SOCCER

BY ' VANOUAmi"

ONCE AGAIN

MARIST WIN CHALLENGE CUP

THIRD TIME IN SUCCESSION.

■ Congratulations to Marist! For the third time in succession the club has placed the Challenge (formerly Charity) Cup to its credit. The Cup final is regarded as one of the most import- f ant club evonts of the year, and for that reason, considerable interest was shown in the meeting of Institute and Marist at the Basin Reserve last Saturday. In reaching the final, both teams had to account for some very stiff opposition. Marist made their first step towards the final by accounting for Hospital, this year's championship leaders, but even with that hurdle surmounted they were not allowed to take an easy path. Unexpected opposition came from Waterside, who on last Saturday week came very near to robbing Marist of a place in the final. Marist won by the odd goal in five in a struggle that will go down as one of the grimmest of the season. It was regrettable that the winning goal led to a demonstration on the field, and probably Marist regretted as much as Waterside that there was the slightest doubt about the goal. However, the referee's decision was given—and rightly so, the writer thinks—in favour of Marist, and the wearers of the green and white jerseys were permitted to once again take a part in the Cup final. Institute thoroughly deserved the ' successes which placed them in the final. When they were drawn to meet Thistle it was generally thought that the Scotsmen would secure the verdict, but the boot was very much on the otEer foot and Institute gained an easy victory by three goals .to nil. Iv the final, which took place last Saturday, Marist were the favourites, although it was recognised that they would not have it all their own way. As it happened, however, Marist won easily enough by five goals to one, and thus placed another Cup final victory to their credit. The Charity Cup competition was inaugurated in 1899. Following is a list of winners of the trophy since that year:— 1899—Diamond. 1913—Hospital. 1900—Diamond. 1914—Hospital.' 1901—Diamond. 1915—Thistle. 1902—Diamond. 1916—Not played. 1003—St. John's. 1917—Not played. 1901—St. John's. 1918—V.M.C.A. 1905—Diamond. 1919—V.M.C.A. 1906—Diamond. 1920—V.M.C.A. 1907—Rovers. 1921—Thistle. 1908—Diamond. 1922—Watersldcrs. . 1909—Swifts. 1923—Hospital. • 1910—Swifts. 1924—Marist. 1911—Swifts. 1925—Marist. 1912—Hospital. 1920—Marist. A Drawn Game. V.M.C.A. and Waterside drew at the Ba3iu Reserve when playing on No. 2 ground on Saturday. Young Men, at this stage of the competition, do not appear to be taking their matches very seriously, and the team they fielded on Saturday was much below strength. Ewing was in his accustomed place in goal, but the backs were different. M'Girr and Ballard filled these positions, and consequently the halves and forwards were rearranged. Trott, Pearson, and Ives made up the half-back line, and Worth, Dempster, Wilkins, Cohen, and Stark completed the team in the forwards. Ewing played a good game, and as custodian of the net was mainly responsible for keeping Waterside from scoring. There is no doubt that M'Girr and Ballard did_ not make a happy pair of fullbacks. M'Girr was noticeably off his game, and on several occasions let his side down badly. Ballard worked well, but ho was obviously missed in the front rank, which was poor without him. Trott, Pearson, and Ives made only an average half line. Trott did a great deal of erratic kicking, but other than that he was not much in the picture. Dempster and Stark were by far the best of the forwards. - Stark, however, did not receive much support from the inside man, Cohen, and he had to battle mainly alone. Dempster, in the inside left position, was always prominent, and occasionally he and Worth, the outside man, worked in harmony. The team, however, sadly missed its absentees, and the draw was not a great surprise. On the other side, Cos played soundly in goal, and must be given credit for a fine display. He had a great deal of work to do on Saturday, more so than Ewing, but he came out of it with colours flying. Bolton and Urwin were the backs; M'Lellan, Haines, and Irvine the halves; and Garrard, Wellwood, M'Kay, Gilbertson, and Thorn the forwards. Most of the strength of Waterside came from the forwards, of whom Gilbertson was the best. He played a battling game throughout, and was unlucky when one of his' long shots at goal hit the cross-bar. Ewing was safe, though, and saved his side.

