THE GOALKEEPER'S JOB.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 162, 10 July 1923, Page 8

THE GOALKEEPER'S JOB.

For the Benefit of enthusiasts, and for young players especially, It i e proposed to give hints m this column each week regarding styles of play in each position, and pointing out common mistakes, which if avoided, should help to further improve'the improving (standard of play here To the players who think they know evervthlne to be known about the code, the writer feels ,ihey should be amongst the spectators The goalkeeper—the last line of defence And very often the recipient of all the blutne in the event of defeat. He should be of good height, but not lanky. A goalkeeperling t<. yet down to low shots as well as ud to high ones. lie should be able to "tID" the cj;nssbar with his lingers. The chief ussel of a good keeper is coolness. Any man can deal with long shots which enn be seen coming all the way for 2U or :>0 yards but it rakes a real goalkeeper to get to I bullet-like shots from short range Anticipation is another good asset, "if lie ran judge what a forward is going to do'with the ball before he does It. it enables him to move In the required direction. A gnat difficulty most goalies have la in getiing lid of the ball in fane of a rush „£ f.warda f a good kirk . :i:.lmt be (~.1 i,,. a ...... -1.0. punch is effective. First-time punches require a lot of practice. if t.'ie skua'ion requires it then it n-.ust be attempted i otb.-rwi.se it. Is preferable to -landlu 1 lie ball! It Is usually tue safer plan to punch out to the wings rather thau straight In front of the goal. it must be remembered also Lhat it Is often better to punen out Just a short distance to v back who happens to ue in a position to got in a good clearing kick, than to attempt some jiilghty clearance and send It straight to an opponent, in stopping low shots, get the hands well down and the legs close together behind Iliem. ll' the ball should slip through the hands, and tuis is by no meaus imp-quern it \. Ul slop at the feet. A good side-step enmes in handy. He should never take a charge if li can be avoided, lie suould uiu gel huMlt'.i iiur waste u.ue. Ji-iu., .i goulie has gone into the net, ball as well, "hen to leave the goal to meet the ball enn only be learnt, by experience. Itcuirniuer tue ball is coming to tne goalie, taeieloie, even If the rushing forward is nearer, mc keeper ought to get there lust. It tue forward is going to shoot, the nearer the goalie to the ball, and the further out of i in' goal, the less chance mere Is of a goal being scored. lie shouldn't leave his goal wui-n his fullbacks are in a position to attack the forward. The writer n-cails a tnlrd grade match on the Domain sunn; lew weeks ago. une team was doing most uf the attariUng, and its goulie was running about easily twenty yards from his gnni. It whs not long beiore a smart opponent put a long sh.,t over his hw.d. and It roiled through th<> open goal, tue weeper meanwhile standing twenty yards out. It -should have been a warning, but tbe next few mluuies saw him In amongst tbe fuilbacks. Like every other player tue n iuilli! s.iounl kec|i v.> ...i... ...,". keepers are born, not made. If a player makes a slip or mistake It can be retrieved probably, if a goalkeeper makes a mistake It's a "goal," and maybe a "loss." LEAGUE FOOTBALL. NOTES AND COMMENTS. The following table shows the position of the teams In the senior chauipiouship:— Toints Ch. P. W. L. D. For Agst. Pts. Athletics ..8 7 1 — J.T) 44 14 Miirlsts S 7 1 — 147 43 11 City 7 ." - — mi on m I'oneonhy .. C 3 i , — r.6 !«5 G Devonport .s .'! 5 — 70 10 0 Newton 7 2' 0 — C 4 101 4 Klchmoud . . S — 8 — f>4 176 0 • Denotes 1 mntih hy default. DEVONPORT V. CITY. Th" defeat of City by Devonport on Saturday was not generally anticipated, but those who saw the Shore team play Athletics on \he previous Saturday could not hut be impressed with the possibilities of Devonport, and the opinion was then expressed thut with anything like good conditions they might upset one of the leading teams. This was borne out in the City match. The Itevonport team was much stronger than in the previous match, for it included Laing. Their forwards were heavier than those of City, and from the commencement they kept the opposition busy. They seemed to have the better of and tcakled splendidly. In the first half City seemed to have their measure, for tlictr backs displayed much better combination and bandied the ball much more accurately; In th«; second spell, howeverj the Devonport team outplayed City, the latter falling to add to their score of 10 points, while fhore increased their total from 5 to 13. Altogether the Devonport team were the better on the day. aud City were beaten come time before the final whistle sounded. Tuylor, fullback for Devonport, played a very sound game, his defensive work helng particularly good, while he tackled well. Harper and Godcck were the best of the three-quarters. The former Iβ n grent grufter, and was always handy when