ALF YOUNG, the former Town centre-half, rejoined the Town coaching staff.

The appointment, which was hinted at in an edition of the Examiner, was confirmed at a meeting of the Town directors and was to be a full-time role.

Young, who until recently was coach with Esbjerg, the Danish First Division club, began his new duties with immediate affect.

It was Young's second coaching appointment with Town.

He held a similar capacity for several years after the war before resigning during Andrew Beattie's managership.

For a spell, he was manager of Bradford (Park Avenue) and later turned to Denmark, where he enjoyed a first-rate coaching reputation not only with Esbjerg, but with the Kege club, whom he helped win back promotion to the Danish First Division at their first attempt.

He now returned to his 'old love', the club who he played from January 1927 when he was signed from Durham City, to November 1945 when he joined York City.

He captained Town at Wembley in 1938 and as an ever-present first team centre-half before the war and proved himself a worthy successor to the great Tommy Wilson.

Later that week, Town's Ayresome 'jinx' continued - they had recorded only two wins in 15 visits since the war - but it was not for the want of solid endeavour and fighting spirit that the Leeds Road men did not end that sequence.

Town lost 2-1 in the Division II match but Boro were described as, 'a drab shadow of the promotion-fancied set', they were supposed to be in.

The feeling of most Ayresome supporters was that Town deserved at least a point but Boro's ace goal-grabber Brian Clough was in fine form.

Almost from kick-off to final whistle Clough was well and truly shackled by John Coddington so much so that he scarcely had a handful of shooting openings.

However, along he arrived, four minutes from time, to steer home an inch-perfect cross to win the game.

The turning point of the match was a dubious penalty on 65 minutes which was awarded against Town.

It took penalty king Bill Harris two attempts to beat the irrepressible Harry Fearnley.

The goalkeeper, accepting Bill McGarry's words of advice just beforehand, dived the right way and blocked Harris's first effort but the ball ran loose enabling the Boro wing-half to score from a follow-up.

Les Massie was the outstanding figure in Town's attack and it was his cross that Mick McNeil turned the ball into his own net for Town's shock ninth-minute opener.