Young Men had the upper hand most of the game, but could not score. Their attack was very weak, and it wag mainly owing to that that they failed to register any points. There were occasions when glorious opportunities presented themselves, but they were thrown away. Had they had a strong forward line they must have ultimately scored. Practically all the second spell was a defensive game for Waterside, as Young Men kept them buay all, the time. Lack of sting in the attacks, combined with erratic shooting, prevented Young Men from scoring, and they had to be satisfied by leaving honours even. However, little importance attaches to the competition now with the substantial position Hospital have established, and an extra point or two can make little difference to V.M.C.A. Marist, Winners of Challenge Cup. It is a mighty dangerous thing to forecast definitely the result of any match, but it would have been fairly safe to have written before last Saturday that Marist would win the Challenge Cup this year. If the forecast had gono further and scores had boon mentioned a mistake would probably have been made, for Institute might well have been expected to do something better than their single goal against Marist's five. In flashes Institute's halves and right-wing men played very nice football, with excellent placing of the ball and good passing work, but Dawe was unablo to clinch tho advantage given by such neat work and, time after time, thoso right-wing movements by Institute wore wholly discounted by Burke, in Marist's half-line. Consistent Good Form. During the last month or six weeks Burke has been playing his best football, and must surely have gained a permanent place in the eyes of the selectors. Ho is a light-weight and necessarily plays light-weight football, but any forward who can claim to have had 100 per cent, of successes in passing Burke with tho ball can likewise

claim to be a very fino forward—in fact Wellington's finest forward. His success in this very important department of half-line play is largely due to his anticipation of what the man with the ball will attempt to do with it. He was easily the most noticeable half on the ground, but his play was not of the gallery order. Thomas, at centre-half, also played very useful football. Wellington's centre play r right through the clubs, is on the weak side, and Thomas is one of the few centre-halves who is able to force a way through when opportunities on cither wing appear to bo lacking. A New Centre-Forward. Marist tried a new centre-forward, A. Rudolph, and were not disappointed in his work; for he netted two of Marist's goals by snapping up opportunities which presented themselves after fast play by wing and insido men. Even so, he is not the ideal centre-forward by a good way. There is not one in. Wellington, and the club which finds a good centre to start away next season is going to shake things up properly. Hospital maintain that they have that man in Newman, ?nd though the selectors do not agree with them a great many spectators do. Newman certainly does get goals, as an opportunist. The first goal scored by Marist was a trifle on the doubtful side, for it appeared to many on the bank that the ball was well over the line before it was banged into the net by Barton. Whether Tarrant thought so or not, the fact is that he seemed casual about Barton's shot, seemingly expecting a whistle. And the whistle did blow— for a goal, not for a goal-kick. Only One Goal Institute, having made things lively at times for Marist's defence during the first spell, with a heavy wind dead against them, might have been expected to do something better still in the second spell, but it was not so. Their luck was out in that the wind, after pestering them during the first fortyfive minutes, dropped to a mere breeze about a quarter of an hour after the commencement of the second spell. Thi3 is a very frequent occurrence on Wellington's Saturday afternoons, and has been responsible for upsetting quite a few quick calculations prior to the toss. Institute were not so insistent in. the second as they-1 had been in the first, but by no means got their tails down, and well on in the game had the satisfaction of at least opening a score, Dawe finalising from a lead given by Jeffery. Tarrant, as usual, played a fine game between the posts, but latterly his form has not been as brilliant as it was, say, prior to the Auckland visit, about which time he had a bad run with illness. The Chatham Cup. A further stage in the Chatham Cup was reached when Hospital met and defeated Athletic at Palmerston North last Saturday. The ground was in a very bad state owing to the recent heavy rains, and large pools of water covered a great deal of the playing area. It was found impossible to mark the ground in the ordinary way, but a very fair attempt at defining the lines was made with a liberal supply of sawdust. The home club could not help the state of the ground, and did all that was possible in that direction. But there were other matters in which they and the New Zealand Association showed a lack of interest, or muddlement, that was not flattering to the visiting team. On arrival, Hospital naturally inquired as to who was the referee for the match. The local officials did not know, and said they had received nq advice from the N.Z.F.A., and there was no referee appointed. Linesmen, of course, were quite out of the question. The Rev. Mr. Duncombe volunteored to take the game, and controlled it in a very satisfactory manner. This surely is not the way to foster and encourage interest in the cup. The game was timed to start sharp at 2.30 p.m., so as to enable the visiting team to catch their return train. Hospital took the field punctually to time, but found they were on their own, and that the goal-posts and nets at one end had not been erected. These were eventually placed in position, and twenty minutes later Athletic came on the field and a start with the picked teams of Wellington and Manawatu was made shortly afterwards.. : The Hospital team werp well treated socially in the limited time available, and particularly wish to thank Mr. Simonds for his courtesy and attention. The V.M.C.A. placed tfioir fine rooms at the disposal of the team, and the dressing accommodation and baths were greatly appreciated. Interesting Flay. The game itself was a much better one than the state of the ground and the score indicated. Hospital were at full strength, except for the absence of Porteous, whose place was filled by Tyson. The team played well, and gave a g-id exhibition of the code under try; ing conditions, and proved themselves much superior generally to the home team. Gibb and Thompson had plenty to do to stop the break-away rushes of Athletic, and rarely miss-kicked the wet and heavy ball. Simon, . M'Kee, and Brown, in the halves, kept the forwards up to the mark and proved a very effective check on the opposing five. The forwards all played well, and at times indulged in some pretty passing. Newman maintained his reputation as a scorer by obtaining three goals, but did little kicking with his right leg, which is still giving him trouble. Ferguson (2), White, and Anderson also helped the score, and the last-named also netted a couple which were ruled off-side. Tyson shaped well in goal, and had little chance with the two against him.

