MATCH OF THRILLS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 214, 11 September 1933, Page 13

MATCH OF THRILLS.

Once again an Eden Park crowd feasted on the football they used to know; once again they saw brilliant attacking movements, with the ball being bandied with unerring accuracy, and the players moving with delightful abandon. Pace, pace, glorious pace, was the keynote o£ the match of thrills provided with the meeting of Manukau and Ponsonby. The issue was in doubt until the final whistle and in the dying minutes, the game was tense with excitement, and the Ponsonby suporters were hopeful until the last that their team would bring about one of those sensational last-minute attacks they carried out in bycone days when backs raced the length of the field in spectacular array to turn defeat into victory in a trice. But it was not to be.

One point only separated the teams when the final whistle sounded, 13—12 to Manukau, and that single point just about reflected the run of the play, although in the second spell Ponsonby had three definite "lives." With a bewildering attack at the opening of the game, Manukau scored, and before half the spell had gone they had run up 13 points. The crowd ■was delighted. If Manukau were able to do this against the wind, what would happen in the second spell? It appeared that Ponsonby were about to be completely routed. Then the fortunes changed, and Ponsonby set about the task of recovery- They achieved much in a short ppace. They surmounted all obstacles, and ■with the shrewd play of Solomon to guide them, they launched a series of attacks that were as brilliant as they were devastating.

With glorious passing and inter-passing, the Ponsonby raids were carried out. Twice Solomon, from the fringe of the scrum, engineered attacks that ended in tries, anil twice the Ponsonby backs sailed in full cry for the goal-line to scatter and confuse the Manukau defence. The crowd swayed and cheered with delight. One point only separated the teams now. It was anybody's game. Several times Ponsonby were In real danger, the splendid loose and fast play of the Manukau forwards being ever a menace, but the Ponsonby defence in the second spell was never under suspicion. Ponsonby, in the last few minutes, tried every trick of the Rugby game in their efforts to find a way through a rock-like defence. With less than a minute to go, Solomon and' Jamieson, who had moved from centre to first five-eighth, tried to bring victory to their side by means of a ruse. Solomon reverse-passed to Jamieson who had raced inside him instead of going on the open side, but Manukau were not to be trapped. That was the end. Manukau's forwards took the chief honours of victory. With the almost inspired play of Pepper and Kereopa 'to lead them, they played some of the finest forward tootball seen at Eden Park this year. Their loose rushes were brilliant. They were given admirable support by their among whom Hatfield, Brimble and Berridge collaborated well. Heazlewood was In great from at full-back, his long touchfinders winning him much applause. Among the Ponsonby forwards, Newdick, Bond ana Solomon were the leaders in Ponsonby s great recovery. The backs were alternately brilliant and mediocre. Broad, moved up from fourth grade to take Frankliam s place at the base of the scrum, played fairly well, but obviously lacked experience, jamieson did many clover tilings, and was more useful closer to the scrum than lie ■was at centre three-quarter. Carter played a sound game, and Kerr-Taylor 'won many bouquets for a sound exhibition. He never flinched in the face of Manukau's desperate forward attacks.

One of the best exhibitions of referceing seen at Eden Park this year was given by Mr. S. Hollander, formerly of Christchurch and it was the understanding with which he interpreted the rules that helped to make the game so spectacular and attractive. Mr. Hollander made his first appearance on No. 1 Eden Park since the Eng-land-New Zealand third Test in 1930.