SOCCER REVIEW.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 208, 3 September 1934, Page 14

SOCCER REVIEW.

TWO REP. MATCHES. AUCKLAND STILL UNBEATEN. CANTERBURY CHALLENGE SURVIVED. Little fault could be found with the bill of fare at Blandford Park on Saturday, | when two highly interesting rep. games were played before a large attendance and in favourable, conditions. The ground had made a wonderful recovery since the previous week, and it was no surprise that the home players took some time to master the lively, bouncing ball instead of the heavy, sloppy sphere and slushy footing they had become used to for some weeks previously. The first match, between North Auckland and the Navy, resulted in a win for the Northlanders, and it was a very creditable victory, for the winners have not been able to have any practice for several weeks. Their three goals to nil' was thoroughly justified, and the game was quite brisk and willing all the way. In' the main match of the day, between Canterbury and Auckland for the New Zealand premiership, the home side retained the trophy for another season by defeating the Southerners by three goals to.two in a game that at times was the most thrilling seen this season. A regrettable incident in the game was the unfortunate accident that befel J. Grant, of the home side, who, after about 25 minutes' play, came down hard after jumping for the ball and broke a leg. He was at once attended to by Dr. McDougall, chairman of the A.F.A., and ambulance men and taken to the public hospital. Giiant had been playing his usual strenuous game and his absence certainly threw a heavy handicap on the home side for the rest of the match. Canterbury's Vigorous Play. The Canterbury side played a fast, open, long-passing game from start to finish. From a somewhat slow opening they settled down to a dashing game in which the players generally took the shortest road to goal. Auckland, on the other hand, were as fast as their opponents and more studied in their methods, showing a finer development of team work and the nicer points of the game. Even though Auckland played for two-thirds of the game minus a very useful half-back, territorially the homesters had as much of the game as their challengers, in fact Mitchell, the visiting goalkeeper, had a great deal more work to do than had A. Watson in the home goal. This was due to the more methodical feeding of the forwards by the homo rear division, and their more accurate and purposeful placing to the four forwards. That the ground was more irregular than appeared irom the distance of the sideline was evident by the miskicks by several of the players. Even Gerrard had one or two bad misses during the game as had also Stone, but otherwise the home side showed more mastery in the working of the ball than did Canterbury. But it was the wholehearted, thrustful, rushing game of the Southerners that brought them into the picture so prominently and made them prime favourite with the crowd.

Was It a Penalty? How "far Auckland's second goal from a penalty for hands, could be said to be the" turn of the . game will ever be a subject of. dispute. The foul against Wilson for which the penalty kick was given certainly seemed a quite unintentional one. There was nothing to be gained "by the player from handling the ball, the sphere was nowhere near the ' goal and not going in that direction, and : from the attitude of Wilson it seemed simply a case of the ball bouncing up ott the ground or his foot and hitting his ' hand. The penalty kick seemed far too drastic, and the attitude,of the spectators most emphatically controverted the decision of Mr. Firth. However, the penalty was given and Jepson scored. How the game might have gone had no penalty been awarded is a waste of time to: surmise. But the decision was regrettable, not because it aroused vigorous opposition from the spectators, but because it was one of the few adverse features, of an otherwise creditable display 1 of refer.eeing. Mr. Firth was always sharp with his decisions, and especially in the first half, when Jepson was pulled up for off-side after the ball had rebounded ' from the. upright. Mr. Firth displayed \ commendable promptitude and alertness in : ruling the point off-side. ! Mitchell kept a splendid goal for Canter- ' bury. He did not start too confidently but seemed to get his bearings quickly, and certainly came through a hard afternoon's work with much credit. Cawtheray ' and Teichart were a safe pair of backs, who relied a good deal on their speed in recovery, but often seemed to crowd into . the centre o£ the goal. They kicked a ' fairly lengthy ball and tackled strongly. Wilson, at. right half, was easily the best of: the middle line. His energy was sur- • prising,- and he kept on the heels of Kay during the whole of the game, besides " finding! time to set the forwards often into ' action and also to try a long shot at goal. ' Gordon was not so prominent at centrc- ' half, but was a plodding player, and Mc- > Millar left half, was also a trier all the • way. The ■ visiting forwards were a hot :' handful to hold: Their shock tactics ; caused many anxious moments, but would ' have been more successful had their passing not been so long, for the home backs were usually given- time to clear. The Canterbury men often waited too long ', before coming to close quarters. Craggs ; and Ellis-led many attacks on the Auck- : land charge, and were a nippy pair on the ■ ball. Smith, m centre, kept well in posi- : tion, but had not very many openings ' made for him because the inside forwards ■ played a different game, using the extreme wings more- But the centre was a dangerous man. Ives worked hard beside Thomas, who also was lively on the ball. His shots had more sting than accuracy. The team, however, played a stylo of football that commands a strong following tecally, and the red and blacks had the full benefit of this section. Auckland's Strenuous Game.

