Jones Cup Should Return To Canterbury

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30822, 6 August 1965, Page 13

Jones Cup Should Return To Canterbury

(By Our Soccer Reporter.)

The player who has given Canterbury soccer teams the most trouble over the years, the balding Otago right-winger, W. Berry, will be missing when the second leg of the Jones Cup home-and-away fixture is played at Dunedin tomorrow.

Berry is one of three changes Otago has made from the side that lost, 3-5, to Canterbury in Christchurch at Queen’s Birthday week-end. Berry has been replaced by the young, fast St. Kilda winger, C. Rennie, who is likely to prove as big a problem to the Canterbury defenders as Berry has done. The South Island left-back, E. Smith, who did not play in the first match because of an injury, has been recalled in place of the former Western player, A. Caldwell. The third change in the Otago team is positional, R. Kennedy, who played at centre-half at Christchurch, moving to right-back, and G. Crawford, the captain, switching to centre-half. Canterbury has made four changes, K. Olley and P. Kay replacing the City pair, R. Bruce and F. Madrussen, on the wings, D. Smith taking O. Nuttridge’s place in goal, and L. Sayers coming in as a late replacement for J. Chalmers.

As holder of the Jones Cup, Canterbury must lose this second leg match by a three-goal margin to be deprived of the trophy, and if its defence, built around the double centre-half of G. Evans and G. Griffiths, quickly settles down, the task should be beyond Otago’s ability. However, much will depend upon the Canterbury forwards relieving the pressure Otago will exert on their defenders, and predominantly the manner in which Olley and Kay perform. In the first match the Canterbury wings were the weak links in the team.

The ground will be heavy and defenders will be at a disadvantage. Otago’s five forwards are all fast and direct so that Canterbury will survive only if it can mount equal pressure on the Otago goal.

Probably it will be another high-scoring game, but this time Canterbury hope to be presented with “gift” goals as it was in the first game. The Canterbury under 20s have an almost impossible task of winning the Ruddiman Cup in the curtain-raiser. They lost the first leg to the Otago under 20s, 2-5. They can forget the aggregate score and concentrate on winning the second leg. This, alone, will be a big enough task. A depleted City team will be hard pressed to retain its unbeaten record against Nomads in the local competitions tomorrow. The only game at English Park, at 2.45 p.m., will be between Western and Technical.