Whitehouse was the outstanding forward in the home team, and obtained both of the goals for his side. Whitehouse is an old Porirua boy, and at one time played for Hospital. M'Leod and Eainford, on the right wing, were very good, and had a good understanding. Aird, on the other wing, was fasti an<* made many fine runs.

The halves did not support their front line enough, and generally played too far back. Askram an<l Travers were kept busy at back, and got through a great deal of work. Askram in particular kicked well and saved the situation on many occasions. Travers.is too much inclined to play th' man, and should pay more attention to the ball. He is too good a young player to adopt tactics that will only bring him under the censure of the referee. M'lnley, in goal, despite seven against him, did splendidly, and his clever work considerably helped to keep the tally down. Hospital Has a Grouch. '' Porirua " writes:—" The, rules 're financing the teams which travel in the Chatham Cup badly need revising. The fact that Hospital have to go to Palmerston North to meet a club team there at the former's expense is most unfair to that club. The ''gato" is not worth consideration, especially as Hawkes Bay are meeting Manawatu in the same town on the same day. The cup is, of course, open to all clubs in Now Zealand, and. I would not be ono to deprive a country club of the opportunity, however remote, of winning it. But is it fair to ask a city

club to help propagate the gaino and practically do missionary work at their own expense? When V.M.C.A. went to Nelson.it cost each of the players a fair sum for boat fares, etc.) to play practically a junior team. The result of the game was a foregone conclusion unless a miracle happened.. The same thing applies to Hospital this year. "I contend that if these country teams enter for the cup, and they should do, they should meet, at least, the travelling expenses of the city team compelled to meet them. The idea behind' a country club entering is not the winning of the cup,' but the prospect of receiving a visit from a good town team. They know they have practically no chance of landing the trophy, but they have the certainty of a visit from a good outside eleven. Their desiro for a match and.laudible wish to promote the game in their town or district should not be at the expense of a city team. "I know that the expenses of the Hospital Club in visiting Palmerston North- and Auckland will bo at least £100. It is here again that the present rules operate unfairly against competing clubs. In district matches and semi-finals and finals the clubs concerned only receive 5 per cent, of the proceeds, after the usual expenses have been paid. The New Zealand Football Association takes 50 per cent., and each affiliated controlling association takes 20 per cent. One might understand the New Zealand Football Association taking 50 per cent., but on what ground is the Wellington Football Association entitled to 20 per cent, of Hospital's games with iPalmerston North and again Auckland, if they win? ''Once the winner of the local competition is determined, the Wellington Football Association have absolutely finished with the cup, and officially take no further interest in it. So why 20 per cent, of games they have nothing to do with and do not control in any way! This letter may seem a long grouch, but the facts are correct, and I am sure that all players are in agreement." Auckland Win Again. Auckland's claim on the English Football Association's trophy was strengthened last Saturday, when the Northerners easily accounted for: Canterbury by nine goals to two. Judging by reports, Canterbury's form was far below that of Auckland, especially in regard to team play. When in Wellington, Auckland gave a display of what team work should be, and, with practically the same team in the field, they apparently reproduced that form and completely overwhelmed their opponents, particularly in the second spell. M'Dougall, the Canterbury goal-keeper, was a bright spot in the visiting team, and despite the big tally registered against him he emerged from the contest with credit. D. Jones, who captained the Auckland team against Wellington earlier in the season, was unable to turn out on account of an obstinate injury received in the Wellington match, and the duties of captain fell on the shoulders of Kissock. Wellington visitors to Auckland at the time of the match speak very highly of Kissock, who, besides leading his side with ability, played a great individual game. Commenting on the game, an Auckland paper states:— "Auckland's Assocation football representatives gained a decisive win in their second match of the English trophy series on Saturday, when they defeated Canterbury at Blandford Park by nine goals to two. Weather conditions were most unfavourable, parts of the ground being ankle-deep in mud, while heavy showers fell at intervals. For such a day the attendance of spectators was surprisingly good. Under the circumstances, the standard of football achieved was remarkably high, the Aucklanders in particular giving an exceptionally fine display. There was not a weak link in the local* side, every member of. which excelled himself, playing for his team with perfect understanding. Canterbury put up a plucky' fight, but never really looked like winning. As a team they were not in the same class as their opponents, and their play lacked the decisive action which can come only from preconceived plans of attack. Several of the Canterbury men, however, did well by individual effort."

