Darwen v Southport Reserves Lancashire Combination Cup Final 1931

Darwen opened their defence of the Combination Cup in the 1930/31 season with a 5-1 win over Great Harwood in which Joe Smith scored 3 goals.
In the next round they faced Clitheroe in a match that they won 4-2 after being 1-2 down at half-time, Fred Dawson scored the equaliser and the all-important third goal.
The semi-final against Chorley was a hard fought affair and Darwen lost Paddy Quigley after just 10 minutes through injury and were reduced to only four forwards for the rest of the match, Chorley were leading 1-0 at half-time and in the second half Joe Smith showing some of the great "Bolton fighting spirit of the 20's" scoring a last minute equaliser to earn Darwen a replay.
A 5,000 crowd was present for the replay at Chorleys "Victory park" on the 20th April, this time a fully fit Darwen side made light work of the opposition winning 3-1 with goals from Joe Smith ( 2 ) and Robinson.
The final was played on the 28th April and the Salmoners faced Southport Reserves at the Haigh park before a 3,500 crowd, Joe Smith scored two first half goals and Shaw added two more in the second to give the Salmoners a well diserved win 4-0.

Final score : Darwen 4 Southport Reserves 0