ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 224, 22 September 1925, Page 13

ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL

LEAGUE COMPETITION CLOSING. CLOSE FINISH BETWEEN THISTLE AND SHORE.

Quite a number of junior grade players had their chance in senior ranks last Saturday, and more than one did uuuselt credit. ihe transference 01 the Shore-Northeote match from Uuuidiord Pa.ru lo Devonport lust ween came us a surprise to most people, it »aa stuu-d chat the I'arK was hut playable—on Friday morning—aud local loitowers who saw the .\urtu Auckland match, the Brown Shield game aud almost all the ULlier ciul) games tins season piccuied an indescribable couditiou or Che ground. At least in comparison, to have beeu unplayable, there suouid have been about nine inches oi water oil the ground. But there was not. Several people who, out ot curiosity, ran over to see tne piaee were more than surprised mat the uxture was postponed iv view oi the past experience una the heart-rending accounts of Uie Associations impecunious position, ll is d.mcuit to lathom the reasoning that icd to the decision to change Uie venue and oacriiice at least a ±: 2u note. There is dounuess some excuse, whatever it be It .s omy rigiit that toiiowers of the game shotiid be made aware of the influences which brought about the change, aud it is up to those responsible to mane the posiuon clear at to-highi s meeting. The League Race. Though the finishing post is within reach, die uuui spurt prouus.es to be tun ot excitement. North bhore are iv a strougn entrenched position, witli a o-poiut ieau "iroiu Ihisue, who have piuyed two matcues less. ihe deciding match so tar as the competition is concerned may be that ou baturday between North Shore and Tramways, bhouid the corporation s.de tail to stop the victorious career ot the men trow the northern borough, the competition win be concluded, for .Shore will theu be in a position impossible to overhaul, on the other hand. Tramways may succeed where most other ciubs have, tailed. Ihe team can tight a tough uphill battle and a draw is quite on the cards. In this eveut, attention will be rivetted on Thistle. They still have Ponsonby, Hellaby's and iNorthcote to mcct —a very formidable programme, i'et, U Shore draw on .Saturday, Thistle would require to come through that ordeal without the loss ol a single point to be on level terms with Shore. So that there are at present quite a variety of possibilities. It is yet poss.ble. tor instance, tor shore to finish the season second to Thistle, but it must be admitted that the probability is perhaps remote. . , The league competition this season In some respects has not been the success it might. The standard of play has undoubtedly lalleu off somewhat, and in several teams an intusion of young blood would be benehcial. Then the association commenced the season with a very lop-sided organisation in nine teams; the competition limped aiong— at no time did it run smoothly till the clubs were reduced to eight. Then it was too late, and the fixtures too involved to straighten easily. There has been, however,- less of the runaway victory matches this season than in some years. Most of the tall scoring was at the beginning of the season. The record score was that in the lirst match, when Ponsonby pulled themselves together against Northcote and won 7—5 in the finish. In several games there were teu goals scored, but the scoring on the whole has not been outstanding. There have been many missed chances, mostly due to circumstances over which the players had no control, but there has been a leauuess apparent all season of effective finishing. Snooting is neglected in practice, while such things as corners, throws-in, aud penalties, which mean so much, have beeu almost neglected if the play is any criterion. J SATURDAY'S GAMES. The meeting of Shore and Northcote, in the first spell, provided a fast, keenlveontested game. In the second spoil it was a debacle. The 'Cote from the commencement had more than their share of the play, and it looked at one stage as thougn the competition leaders would be fortuiiate to sidestep defeat. Quite a number of the supporters of at least one city club, who were present in full force, must have enJoyed the game at this stage. But Northcote are making a reputation as a first hall eleven .&■ la the Navy game. The team as a whole gave a nicely-balauced display, botn defence and forwards combining well. Tneir one goal lead at the interval was not an exaggeration of the ruu of the play.

There was no denying snore, However, once they got going after the interval. Who ever had "dressed down" the team certainly must have been influential. Within two or three minutes of the kick-ott Chesney found it impossible to get hold ot a shot from Dacre which cannoned off the upright. That was the start of the rout, and Nortbeote's defence was badly bustlea for the remainder of the game. Thompson was out of the defence and was miased. Bell was tried at centre-half but took too much out of himself, though he broke up many dangerous raids and stuck to a hard task with grim determination. Chesney suffered from a wavering defence, and was let down badly on several occasions in the second spell. Hiobert stuck to his jod tenaciously, but was careless when things went wrong, and should not have committed so many infringements close in. Blackledge was not so successful as in former games. Roberts, who played at letthalf, was obviously out of position. Calderwood played well in the first spell. The forwards gave the Shore rear division a deal of hard work to hegiu with, but were mure or less disorganised after the change ot ends owing to the inside men falling back to assist the "defence. The wingers could have been put to better use by being given more of the ball, but W. Knott, L. Knott, and Tremain were always honest workers and triers all.

Shore took a long time to settle down, but when once they found the way to goal they trod the path with easy frequency. Lipscombe had comparatively little to do. Corbett and Gerrard met all opposition calmly, and did all that was asked of them without a great deal of trouble. The halfback line was Inclined to get out of position, and it was well for them at times that a pair of reliable backs defended Lipscombe. There was an over-indulgence or finessing. Hankins was not quite so convincing as against Ponsonby, though he was usually reliable under pressure. The forwards again indulged in the close passing, inside-forward game, and only \ery occasionally invoked the assistance of B. Woolley and Bradshaw. Nevertheless, they did all that was wanted of them, and no doubt quite pleased their supporters. The meeting of Ponsonby and Tramways produced a really enjoyable encounter, contested with vigour but in the proper sporting spirit. Ponsonby had several strangers on their side, mostly lads from lower grades, but they had really more than their share of the game. In the second spell especially they pressed almost continuously, and the game resolved itself into Ponsonby v. Batty, Batty won, and defied all efforts to score hy at times miraculous saves. Hellaby's-Y.M.C.A. was a stnhhorniy-con-tested game. Both teams put a i->t or earnestness Into their play, and i ll ri «* or the Falcon Cup matches to com they 'ad a very useful practice. The- - wt ' '-Tie difference between the sides, however md almost to the last it was any] Jj''s game.

(By OLD rLAl'Ei:.) THE SENIOR TABLE. Goals. T. W. L. D. F. A. Pts. Xorth Shore .1 ."i 12 1 -J. 30 13 20 Thistle .... }■; iu -j l aa vj 21 Koya! Navy yi .s 4 2 31 21 IS ile.luby's 14 7 7 u 23 24 14 1 ruiuways . . 1:; r, ;, 3 21 13 Y.M.C.A. . . 14 4 7 3 20 40 11 .Northcote ..13 0 7 1 3S 45 11 l'onsouby . . 13 4 7 2 2o 29 10