JUNIOR SOCCER.

Auckland Star, Volume LXI, Issue 171, 22 July 1930, Page 15

JUNIOR SOCCER.

SATURDAY'S GAMES.

unusual NUMBER OF DRAWS.

CLOSELY CONTESTED FIXTURES.

The Bon Accord v. Newmarket senior B came on Saturday proved a hard-and fast contest, and Newmarket gave their best display this season, their opponents having Te ry serious trouble to come out on top by o goals to 1. The game was marked b y solid tackling by ttoth sides, and for this reason there was little combined play, most of the movements being broken up before they got properly started. Bon Accord played a more steady game than Newmarket, their positional play being infinitely better, but the forwards were slow nn the ball in front of goal, and missed <i <rood many scoring chances in consequence. The backs were very sound on She whole, supporting the forwards well, niacins the ball accurately, and defending If good style. The strong defence of the Newmarket backs was a feature of the came the full-backs in particular breakfn<. up many dangerous attacks, but an inclination to kick wildly at times did not make for accurate placing., The forwards infused any amount of dash into their Sav but lacked cohesion and understanding individual efforts. being the order of the day. Play was. very even throughout the game, but Bon Accord held a slight The senior B table to date is as follows:- Goals * F. W. L. D. For. Ag. Pts Knfi hM !.v. ii io I-8 il 5 Eir*ll ?I! 11! i ß c Sk?:::::: 5? t I I si II x s ietro-College .. 11 S 8 - 22 33 6 Newmarket ... 10 1 8 1 9 49 o Northcote ••■•11 } § } " j Tech. Old Boys 11 1 9 1 13 46 3

Saturday saw the continuation of the ■junior games, and while there were several defaults the matches played were closely contested, the number of draws testifying to their keenness. The Abels v. Glen Innes second grade fixture was a fast and interesting game, Glen Innes running out winners by three goals to one The winners played a vigorous game, tackling solidly, and put a lot of vim into their play. Their forwards gave a good display, combining nicely, but were too eager in front of goal, some wild shootins (resulting. The backs were in good form, sound defence and good positional play keeping the opposing front line in check. Abels did not shape as well as m nrevious games. They tried out some new players, and while they did well individually they did not fit into the team, too well. For Glen Innes H. Stone and 'A. Welsh played well, while Mellor and Mallet were prominent for Abels. • After a ragged display the Y.M.C.A. A second grade team beat Mount Albert by three goals to nil. Neither side impressed with team work or combination, and kick and rush tactics were mostly the mode of progression towards goal. Y.M.C.A. made several attempts at combined play, but their opponents generally managed to break up most of these, the Y.M.C.A. forwards assisting in this direction by hanging on to the ball too long. Mount Albert were very Door in team work and understanding, the forward line being very weak in this resnect. The backs generally were sound on defence, but were lacking when on the attack* North Shore could only field nine men for their fourth grade game with Tamaki, but in spite of this handicap Tamaki just won by the odd goal in five. Shore made the game quite interesting, and their depleted forward line proved most dangerous in attack. Tamaki were _ inclined to take matters easy, and after Shore had evened up the scores twice they had to play hard in the concluding stages and were lucky in getting a penalty goal, which won,. the= game. _ Shore deserve to be commended for their plucky display. For Shore Smith (full back), Ferguson and Cleal (forwards) gave good displays, while Barry (half), Austin and Clark played well for Taraaki. The meeting between Y.M.C.A. A and Metro College in the fifth grade provided a fast and interesting game, and a draw, two goals each, was a fair result. Both sides gave clever displays in the forward lines, but the Metro College backs were a shade better on defence. For Y.M.C.A. Williams, Horrocks and Darwin were a good trio, and Heaton, Millar and Speed played sound games for Metro College.

The fifth grade Comrades A team are still improving, and a hard and fast game saw them play Carlton to a draw, two goals each. The Comrades front Juie gave a clever display, some of their coinbined efforts being very fine. The backs were good, but the half-back line was inclined to get out of position. llie Carlton backs gave a sound display, defending well, but the forward line was weak in front of goal, although their field work was very good. For Comrades, Nolan, Watson and Beattie were the best, while Atkins, Cleal and Selby were a good trio for Carlton. , - - „ , The fifth grade match between Belmont and St. John's resulted in a win for Belmont by two goals to nil. Play was very even in the first spell, both sides attacking in turn without result aDd the spell, ended after a rather ragged display with no score. The second half saw Belmont improve considerably and they attacked strongly, but the St. John's backs put up a sound defence. For Belmont, Hunt, McGowan and Pascoe played cleverly, and Lendrum, Littlejohn and Menzles were St. John's best.

The Onehunga v. Tamaki sixth grade match provided one of the most closely contested and exciting games played this season in this grade. Tamaki played with fine combination and although Onehunga had the advantage of the ground, the first spell had nearly ended before the latter broke through and scored, making them one up at the interval. The Tamaki forwards attacked strongly at the start of the second spell, but the Onehunga defence proved solid. Tamaki eventually evened up the score. Some, exciting end to end play followed, and Onehunga regained the lead and dominated the play for some time. Tamaki came with a final burst, and once more the scors were evened up. For Tamaki, Smith, Williams and Watson were outstanding, while Lemond, Jack and Tornqulst gave a clever display for Onehunga.

• The Comrades A r. T.M.C.A. A sixth grade match was a closely contested game, and although Comrades pressed most of the time, the Y.M. defence was too sound to he nenetrated and a draw (no score) resulted. For Comrades, Francis, Tweed jnd Fielding were in "the limelight, while Dohson and 'Sims (full-backs) land Charters take the honours for Y.M.