required. Godick is an exceptionally fine nnck, and his handling left little to be desired. I{e peored a very tine try. Laing played his usual good game, while Garrett at half put in some very line work, giving his hacks every oppor- i tutilty. Of the forwards Douglas. John- | etone and O'Brien appeared to be the pick. Wethcrlll wag the most prominent o£ the City team, and played a brilliant game, frequently getting his side out of ditlieultles, while he was prominent in all the offensive movemente. <J. Davidson and B. j Davidson also showed to advantage wjjile ; Mitchell, at half, was also conspleuoee. He ! did not get the ball from the scrums as frequently as could be wished, but he made the best use of It when it did come bis way. All tbe forwards played well. Cargill, Townnend. Heid and Uawkes showing to most advautace. MARIST 0.8. V. NEWTON. It was expected by many that Newton would put up a good fight against Marist Old Boys last Saturday, and the result was not a disappointing one. In the first half r>ewtou were at considerable disadvantage against the sun, but nevertheless put up a good showing In a sustained gruelling contest at mldflcld. 1» tbe second half Marist were more frequeully on tlip Offensive, and ran up a tally of id points against their opponents. Newton were unable to cross Marists line to score, securing their four points from two penalties. of. ™i!V r i b " ( ' kß a " were consistently good. \iJL OUSU Brisbane, Gallagher, and MrNamara were frequently outstanding. Stor- «>? ' .u a ? " BUH, - Proved a tower of strength In the forward row. while Nelsou in? tnc fore ln feveral movements. Amongst the Newton combination hick % P a yed a reliable game nt fullI'niu, &ore " s on. centre-three quarters, and :,°'*°": half-back, played consistently well row f.-T the ™»teh. and in the fdrward row btack was the shining light. .ATHLETICS V. RICHMOND. Do'm'nfn 6 '" 1 "' , played on x a. 3 ground, at the ".nornr- , T -13 generally «p«t«l to be a the honex of t^ t , hl<,,lcs . and they justified not m q a l^ :s ,» po.r or .:uc s ,t tsiy.s tbe YlctSrv the same S alDCfl thonJ all the w/y At Mm vo ;' h nger t " am I" I '"'," 1 tftckllnc- ,„ ik-i ' ,lmf ' s ,be - v - av o points in In whU-h ,J helr "Pl'°nents and the manner Ktroncest «, y hrou ? at down Dufty, the very fln. t K PPOnentß, and he scored one stepping Klchm' le^ r mttlD S ln n°d sidedoubiedlv ti»ni Dd a bpst man was "- D----ran Into ? n, th * ""Ho fielded, McLean on tl, n, . and klck " d beautifully. work for ? h £. Rln X- al™ did some good Player in AthleH? and rPds - The Blar his first appearan Y as a boy WDO made backs, while S a " showed up in the most » and Mlller were the uuu s of the forwards. WEDNESDAY COMPETITIONS. K U Clark. PolklL ho "i' d «- hlsk er. Irvine, gour. Pengeliv v, , cp ' Fitzgerald. KilRerToß: ue " HOCKEY. C.mhtr C »°{»hl D fllturM advnnceJ a when the second r«un<i " rda - v afterm.on. once this season th^ was completed. For nilna. the surface \tZ v of i"c conltanoua Muently a ]ot r , £ , & oelng uneven, conscjXintT kr w « lt H Saf r « a f ln s - ki a r il , •',! v<7 and certainty D ." n r degree of acciiand the onsi derable intere-t I Komprvillc eeorVd ,i e closiE s itaeea when S'tartdJrV «"H» «f the ***c ejf tie wlanero

had slightly the best of the argument, apart from tne goal that won the contest. Tne match between University and Areta on the adjoining ground, gave promise of being a keen contest, but Areta went to pieces and the students won by five goals to three. Soinervllle now lead in the senior competition by three points. ST. LUKE'S V. SOMEBVILLE. The meeting of the old rivals, St. Luke's and Notnerville, (provided a great game, one of -bright—at times brilliant—individual efforts that brought rapidly fluctuating situations and .kept the spectators In a high teusiOD of excitement. The ground conditions (remarkably good after the treacherous weather of late) were certainly a big hanulcap. for the lumpy nature of the surface made the ball 'bump and not run true. This caused a lot of miscalculating in which St. Luko's suffered most. From the Initial tauliy Somerville had the measure of the ground and thc-lr hitting—of the sharp, crisp order — was a m-arked contrast to that of St. Luke's. The best team on fhe day won, >but with the splendid support given the vanguard by the rearguard they should have turned their chames to tetter account. The failure lay In the lack of concerted movements by the forwards." Kt. Luke's can ■attribute their failure to the half lino, aud why the Irio, but more •particularly the two wings, played so far back was not understandable. They not only considerably hampered their fullbacks, but gave the speedy opposition every assistance to get under way. The red'a forwards repeatedly maue film attacks, *>ut at (he critical movement, when only a temporary check should have resulted, "their half line failed to support them, through being so far away. Copper, for .SnmervlUe, kept the net in good style. Koberts gave a Sue exhibition of fullback play. ■Some