F.A. TROPHY.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 172, 23 July 1929, Page 12

F.A. TROPHY.

AUCKLAND UNBEATEN.

WELLINGTON'S BIG EFFORT.

MIRACULOUS GOALKEEPING BY

McVEAN.

The challenge by the Wellington Association for possession of the F.A. Trophy, Soccer premiership of New Zealand, held by Auckland, was surrounded by a series of circumstances that will go to make it one of the most memorable meetings of the rival associations. The climatic conditions that the teams battled through were probably the worst under which football could be played; the standard of play reached a height that under the condii'. ns seemed beyond the realms of possibility; the play surged from goal to goal with amazing pace, sustained by the players to a degree that taxed human endurance to the utmost; footwork and teamwork were at times brilliant, and there was one of the finest displays of goalkeeping seen on Blandford Park. In spite of the atrocious weather the attendance reached just on 3000, and the fact that right, to the finish the raindrenched crowd were held rivetted to their places was in itself eloquent testimony to the rare treat provided.

The result, 4 —2 in Auckland's favour, was no* more than they deserved, but the crowd are not satisfied that the score fairly represents the difference between the teams under normal conditions. On every lip' was the query as to what might have been on better going, and there was created a decided desire to see the teams meet in fair weather, which should be to the officials of the A.F.A. a mandate to at once get into touch with Wellington with a view to arranging a replay later on in the season. Both teams are composed of probably the best talent in the Dominion, and the Southerners consider that' they were asked to play under conditions that were to them a much greater handicap than to their opponents. In this there is justification, and Auckland would be acting; with the. commendable sporting spirit shown by the men from the capital in the game on Saturday, were they to offer the Wellington Association the opportunity of a second challenge. The season has not been .over-productive of -the best the code can offer, and Saturday's game went to show'that 'a! meeting of the teams under ordinary circumstances would provide an attraction irresistible to all followers of winter sports.

Team Work Counts. ; The fact that r McVean was the hero of the game by his, attimes, sensational goalkeeping, is significant. It testifies that he had a good deal to do. Compared with the work thrown on Batty, Auckland did 65 per. cent of the pressing. The home side certainly were masters of the situation on the <". ay, a fact that was attributable entirely to their inherent team work and coriibination. Strategically they had their opponents outplayed most of the game, with the conspicuous exception of the interval , during' 'the' second spell when Wellington took ad-. ; vantage of a temporary slacking off by' the home side and rattled on two -goals.; Nothing finer has been seen than the tactics of the home defence ■in i their methods of meeting the onslaughts'.of; the blacks. When a Avinger "broke through, the well-ordered retreat of-.the blue and white backs had ;the effect of mustering the forces on the beaten flank without leaving the opposite' side' 6'f-the-' field open. It happened several times when Craig, the fleetfOoted.left' wing;:gbt; away. Christie came-across to support Gerrard and Tinkler.- Jones cbveredfjup for Christie, and Reid occupied a position amidfield ready for an ■eventuality-on cither flank. The result was that the; Wellington left wing was opposed by at least four players, and the centre andj left wing were accounted for by Reid,: and, Hislop, who was 'energy and ver-' satility personified; throughout the game, and dropped back, when danger, threatened. The. home side-time.and, time again showed, : :by masterly: understand-, iftg along these lines, th£ fruit's: of!'•;care-', ful study'and' prearranged' plan's carried; into effectiveness-,.byjpclever'.football. The; support of the forwards tind.the; play of the front rank were not '&■ whit \the leas clear cut in foundation, the varietybeing in th/e tactics Of jhe individuals as the occasion;', arose, f ..The'- scissors movements .between ithe- Outside "and inside men ;tdveltide 'defenders was -car-' ried out with i excellent success, arid the footwork in passing''ori the plushy turf was at times Wonderful. -Neither of the. Aucklarid wjirigs 'developed anything 'that cbuld be Cajlleti stereotyped in .their method:withjthe exception of;Kay's.goal scoring tactics/that it was .beyond the Wellington deferico\to stop. • The three inside men played with great skill. Time and time again their artistry had tJie. opposition thinkhig. Drawing 'the defence and placing the ball in the least expected but most profitable direction was their outstanding feature. With sound underfoot conditions the home side's play would have thrown the grea J ist strain on Gibb and his men. The san-a of course can be • said of . Wellington. Most Impressive was the skill Shown- by the extreme wingers when given the ba'll and a clear field, or even when hard They certainly, for speed, at times showed the home wing . half-backs a clean pair of heels, and ' while they did not have the same deadli- \ ness in shooting or centring that lay with the home forwards, they nevertheless left the impression 'fh'aV one 'would like to see them going oh'a "decent turf. There was little in the shape of team work in the Wellington side that could • be compared with the homesters, and with a team that has .not had the opportunity of playing together, this is not .to "be wondered at. ' With another 'game, the same players could be expected, to' put up a much stronger.. opposition. WelHn&t° n did not use the extreme w i n gs as much as they might to advantage shave done, and their methods were of the kick and rush: order. When Gibb went'into the. centre' 1 berth and transferred Leslie to right back added tfhrust- was given the visiting vanguard, r . + . ne defence was certainly weakened. t? was a pity that Auckland had not feaitor played more to the left wm ? ,' % was soon apparent that Gibb's for g a weakened part of . the berth \ -Wellington 'gained'two' goals defence. : ww an ge, but they also lost after G»* fl

two and the match. There is no guarantee that Gibb could have prevented Auckland scoring nor that Leslie would not have been as successful as his skipper was in attack, but the fact remains that, when Gibb went forward the stoutest defender was removed from the path of the home attack. Not a Weakling Carried.

