City Needs One Point To Win Indoor Soccer Again

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30682, 23 February 1965, Page 14

City Needs One Point To Win Indoor Soccer Again

Christchurch City virtually made certain of winning the major league indoor soccer series for the second successive year at Cowles Stadium last night.

Scoring twice in the last three minutes, City beat its only remaining challenger. Rangers, 2-0, and now needs only one point from its last two games to retain the title.

Rangers, with six points, four behind City, have just an outside chance, and this would mean them winning their last two games by wide margins and City losing' twice by equally wide margins. If the former is possible, the latter is highly unlikely.

The fifth round matches also brought the first drawn results of the competition.

Shamrock z 5 (H. Taylor 2, J Barrett, J. Rae, J. Killick), Wanderers 3 (J. O'Donnell 2, R. Brown).

New Brighton 2 (A. Caine, G Speirs), Nomads 2 (D. Innes, n Withers).

City 2 (A. Westwood, F. Mad russen), Rangers 0.

H. 5.0.8. 4 (B. Sayers, N. McAlpine. P. Kay, T. Marshall one goal), Technical 0.8. (C. Jones 3, J. Crookston).

Points: City 10, Rangers 6. H. 5.0.8., Nomads, Technical 0.8. 5. Shamrock 4. Brighton 3, Wanderers 2.

With so much depending on the result and the Rangers’ defence the hardest of nuts to crack wide open. City went through many anxious moments before scoring the simplest of goals with the minimum of effort. It made most of its desperate efforts that went before look cumbersome. R. Bruce rolled the ball through a narrow gap and A. Westwood gently diverted it into the net.

Before that City had crashed in shots from all angles, one rebounding off the bar. many missing the goal altogether, and many more rebounding off a very safe goal-keeper, M. Shardlow. There had been less goalmouth excitement at the City end, where Rangers had fewer chances, but once if the ball had gone an inch lower City would have been a goal down.

The final City goal, by F. Madrussen, ended Rangers’ last hopes of pulling the game round, but Westwood's object lesson in how to score at indoor soecer had already deflated Rangers.

Leads of two goals In the other three games did not prove sufficient to ensure victories. Wanderers found this first when they looked well on the way to beating Shamrock. But they were unable to keep on the pressure and lost 5-3. Brighton was handed similar treatment by Nomads, but managed to salvage one point in a 2-2 draw. Then, in the last match, Technical Old Boys led High School Old Boys 3-1 at one stage and finally had to be content with a share of eight goals and points. The top scorer of the night was Technical’s young forward, C. Jones, with a fine hat-trick, while the unlucklest player was also of Technical, T. Marshall, who deflected the ball into his own goal .

Results of women's indoor basketball were: Rangers 18. Rex B 13; Brighton 18, Rex A 16; Rebels A 18, Y Girls 6.