King's Lynn 1 Norwich City 1
2nd May 1957
Lynn were worthy equals to a full-strength Norwich first team on The Walks on Thursday. The result was a fair reflection on the run of the play.
Of the two forward lines, Norwich's was by far the more impressive. Their inside men foraged endless for the ball and were willing to shoot at every opportunity, usually on target. Contrasting with this, the Lynn line lacked any punch and all five seemed to do a lot of running around all over the field with no positive results.
Undoubtedly, the man of the match was 'keeper Manning. Throughout he played brilliantly, but there was one big blot on a sparkling display - the goal. Centre forward Hunt might have been offside but he headed the ball by Manning who made no effort whatever to save. He either thought it was going out or knew he could not reach it. The ball hit the inside of the upright and bounced in the net.
Lee found himself at left back and he acquitted himself very well in his new position - far better than in any of his recent displays. He showed some speed, thought and tricks and gave Gavin no scope at all. I think he quite enjoyed his strange role too.
In defence F Todd worked hard and Heagren confidently prodded the forward line. The less said about Lynn's attack the better. Only Downie showed any positive action and he ha three good shots at goal.
After an inauspicious, slow start, Heagren went through and had a shot swiftly followed by one from Downie which skimmed the bar.
Lynn were having slightly the better of the exchanges but Lynn had a let-off when McCrahan raced through and fired from 30 yards out, a shot which beat Manning but hit the goal-post.
Indifferent mid-field play with an occasional breakthrough petering out in the penalty area was the rule until the 32nd minute. Then Edwards, on the left wing, ran on to a Downie pass. He quickly centred and MORRIS running towards an empty net gave Lynn the lead.
It was nearly 2-0 the next minute when a back just his foot to a Dryburgh drive in front of goal.
Then came Norwich's goal in the 38th minute. HUNT appeared out of the blue with the ball and only Manning to beat, which he did.
The second half looked like being a repetition - nothing really exciting, a lot of wild kicking and a general air of casualness from both teams but it brightened up somewhat due mainly to Norwich's inside men working the ball well and shooting at every opportunity. Manning was unbeatable this half.
Edwards had the miss of the match and then McCrahan again ht the woodwork with a pile-driver.
Manning was busy and after he blocked a shot Todd had to clear off the goal line.
Little or nothing was seen of Lynn's attack this half, for most of them were falling back helping an overworked defence.
It was decided that each club will hold the trophy for six months. Lord Wise presented the winners' miniatures to Norwich and the Lynn team will receive duplicates.
Lynn: Manning: Lee, Neal, Heagren, P Todd, Bunn, Morris, Downie, Edwards, Vickers, Dryburgh.
Norwich: Oxford: Thurlow, Ashman, McCrahan, Billington, Chung, Gavin, Gordon, Hunt, Brennan, Heffer.
Attendance: 3,081.