WesWorld

The Seven Seas
The Journal of the K.D.M. Naval Academy.

The following article is re-printed with the kind permission of the editor of B.T.

Berlingske Tidende
30th September 1922

Cadets come through in the end!!

After playing 3 hard fought games of football in 8 days, you would expect
any team to be tired and not up for much. Not so the brave lads of the Naval Academy!
As you will know from my reports on the previous games, things didn’t go too well for the lads from the Naval Academy in their first 3 games. After an opening game against the Iberian cadets, which ended in a 2 – 2 draw, their next 2 games did not go entirely their way. They played a magnificent game against the German team, holding the stronger team for 89 minutes, only to see what would have been a well deserved draw snatched from them in the last minute by a long looping ball from the German captain, Schleiss, that just dipped under the bar as our keeper, Bing, who was momentarily caught off his line.
The next game, against the Italians, must have been hard to muster their courage for, after the Italians handed the Germans a lesson in football in the first half of their game, being 3 – 0 at half time. The German coach must have used a bull whip on the team at half time because after the break they came out as if possessed! In a display worthy of the greatest teams that ever played they clawed away at the Italian lead, and pulled off a draw in a match that had to be seen to be believed.
Somehow the Danes managed it, and held the Italians to a 0 – 0 result. This left the competition is the following order….

Country Played Won Draw Lost + - points
Germany 4 1 2 1 6 6 5
Italia 3 1 2 0 5 4 5
Iberia 3 1 1 1 5 5 4
Gr. Britain 3 1 1 1 4 4 4
Denmark 3 0 2 1 2 3 2

With 2 games left to play, Iberia V Italia & Denmark V Great Britain, the only thing that could be safely said was that Germany and Denmark would not be going home with any silverware.
In a thrilling game of classic football, the Iberian team managed to hold against unrelenting Italian pressure, biding their time and when the moment presented itself,
pounced upon possibly the only error of the Italian defence during the whole competition, to score the winning goal in the 79th minute, holding onto this slim lead until the final whistle.
That left the Iberians in the top spot, but with the British still to play against the home side, and they must have really fancied their chances against the bottom team.

Country Played Won Draw Lost + - points
Iberia 4 2 1 1 6 5 7
Germany 4 1 2 1 6 6 5
Italia 4 1 2 1 5 5 5
Gr. Britain 3 1 1 1 4 4 4
Denmark 3 0 2 1 2 3 2

The final game of the tournament was moved to from the Academy sports grounds to
The National Stadium, due to the level of public interest in the tournament.
The weather on the day was near perfect for the beautiful game. A light rain had fallen overnight, and the day was cool and slightly overcast but dry.
The 2 teams took to the pitch just before 3.00 pm, to a packed stadium, a fair proportion of that crowd being in uniform. One wit commented that “If anyone attacks us now, we won’t stand a chance!”
The game was played at a frenetic pace, with the British team going all out for a win.
A victory by 3 goals would see them going home with the trophy.
However, no-one told the Danish lads that they didn’t stand a chance. Maybe it was the presence of His Majesty, King Christian X; or maybe it was the venue or the crowd; or maybe it was just sheer stubbornness, but our boys gave every bit as good as they got. The first half was a battle royale, with neither team giving nor expecting quarter. The British centre forward, Williams, came close to beating Bing, but in a feat of acrobatics worthy of an Olympian, got the tips of his fingers to the ball to guide it over the bar. Then on the stroke of half time, our right forward, Schmidt, was hacked down in the British box by their centre back, Mc Kenzie, as he closed on the goal.
Mc Kenzie was yellow carded, and Eriksson, the Danish captain, stepped up to take the penalty. The crowd held it’s breath as Eriksson eyed up the British keeper, Potter.
He turned his back and strode out 4 paces, turned and launched himself at the ball.
He connected with great power, and drove the ball into the top right corner of the goal. The crowd took a second to register what had happened, and then the whole stadium erupted, even the King was on his feet!! The referee’s whistle was barely heard as he blew time on the first half.

The second half started as the first had finished. With a show of utter cheek for their
Opponents, the Danish team burst away from the kick-off, and before the British had time to settle, their keeper Potter, was keeping them in the game with a truly excellent save, pushing the ball past his left post. The ferocity of the Danish attack had caught the British team flat-footed, and they were still reeling when they had a corner kick to defend against. Our right winger, Frederiksen, took the kick, sending the ball looping into the British box, where that man Eriksson was waiting to pounce. He flicked the ball down to the feet of the striker, Brandes, who lived up to his title and struck!
The back of the British net bulged, 2 – 0 to Denmark. The crowd went wild, this was beyond their greatest expectations, the Danish team were defying the odds.
The rest of the match was a battle of attrition, the Danish team holding out against repeated assaults from the British forwards and centres. Time ticked by, and it seemed to this reporter that the referee would never blow his whistle. Then finally it happened, that shrill sharp sound that often brings tears to the eyes of grown men for the wrong reasons, today brought great joy to the assembled masses. From the reaction of the crowd, you would swear that the Danish boys had won the tournament, as opposed to finishing in second place.

Country Played Won Draw Lost + - points
Iberia 4 2 1 1 6 5 7
Denmark 4 1 2 1 4 3 5
Germany 4 1 2 1 6 6 5
Italia 4 1 2 1 5 5 5
Gr. Britain 4 1 1 2 4 6 4

The tournament was roundly praised by all who took part in it, and the Iberian Academy’s commanding officer, Rear Admiral Pablo De La Fuente Sanchez, offered to host the second tournament in Iberia next year. What started as a friendly ivitational tournament may be growing into what could be a great amateur football contest.

All the results-
15th September-
Denmark 2 – 2 Iberia
Germany 3 – 3 Italia
18th September-
Great Britain 2 – 1 Iberia
Germany 1 – 0 Denmark
21st September-
Denmark 0 – 0 Italia
Great Britain 1 – 1 Germany
25th September-
Italia 2 – 1 Great Britain
Iberia 2 – 1 Germany
28th September-
Iberia 1 - 0 Italia
30th September-
Denmark 2 - 0 Great Britain

nice!!! I love football and reading match reports is something I always like.


however, you should take note...the 3-point per victory rule was introduced only a few years ago. It should be 2 points per victory, 1 per draw, 0 per loss.

I know it's nitpicking, but...

Quoted

They played a magnificent game against the German team, holding the stronger team for 89 minutes, only to see what would have been a well deserved draw snatched from them in the last minute by a long looping ball from the German captain, Schleiss

Yes, Schleiss is showing potential as a battleship gunnery officer.

Nice article. Would've been nicer with a German win over Great Britain, but there's always the next tourney...

J

Quoted

Originally posted by RAM
however, you should take note...the 3-point per victory rule was introduced only a few years ago. It should be 2 points per victory, 1 per draw, 0 per loss.

I know it's nitpicking, but...

Yeah, thought of that after the fact, will remember it next time!

As for the germany V great britain result, it just seemed right to me!!

And my lads won! Free drinks all around, and Iberia invites everybody to next year's tournament!

Germany will be there, as Schleiss and company must avenge their loss to the Iberians!

J

Quoted

however, you should take note...the 3-point per victory rule was introduced only a few years ago. It should be 2 points per victory, 1 per draw, 0 per loss.

I know it's nitpicking, but...

that is a rather big nit! *g*

Bernhard