City Wins 2-1 For 3rd Senior Soccer Trophy

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30563, 5 October 1964, Page 20

City Wins 2-1 For 3rd Senior Soccer Trophy

Christchurch City on Saturday ended the soccer season master of almost all it surveyed. Holding a definite edge in defence and a slight advantage in attack. Qty won its third senior competition by beating Rangers, 2*l, in the final of the English Cup.

Only 90 minutes earlier, at English Park, the City Reserves beat Technical 0.8. Reserve, 4-3, in the knock-out final of their competition.

Of the 10 senior grade competitions City teams entered this season, they won nine. Only the fourth division championship eluded the club. The return of G. Evans to centre-half compensated City for the loss of three players to the under 18 team, but the “big fella’s” presence was a huge psychological factor as well. He brought renewed confidence to his own team which would otherwise have been very hard-pressed to hold together in the face of Rangers’ concentrated pressure in the first 10 minutes. Evans nursed his defenders and drew them around him to confront Rangers with a block of red and white shirts.

The difficulty of breaking down this barrier produced a fatalistic approach by the Rangers forwards who, later, dithered and dallied with the ball, crossing and re-crossing the goal area as they vainly tried to find a route to goal. This failure to move the ball forward, along the wings or to the side of Evans cost the team dearly, for while vital seconds were wasted and the ball was brought back to where City was strongest, the defenders had time to consolidate once more. The one goal Rangers scored, with only a few minutes remaining. found the answer to the problem, but it came too late. A. sharp movement caught some City defenders out of position, the centre-forward, J. Ansell, took the ball to Evans, K. Olley cut smartly in from the wing, received the pass in an open gap and crashed the ball into the back of the net. It was a move that might have been repeated more often because Rangers had found in the first 10 minutes that long shots might trouble the goalkeeper, G. Richards, but would need to be something out of the ordinary to beat him. Lesson Hot Learned Yet, as early as the twentyseventh minute, before City had taken the lead. Rangers had produced its only other clearcut opening of the game. This time Olley, bringing the ball in from the left, forced Evans to leave his position, but An-

sell. with an open goal and 12 yards out, shot wide. It was a costly miss, none knowing that more so than Ansell himself. but more costly to Rangers was that they did not learn from the lesson. From then on Rangers pl*yeo some good mid-field football, moving the ball • welt as the City defence retreated, but there was no-one to round it off. City. too. produced the short, quick-passing game that has taken it to the top this season, but there was something lacking. It had an experienced defence to contend with, one that could bite hard when it was necessary, but the City forwards were rarely a real danger. The weakness stemmed from E. Bennett s failure to make his passes tell. Bennett, thinking all the time and always in an open space, was the type of player that Rangers missed, but Bennetts effectiveness was destroyed by the number of times his final pass was intercepted or went a yard in front or behind a colleague. Defensive Mistake City’s first goal stemmed from a defensive mistake. M. Henderson’s clearance to his back, M. Shardlow. was thoughtless Shardlow. closely marked and under pressure, pushed the ball into the middle, where the City inside-right, B. Rumbold, moving quickly, got to it first, slipped past J. Adam, and scored with a powerful snot. Before this goal both teams had had near misses. City s left-wing, F. Smith, had a corner kick swung into the goal bv the wind, only to see the ball hit the far post and rebound into play. Olley, fed beautifully by Ansell. cut through from the wing and sent a fierce drive against the bar. Both goalkeepers made fine saves, from shots by Ansell and A. Inglis, of Rangers, and R. Bruce, for City, before City caught the Rangers defence a little at sixes and sevens to score its second goal. crossed into the middle and D. Watson bundled the ball into the net. . x .. Rangers goal brought the game to life after it had begun to die, but on the day City just about deserved its win. It was Rangers first defeat in nine games, yet it would have needed very little more effort to have taken the record into double figures. Rangers: M. Henderson; M. Shardlow, R. Durant: P. Cole, J. Adam, A. Inglis: J. Samson, H. Glass, J: Ansell, D. Laliey, K. Olley. City: G. Richards; A. Wesb wood, T. Mann; D. Niven. G. Evans, J. le Poidevln: R. Bruce, B. Rumbold, D. Watson, E. Bennett, F. Smith.