Neither side carried a weakling. Each of the 22 players was worthy of rep. honours, and each went from start to finish with vim and vigour. On the Wellington side McVean was most prominent, Some of his saves were little short of the miraculous, and in the ■second half Avhen he literally picked the ball off the foot of Kay after the winger had got in a terrific kick, left spectators gasping. His spring to the feet of onrushing opponents and his diving from end to end of the goal were,

uncanny to see. One could not but admire his absolute spo ntsmanship when, in the second half, he refused to scoop out a ball that was over the line though visible only to himself and thereby giving Auckland a score that was their due, but that could easily have been left in doubt. The custodian won the

admiration of every spectator on the enclosure and saved his team from what might have' been an overwhelming deficit in the way of goals. Gibb and Guest were a pair of never-say-die defenders. They revelled in the mud and in close tackling work they showed fine judgment in their allowance for the heavy going. Bird was the most effective of. the visiting middle line. He tried, if anything, to cover too much ground and his anxiety to cover up and assist the wing men left Spencer at times too much scope. Nevertheless, he put his whole strength behind his efforts and was in the thick of the fray throughout. J. McLeod played his first rep. game under the worst possible conditions, ami must be given credit for a fine display in the circumstances. He was against a wing

that would have been a thorn in the flesh of any player. "and he came through the ordeal not without success. Hanlon, who chose to take his place in the Wellington team and postpone 'his wedding for a week, preferred, as things turned ,out, showers of mud to showers of confetti. He found

Innes and Dunsmore a-t times too much for him, but.he defended doggedly and often stopped dangerßus moves: ''$;*■ L ' '-': : '.""

In the forwards, apart from the wingers, who both showed great speed and ball-control and were always a source of danger, Rigby. at inside right was a_ great battler. His rushing tactics had the tendency to embarrass the opposition, and with a less experienced and United company, would have yielded greater fruit. Leslie is also a vigorous, ■wholehearted player and took' some holding, Syhile '"Smith gav> Craig fine support. 'The/-outside left has a fine appreciation of the duties devolving on his .position, arid he seldom wasted a ball. ..'ln'the* first.'half ■he found the deadly 'tackling: of Gerrard a stumbling block, but- more to say in the second. The team #s. a whole, while it lacked cohesion, in comparison. -with Auckland, 'was /composed "of talented players; ;who sould/be niouldetl into a formidable side.'-; ""■>■>.■••■

/ ... Homesters As One Man. There was no outstanding indiv'idUaliet'in the Auckland The secret of .the successes that have'eome to the rep. teams'that have "risen from the judgment of sole selector' Neesh.am.has; been that individuality" has given place to combined .effort, 'and victory ;.was another dehipristration' of the old' saying tha't' ,union;:'is strength.' Backs, : half-backs, and forwards blended their play with;ohe v end-in view, the 'triumph of. the tejam as, a. whole-and they each and a]l succeeded. 'Batty had very little to''do.; Ln the temporary slacking off of ; the ..homesters in. the second-'half,'-the •custodian; seemedvto participate and it appeared as though Batty should have picked uj> the Iball \that was intimately sent"t6' the riet,for the first goal instead, of,'leaving; it'to Reid or GerraVd. He may have- had ..occasion to aet otherwise:; that waisi not obvious from the Prees'box;'but:it.cannot be said that the goalkeeper [let his -side down. Reid's i:;';';; '- ; '■ display showed that ':" ' i .. j '■',-. ' senior B grade

'■■■■ games have-' not ji dimmed his undcrL standing ~ot ?his I. brainy tactics. He ' came W the Vescue i on' many occasions : by-/ cla'ver anticipation of the moves of the opposition.- Gerrard was prominent in' the first spell with several"' very dashing clearances and his tackling i

• was too much for the- men against him. Towards the close, however, he' slowed up considerably and, threV some extra work on to other parts of the team. The half-back line is still the best that Auckland has seen as a combination for several seasons. Tinkler,. Christie and Jones were quite unbeatable at times and their interpassing showed the scientific, side of the code in striking relief. The trio played in a manner that leaves specialising impossible; each gave of his best j and was tireless to the end. The success of the side was one of the fruits of their fundamental ability. ', '

The forwards were tigers .for vouk. They were at times brilliant in their footwork; and their skilful manoeuvring and elusive play was something to be long remembered. Kay and. Hislop threw an enormous amount of work en the players, opposite-them. They delighted the crowd with their nippy touches and .although the inside man | was not probably so much in evidence as his übiquitous partner, Hislop neverHe ess got through-^surprising amount dWUinjr work. The play of the t.rßtwhile Scottish schoolboy >internationalwt is seen mostly in-its ultimate result the stirring touchline dashes of his

partner, but close analysis of Hislop's methods reveal the master tactician. Spencer was back to his best form on Saturday. Ho distributed the play to his wings with the utmost - profit and great judgment and .„ 0T ,.„^....,. m „.,« m when "the time came for a shot he took it. Dunsmoro after Saturday's game should have effectively silenced all criticism of his effectiveness in the team and his ability to fill the position. With Innes he was indeed a "slippery customer," always doing the thing the opposition expected him not to do and always doing what Innes wanted to be done. Without a doubt he is the most effective partner the Ponsonby flyer has had for many seasons. Dunsmore deserved his place and more than justified the confidence imposed in him. Innes is still New Zealand's best outside right. His play on Saturday was a treat to witness, and his tricky footwork through mud and slush was marvellous. Like Kay on the extreme left he showed great anticipation in regard to long passes and his shooting was responsible for several fine drives. The Auckland- team , maintained its reputation as the best in New Zealand, and in a gaine that taxed the highest skill of the players and which provided a clean and sportsmanlike exposition of the game.