of his checking and sto-pp.ng was very clever. J'aililon played his ganiiof the season, easily the best halfback display seen here for a long time. His claims must be weighed for the New Zealand team. Simpson was strong in defence, but his hitting, though sound, lacked direction. Cole showed a great tendency, especially in the early stages, to obstruction by sm-pherding a club male, otherwise his stopping and plariug of -ihe ball was good. Of the forwards, E. Wntls stood alone and was unfortunate In not having mure to his credit. Much of his field work was of a high order. ('. Walts got in a lot of useful effort, but why he suddenly and often sprawled out at full length on the field ami swung the sti'k at tbe ball Is hard to understand. It is not hockey and is very dangerous. 11. Watts was seen to greater advantage and with iSeccombe brought off much upon his pace for ■beating the opposition. Menzics made some really good saves as goalie fnr St. l.uke'e. Howe was the best, of the fullbacks. Mills was below form and like his partner was often In troub.e with the bumping ball. I'otter has half-line honours. His defence was sound.especially in the second spell. Steele had a (lay off and gave bis worst display. Repeatedly ttie ■ball beat him, and at no time was there any certainty In his hitting. McLeod. like Steele, was not at his Host and lacked posltiou. Garrard was the best of the forwards. He initiated many tine movements that de-servc-d a better fate. Walters gave a good display as left wing -but should avoid centreing so straight. Williams was Inclined to •crowd out In his wing, and, like Dickson. seeded afraid at times 10 do other than just pat the ball. Hookham has given ibeuer displays, still be was hardly catered for as he should have been. VARSITY V. ARETA. winning than in the earlier stages of the game, when they had a lead of two goals businesslike manner, and it appeared as if an easy vlctorv was at hand, but before the finish they had a sad tale to tell. It was to some extent their fault as they sacrificed the tactics that brought about their goal for individuality, and bad very little hope of improving the position under these conditions against a pair of seasoned backs of the calibre of Speight and Sloman. The tnonrot the Areta furwflrds started tlip solo business they came to grief. University notched five goals and three of them were ent work of the Areta halves. The students played better hockey than their opponents, and the forwards carried out more combined movement. After the chock of the Areta attack the backs showed better form, and set up a more solid defence. Speight attack, and his hitting was invariably good. Slomnn played his usual clever game. Ballantyne showed out prominently in The middle division, both his stopping and 'hitting being good. Hume, at centre-half. did good work. Hannan was In a scoring humour, and also was active in the flelu. tot bprlngham mad* l some pco<i openinps, and Clayton shaped well. The best man in the Areta back division wan Ellison, and ■be played an excellent game. George has done nothing better this season. The halves were very mediocre. Carter, on the right, was the pick of the forwards but was Inclined to be selfish. J. Carter worked hard. Sweeney spoilt Ilia game by too much tapping. JUNIOR REPRESENTATIVES. Arrangements have now been made with the Canterbury Association regarding the challenge of the Auckland Association for the junior cap. The match will be played at Christchnreh on the 21st inst., the team leaving Auckland by the Main Trunk on Wednesday, nyt week. The following land:—Goal. Knnkin (North Shore): fullbarks, Dutton (Mt. Eden), Till (Mt. Eden) ; I half-backs, Davis (St. Alban's), Rogers (Somwvillc), Xewshiim (Somerviile) ; torwards, C'atley (Training College), Fauthorpe (University), (iiles (Mt. Eden) Sparkes (.North Shore). Hunt (Mt. Eden); extra back, Ashley (St. Alban's) ; extra forward. Burton (Mt. Eden). Any player unable to make the trip Is requested to notify the selector. Air. L 0 Kent, Immediately. A nmetins of the Junior cup committee will be held in the office of Mr. L. C. Kent on Friday ovening, and collection enrds. etc., must be liaudcd in on or before this date. POWER BOARD. FORTNIGHTLY MEETING. The Auckland Electric Tower Hoard met yesterday afternoon. i'ri-geilt: Messrs S J. llarbutt llu tlit- chain. M. .T ISennett' S. I. Crooks. 11. (ioldie. L. .Toll. .1. Dempsey. R. Clark, E. 11, I'ottcr. T. Hloodworth. The? manager and engineer. Mr A Wyllie. reported that on June IS the current transformer burnt out on the hielitension switchboard, leaked to earth and tripped the alternator at tbe time on the Kingslaud supply. The transformer was removed aud tbe supply restored in about 14 minutes. The switchboard has been carefully gone over to remove any possible source of trouble in the future. Ihe report was adopted. It was decided to raise the status of Mr. Edwards, in charge of the reticulation work, to that of reticulation engineer, and increase bis salary to £000 per annum.