Two keepers, two countries – one club
WHEN Denmark met Wales in the round of 16 at the European Championships, one club provided the sides’ goalkeepers.
Leicester City duo Kasper Schmeichel and Danny Ward created Euros history, but it was not the first time this had happened in a major international.
Wolves did it when they had Bert Williams in goal for England and Cyril Sidlow for Wales at the Hawthorns in October, 1945.
With football still not back to normal after the war, this was one of several ‘Victory’ internationals and was virtually a full international, even though caps were not awarded.
Cyril, a former amateur international, had been signed before the war as deputy to Alex Scott and made just four First Division appearances. In the first season of wartime football, however, he was first choice as Wolves won the eight-club Midland League.
Guest
In 1940-1 Wolves did not field a team and Cyril made guest appearances for Notts County and Wrexham. He also ‘guested’ for Darlington, playing 20 games for them in 1944-5.
Scott had been his main rival for the green jersey at Molineux, then along came Bradley-born Bert Williams. Bert had played a couple of wartime internationals for England in May 1945 while still a Walsall player, and signed for Wolves in September that year.
Cyril was making guest appearances for Hartlepools when the teams for the Hawthorns game were chosen. He was also living close to Bert at Codsall so the pair were neighbours as well as friendly rivals.
Such was the appetite for football after the war that a crowd of 54,611 were crammed into the Hawthorns, with a few fans climbing on to a stand roof for a precarious view of the proceedings
It was Cyril who prevailed in the big game even though Wales were handicapped by injury very early in the match. Bolton full-back Danny Winter was hurt in a tackle but, in pre-sub days, had to carry on as a limping passenger on the right wing.
Goal
Winter figured in the move which brought Wales the only goal of the match after 33 minutes. His pass found Coventry centre-forward George Lowrie with his back to goal but he flicked a through pass for Leeds right-winger Aubrey Powell to beat the advancing Bert.
Powell did not have any time to savour his winner after the match as he and Blues wing-half Billy Hughes were still serving soldiers and had to fly back to Germany next day.
Teams on Saturday, October 20, 1945:
England: Williams (Wolves); Scott (Arsenal), Kinsell (West Brom), Soo (Leicester), Franklin (Stoke), Mercer (Everton); Matthews (Stoke), Fenton (Middlesbrough), Stubbins (Newcastle), Barrass (Bolton), Watson (Huddersfield).
Wales: Sidlow (Wolves); Winter (Bolton), Hughes (Birmingham); Dearson (Birmingham), Davies (Nottingham Forest), Burgess (Tottenham); Powell (Leeds), Astbury (Chelsea), Lowrie (Coventry), Lucas (Swindon), Edwards (Birmingham).
In his Daily Mirror report, George Casey wrote: “An interesting study was afforded in the display of the goalkeepers. Williams occasionally gave the England supporters heart trouble. Sidlow,
on the other hand, was safe all the way round.”
So Cyril had the bragging rights over his neighbour and he would do so again two years later. Soon after the Hawthorns game he moved to Liverpool and was in the side who beat Wolves to the First Division title in 1947, famously winning 2-1 at Molineux in the final game of the season.
Others
There have been other instances of one club providing both goalkeepers in an international. Arsenal had Jack Mcclelland playing for Northern Ireland and Jack Kelsey for Wales when the Welshmen won 5-1 in Belfast in 1961. Tottenham had Pat Jennings in goal for Northern Ireland and Bill Brown for Scotland when the Irish won 3-2 in Belfast in 1965.