To-day Canterbury are meeting Wellington on the Basin Reserve, and although the result will not affect the competition for the. trophy to any appreciable extent, much interest is being shown in the fixture, as a healthy spirit of rivalry has always existed between Wellington and Canterbury. Generally, the Wellington selectors have done their work well, and a strong eleven has .been chosen to represent the province. Followers of the game will welcome the return of Barton to the representative team, as Wellington's weakness this season has been on the right wing. It is difficult to understand why M'Elligott has been asked to stand' down in order to provide Anderson with a place, but apart from that, little fault can be found with the team. The present position of teams in the competition is as follows:—

Hearty Footwork. The winds of Wellington are proverbial, but Jerry Dawson, Burnley's famous international goal-keeper, tells of a breeze at Home that puts our gentle zephyrs to shame. '' Once, at Bradford Park avenue," he says, "the wind was so strong that one could, hardly stand. Some idea of its velocity will be gathered from the fact that one of tur defenders cleared in the penalty area, and to my utter amazement, and before I could realise what had happened, the ball was blown back into the net. Of course, a goal was counted against us. Whilst we were kicking against the wind I took three goalkicks, and in each instance the ball was blown back over the goal-line for a corner-kick. Then, in contrast, when wo were kicking the other way, I kicked another goal-kick, and the goal-keep-er at the other end, who was a new lad and did not fully know the rules, dived full-longth to keep the ball from entering the net. Of course, he had no'need to do this, as a goal cannot be scored direct from a goal-kick.

"This phenomenal kicking reminds me of an argument I heard as to who is the strongest kicking goal-keeper playing to-day. The palm seems to rest between Howard Baker (of Chelsea) and J. P. Mitcholl (of Manchester City). The latter has taken a goalkick which has landed in the other penalty area. To my mind, one of the strongest kickers was Pearson, who played for West Biromwich Albion. I have seen him land a ball well ovorthe half-way line with the wind dead against him, and when aided by the wind—and not a tornado such as I have described—the ball has bounced over our goal.

"In this respect I think the greatest kicker of all, although I never saw him, and have only heard of his repute, was 'Baby' Poulke. Ho is said many times to have taken a goal-kick, and the ball has travelled over his opponents', goal-lino without once touching the ground."

The Hakoah Soccer team, of Vienna, is on tour in America. This is the first time that any European side has gone so far afield.

jr. ,n. v. v. r. a. I'M. Auckland 2 20 0 13 2 4 Otago 110 0 4 3 2 Wellington ........ 2 0 2 0 3 8 0 Canterbury 1 0 1 o 2 9 0 Third Division Championship. The following tibl« shows the position of the teims In the Third A Dlrisloa on the completion of the two rounds:— . Ch. P. W. L. D. Pts. Waterside 11 7 1 3 17 Brooklyn 11 g 2 3 15 Marist 11 6 3 2 14 Pet on o 11 t 5 0 12, Seatoun 11 1 6 1 g Hutt ...y 11 2, 8 1 5