malcolm, P.N. Bell, F.W. Hooper, E.W. Young, G. Stevens, T. Winship
Attendance: 3,000 |
Wet weather had played havoc with the pitch at the Shay and the Christmas Day fixture there was played in horrendous conditions, but despite this it turned out to be quite a decent match.
Braidwood put Nelson ahead in the first half with a shot which skidded off the ground and beyond the astonished and helpless keeper, but the Shaymen came back, and levelled through Price before the interval.
The in-form Wolstenholme was on hand to poach his fourth goal in two games in the second half, once again from a header, from Hutchinson's cross to restore the lead for the Blues.
The visitors were then content to hold on to their lead, and spent the remainder of the contest playing a dangerous defensive game. With time running out it looked like it may pay off, but with six minutes to go Steele was injured, and a minute later - with Nelson temporarily down to ten men - the home side bagged a deserved equaliser.
Birds looked to have the shot which came in from a Town forward covered, but looked on in horror as it struck defender Rigg and deflected beyond him into the net for the second equalising goal.
Amazingly it was Nelson's first drawn game of the season. Before the start it would have been considered a good result, but the negative late tactics employed made it seem like a point dropped. With Rochdale and Bradford both securing narrow 1-0 victories, the lead at the top was cut to a single point.
| | Match 17 summary: Monday 25th December 1922 | | | Halifax Town | (1) 2 | Nelson | (1) 2 | | Price, Rigg o.g. | Braidwood, Wolstenholme | | | Halifax: H.A. Bown, P.A. Mackrill, J.W Lees, F. Hall, E. Hall, T.S. Langford, L. Birkinshaw, M.F. Ellison, E. Dixon, E.C. Price, J.W. Whalley | Nelson: Joseph BIRDS, John STEELE, Clement RIGG, David WILSON, Ernie BRAIDWOOD, Jimmy BROADHEAD, Sid HOAD, Arthur WOLSTENHOLME, Joe EDDLESTON, Mike McCULLOCH, Bob HUTCHINSON
Attendance: 18,000 |
For the third game running Nelson were faced with playing on a treacherous surface, as they played host to Hartlepools on a Seedhill pitch which had been pounded with rain throughout the week.
Despite the conditions, it was an electric start by the locals, and player manager Wilson was denied in the first few minutes by a brilliant save from Summerfield.
However, inside ten minutes Nelson were to take the lead. Braidwood played a ball down the channel for Hoad to run onto, and after beating Dixon with ease, the winger delivered a ball into the centre for Eddleston to score - with a header. Within a minute it was almost two, as the same player shot narrowly wide of goal on the turn.
A second headed goal doubled the lead on twenty minutes. Hoad played a ball inside to Wolstenholme, who in turn teed up McCulloch to plant the ball past the keeper. During the remainder of the half, Wolstenholme had two great chances to extend the lead, but fired wide on each occasion.
Three minutes into the second half Wolstenholme atoned for his earlier misses. Hutchinson was the provider this time, crossing in for the forward to nod home past Summerfield. The visitors immediately pulled one back though. Birds conceded a corner after cleverly denying Parkinson, from which a melee ensued with the ball crashing down off the crossbar and into play. However, the referee deemed it had crossed the line and Hartlepools had pulled one back.
Nelson duly went in search of a fourth goal, and it nearly came when Eddleston collected the ball in the area, only to slip before getting his shot away. A fourth did arrive late on though, Wolstenholme cashing in on a Summerfield slip while attempting to distribute by bundling both the ball and the keeper into the net.
The win ensured Nelson remained one point ahead in the league, and with the goals starting to flow - nine scored in the last three games - it looked like things could only get better for the Blues.
| | Match 17 summary: Saturday 30th December 1922 | | | Nelson | (2) 4 | Hartlepools United | (0) 1 | | Eddleston, McCulloch, Wolstenholme 2 | Braidford | | | Nelson: Joseph BIRDS, John STEELE, Clement RIGG, David WILSON, Ernie BRAIDWOOD, Jimmy BROADHEAD, Sid HOAD, Arthur WOLSTENHOLME, Joe EDDLESTON, Mike McCULLOCH, Bob HUTCHINSON | Hartlepools United: W.H. Summerfield, S.J. Longmore, C. Dixon, J.B. Anderson, F.D. Halstead, F. Dowson, T.P. Yews, T.O. Parkinson, L. Braidford, C. Hardy, W.M. Mordue
Attendance: 5,000 |
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