FOOTBALL IN ENGLAND

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 86, Issue 111, 14 May 1942, Page 6

FOOTBALL IN ENGLAND

COMPETITION WINNERS The football League competitions in England, north and south, are now over. Of the northern clubs Blackpool narrowly proved to be the best — winning on a goal average. Both Blackpool and Lincoln City scored 29 points with Preston North End following two points behind. Leicester City won the southern competition with a clear lead of six points over their nearest rivals, West Bromwich Albion. And so footballers (with the exception ot the London clubs who are to run their own cup competition) passed on to the qualifying rounds for the League Cup. Wherever it has been found feasible each of these clubs was given 10 matches—five home and five away—in the qualifying round. Those that do not play 10 matches will succeed or fail on a percentage. The fight for the cup proper will be betwetyi the 32 leading clubs, and the first matches were to be played on March 7 and March 14. There were no big surprises in the first set of qualifying matches. Most of the League leaders won their matches comfortably—Blackpool beat Stockton by 5 goals to 2; Lincoln City ran away from Doncaster, scoring 9 goals to their opponents’ 3; West Bromwich Albion beat Wrexham by 2 goals in a match in whi(>?i 10 goals were scored, but Leicester City could only draw in their away match against Chesterfield. It was, in fact, a day of high scoring, with 195 goals in all scored in League and Cup games.