Soccer England Wins Final Of Tournament

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 29017, 5 October 1959, Page 3

Soccer England Wins Final Of Tournament

England beat Scotland 1-0 in a close and interesting International Tournament final for the Goldsmith Cup on Saturday. AlthougH the England team looked the stronger, the result was always in doubt until the final whistle. New Zealand and Holland played a bright curtain-raiser, with New Zealand perhaps a little fortunate to gain a 5-4 win. SCOTLAND v. ENGLAND

Strength in midfield play was the deciding factor in England's 1-0 victory over Scotland in the final of the international tournament at English Park on Saturday. The English wing halves and inside forwards outplayed their opposites and gave their forwards a major share of the ball. Only an excellent display of goalkeeping by I. Hunter for the Scotland team saved his side from a more convincing defeat. The main weakness in the Scotland team was in the inside forwards where A. Condie and T. Ryan seldom made a constructive move. In the centre P O’Toole occasionally beat his marker but wasted his few scoring chances. A. Trotter, on the left, was the better of the outside forwards and centred well, particularly in the second half. At left-half. W. Rodger made many errors for a player of his ability and was often guilty of trying to do too much on his nwn. On the right flank. R. McDonald played more purposeful!'’ and gave the S-otland attack much needed support in the closing stages. As a result of the weaknesses in midfield a heavy burden fe’l n n the Scotland defence. J Hegarty defended doggedly at centre-half. R. Cassie gave solid support on th? right, but the play of D. Glass, at left-back was outstanding. His fine positional play, neat ball control and accurate clearances foiled many

Hunter’s goalkeeping disnlev 'vms rhe best seen at English n ark this season. His anticipation, handling and clearing kicks were near-perfect, and he was never bustled info error. For most of the match England concentrated on attack bv the wings, but excellent nlay by the Scotland defence stifled most of these moves. The experienced D w ort.hin'’ton wr>s well held by Glass and M. Jones seldom bea‘ Cassie. The outstanding forward "■as E. Bennett, at inside-left His clever ball control and precise passing was a feature of the match R. Durant worked hard at inside-right, and, when England switched to attacking down the centre, it was his through nass which made the on«ning for the centre-forward. C. Whitebead. to score the only goal of the match.

The wing halves, R. Herbert and R. Pearson, nlayed good football in mid-field. J. Wooders was a solid centre-half, and was well supnorted bv the full-backs W. Charlton and T. Lynch. Charlton was always steadv and was unlucky to be injured five minutes from the end of plav. Lynch was outstanding in the closing stages when Scotland was striving desperately for fhe ea”aliser.

In goal for England, K. Flintham made some fine saves and always looked confident under pressure. In snite of some bright and interesting pl n V. there was no score in the first half. England soon gained the advantage in mid-field and attacks by Scotland were infreouent. Whitehead s-ored after 30 minutes in the second soell when he received from Durant and shot a powerful, low drive to the corner of the net. Scotland s for-

wards attacked determinedly in the final stages, and Flintham made a good save from a free kick by Rodger. With only a few minutes left, O’Toole wasted a good opportunity when he skied the ball over the crossbar from point-blank range. Mr I. Billcliffe was referee.

HOLLAND v. NEW ZEALAND In a bright and open game New Zealand scored a narrow 5-4 win over Holland in the curtain-raiser at English Park. Play was territorially even, but Holland combined better than New Zealand. New Zealand made better use of its chances, however, and owed a great deal of its success to P. Rennell who scored three good goals late in the first half. At inside-right Rennell was the best of the New Zealarid forwards. J. Price worked hard at inside-left, but the wings, J. Killick and J. Rea. made little progress. They were well marked by the Holland full-backs. At centre-forward. D. Hilliker was also well marked and seldom penetrated the defence. The New Zealand wing halves. H. Taylor and D. Simmonds played good football in midfield. P. Flynn covered a lot of ground at centre-half, but the full-backs. C. Spinks and A. Laffey, were more consistent defenders. The New Zealand goalkeeper, J. Callaghan. was generally sound and made some good saves. The Holland forward line always looked formidable in possession. J. Proost and J. Bouwhuis were speedy wings, who constantly worried the New Zealand defence. The insides, A. Zeilberger and H. Scholten, worked hard, with Scholten prominent in the closing stages. Zeilberger switched to right-half in the second spell with B. Roskam moving to inside-left. Roskam was a weak link however, although he put through an occasional good pass. The left-half, R. von Dalsum. was inconsistent but was often useful on defence. H. Verdellen played well at right-back with steady support from H. Morisini on the left. At centre-half. K. van Orsoun was always sound. The goalkeeper, H. Hoevers, made some good saves but his handling did not inspire confidence. New Zealand led 4-2 at halftime after goals by Rennell (2) and Simmonds. Goals for Holland in this spell were scored by Bouwhuis and van Rooyen. Holland had the better of the second spell and van Rooyen added two good goals. New Zealand's only other goal was scored by D. Hilliker. Mi- J. G. Gourlie was referee.