There was no gainsaying the fact that the home side had a gruelling ordeal, but they acted wisely in not assuming the defensive when their numbers were depleted. They wisely adopted the old axiom that attack is. the best form of defence, and their front line of four never slacked off, while the rear division continued to play a-constructive, methodical game. A. Wafson was safe in goal, having little or no chance with the shots that beat him, while one of his saves in the second spell was a brilliant dive. Stone and Gerrard rose to the occasion creditably. Granted there were times when each wavered,' but on the whole they were reliable. W. Watson kept his opponents always on the move, and his robust stylo and speed repeatedly gained him the advantage. Wright inaugurated many attacking movements arid played a clever game. Farnan is not a half-back, but must be given credit for endeavouring to play both in defence and in the front rank. His position was an unenviable one from the time that. Grant was taken off. While the front rank, could not be expected to function normally in the circumstances,, it was apparent that the problem of the centre-forward ■ has not yet been solved. It would appear that Mr. Backhouse will iiow be forced to give McClusky at least a trial. Jepson found the fast ball find hard ground ;troublesome, or it may-have been that the occasion -was unsettling; at all events, he did not quite seem to fill the.bill. Woods' shooting was not nearly so deadly as' it sometimes is, but.he was always forceful with Dunsmore working, like a .Trojan throughout, scheming: frontal, attacks and.at.itimes helping the defence. Kay found something like his-match.:in-Wilson, the visiting right half, but what.would have happened had the' Auckland -winger had a partner is hard to say.' While the outside left, like Woods, finished very wfeakly at times, he again scored the winning goal for the i Dominion premiers. , . '• '

The Curtain-raiser. The visit of North Auckland brought a capable team to Blandford Park and welcome visitors. The Navy players could not penetrate the defence of the visitors, while the North forwards were too fast and too combined for the Service defence. Caldwell was the outstanding player in the North defence. He kicked a great length with just an inclination to balloon it, but his tackling and speed combined to take his side out of several awkward predicaments. Penman was safe in goal though seldom troubled, and Rodgers was a fitting partner for Caldwell. McNay was a solid defender for his inches at centre-half, with Deasley and Hamilton also willing workers. Jennings, on the right wing was fast on the ball and could sense an opening, while Carrigan, his partner, is a player who would seem to have rubbed shoulders with something far above the standard here. Shepherd was an active centre, and G. Wilson and Gardner completed a well-balanced front rank. Navy were weakest in their lack of combination. There were too many solo movements throughout the game. Sheirtcliffe, Preston and Jancey were given no end of work that should have been saved them, but the half-backs would dally with the ball and they repeatedly lost possession. Oakley and Price were the best of the forwards, with Longbone failing surprisingly at times. Swann did not get a great deal of the ball, nor did Marsh. Altogether it was a somewhat disappointing display by the Service eleven. But the game was played in excellent spirit, and seemed equally enjoyable to players and spectators alike.

FLYGER, CUP.

RETAINED BY AUCKLAND. (From Our Own Correspondent.) HAMILTON, this day. The Auckland junior Soccer representatives retained possession of the Flyger Cup in the challenge match with South Auckland played at Seddon Park on Saturday, the match ending in a draw, each side scoring two goals. Superior combination was shown by Auckland, but this advantage was offset by the speed of the South Auckland players. The visitors were obviously feeling the strain of their strenuous North Island tour, having played four games in six days. Prominent in the Auckland team were Cameron, goalkeeper, Speed and Dallimore, while Cleal, A. Flyger and Carter were the best forwards. The best of the home combination were Allsopp, goalkeeper, McCallum and Basslck, Robinson, Crabb and Adams were the pick of the attack. Auckland's goals were scored by Cleal and Carter, while Crabb secured both goals for South Auckland.