Tacony FC

Two minutes later Beeton evened the score with a penalty conversion of his own for New Bedford. Meller gave the home side a 2-1 lead just before halftime and then struck against in the second half to give the home side a 3-1 cushion.

The ball stayed in possession of New Bedford for much of the game, and the New Bedford back line of McManus, Burnett and Littlejohn did a good job at keeping the Alpacas off the scoresheet aside from their lone penalty kick.

Hall and Leitsen also stood out for the Holyoke club according to newspaper reports.

The start of the game was delayed while referee A. Milne and the New Bedford management settled a dispute over the pay Milne was to receive for officiating the contest.

Over in Eastern Pennsylvania, Bethlehem FC completely outclassed the visitors from Disston AA by a score of 7-0. The Sawmakers from Philadelphia were no match for Bethlehem FC (who became Bethlehem Steel FC the following season) in front of their home fans. Bethlehem lost the coin toss and had to start play facing a strong wind, which helped keep the game close for the first fifteen minutes. After receiving a pass from Lance, Fleming was able to beat both Disston backs to score a splendid goal, leaving Disston goalkeeper Errickson with no chance.

From this point, Bethlehem displayed a fine combination passing game, at times bewildering the Disston players. Lewis scored the second goal by taking the ball at midfield and making a solo run through the Disston defense.

With the start of the second half, Bethlehem found themselves with the wind at their back and continued to outclass Disston. The goals came in rapid succession, as Fleming scored his second, Lewis added two more, along with Lance and Stewart to make the final score 7-0. It should be noted that Disston goalkeeper Errickson did a good job to keep the score from reaching double digits with some sensational saves.

There was a third game on the schedule, but it would ultimately not be played as Tacony FC forfeited their opening round match against Kensington Association FC.

Tacony had an American Cup match against the Trenton Hibernians scheduled for the same day, and the club felt the AFA match was more important. The American Cup was an elite-level regional tournament that dates back to 1885. Tacony seemed to value the American Cup a little more because the year before they reached the championship game, losing to the Paterson True Blues, 5-4. Tacony would end up defeating Trenton 3-1 and would eventually reach the Cup Final for the second year in a row where they would fall to Bethlehem Steel.

This represented the struggle that many teams had with playing multiple cup competitions, something that has not gone out of style a full century later. The Philadelphia Inquirer commented on the situation on Nov. 3, 1913, writing “There is something radically wrong in the arrangements when a team is scheduled to play two important cup games in one afternoon.”

1913/14 National Challenge Cup – First Round
Farr Alpaca 1:3 New Bedford FC
Nov. 1, 1913 – New Bedford, Mass.

Scoring Summary
Farr Alpaca: Burnett (PK)
New Bedford: Beeton (PK)
New Bedford: Mellor
New Bedford: Mellor

Lineups

New Bedford: Haworth, Bagley, Ralstrick, Preston, Murphy, Helden, Mellor, Klemm, Morgan, Beeton, McKenna

Farr Alpaca: McManus, Littlejohn, Burnett, McKinstrie, Turner, Gammie, Arnold, Lietzen, Chruikshanks, Hall, Dowdall

Referee – A. Milne | Linesmen – Southworth, Scott

Disston AA 0:7 Bethlehem FC
Nov. 1, 1913 – Bethlehem, Pa.

Scoring Summary

Bethlehem: Fleming (Lance)
Bethlehem: Lewis
Bethlehem: Fleming
Bethlehem: Lewis
Bethlehem: Lewis
Bethlehem: Lance
Bethlehem: Stewart

Lineups

Bethlehem FC: Love, McKelvey, Garvey, Stewart, Morris, Lawler, Fleming, Donaghy, Lance, Lewis, Galbraith

Disston AA: Errickson, Quinn, Dutcher, Henry, Stalger, Gibeson, Whittaker, Eastwood, Sheritt, Shive, Parks

Referee – Charles Mayne | Linesmen – Callum, Shackelton