Massed Defence Foils Canterbury Soccer

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31120, 25 July 1966, Page 16

Massed Defence Foils Canterbury Soccer

(By Our Soccer Reporter)

There were new faces and there were renewed hopes, but the end result for Canterbury soccer was the same when the first leg of the Jones Cup fixture was played at Dunedin on Saturday.

Canterbury had more of the ball, territorial advantage for longer periods, played the better mid-field football and had three times Otago’s scoring chances—but Otago won, 3-1.

Nor was it just a case of lucky Otago, unlucky Canterbury. Good and bad fortune largely evened itself out over the 90 minutes and both teams took from the game as much as they finally deserved.

Canterbury’s only goal was a streaky affair, two of Otago's were excellently taken and the third was scored from an offside position. An outstretched foot, an arm flung sideways, a body in the way, a head and the goalposts stopped more goals at both ends. But above all else was Canterbury’s now familiar inability to translate good mid-field play i ’to giltedged scoring chances. GOAL BOMBARDED There was a 20-minute period after Otago had gone 3-1 ahead when both teams were congregated in Otago’s half. The home defence was bombarded from all sides and from all angles and battle raged for the greater part in and around Otago’s goalmouth. But when the smoke had blown away the scoreboard behind and above the Otago goal was unchanged Otago 3, Canterbury 1. Teams: Canterbury: O. Nuttrldge; K. France, A. Hawthorn; A. Gowans. G. Donaldson T. Conley; F. Nichol, W. Yates, C. Hicks, R- Taylor, W. Logan. Otago: I. Graves; A. Hutton, J. Rae: A. Caldwell, W Kennedy. B. Boomer: B. Patterson. A. Kirkland. G. Little, R. Nielsen. J. Ferrier. FAILED AS UNIT Among the Canterbury forwards, and to a lesser extent among the defenders, It was a failure as a unit rather than of individuals. There were some excellent individual performances, by Donaldson, by France, and by Gowans. There were, too, many more bright spots, and no plaver was a failure or did not pull his full weight. The wingmen, Nichol and Logan, put over some immaculate centres, Taylor had two booming shots from outside the penalty area, Yates, who was preferred on the heavy ground to J. Gibson, had two headers that deserved a better fate, and Hicks hever gave up trying and gave the usually safe and composed Kennedy considerable trouble.

Gowans worked in mid-field and behind the attack as Gowans always does, and Conley slid a stream of passes to his wing and inside-forwards. Donaldson returned to the team to play the game that was expected from him, and he did not put a foot or a head in the wrong place. France completely blotted out Otago’s dangerous left-winger, Ferrier, and his linking with Gowans was one of the game's outstanding attractions. Hawthorn miskicked too often in the early stages, but later settled down to shadow Patterson, the best forward on the field. HANDLED WELL

In goal. Nuttrldge handled well and made some excellent saves, only hit kicks, hit on

a lower trajectory than usual, being below standard.

The faults lay deeper than the individual, however, and one had been foreseen. The playing of two attacking winghalves, particularly players of the stamp of Gowans and Conley, was not a success. Three times in the first 20 minutes there was the sight of Conley and Gowans stranded upfield and five Otago forwards bearing down on three Canterbury defenders.

Had Donaldson not been so resolute in the middle and France so quick to cover, Otago would have overrun Canterbury in this period. An additional fault was the failure of either Taylor or Yates to fill the vacancies when Conley and Gowans went up. Conley, too. suffered badly from having to do all his work tn mid-field. His close dribbling, clever screening of the ball and turning of half chances into goals were lost to Canterbury where they were most needed. COVERED QUICKLY

The Otago defence was one of the least effective Otago has fielded for some years. It panicked. kicked wildly, and behind it, in goal, Graves made some elementary blunders and some fantastic last-second lunges to prevent goals being scored. But the Otago defenders covered well, quickly and in depth, and they had time to do all three as the Canterbury Inside forwards laboriously and monotonously carried the ball to them.

Time after time Canterbury players became boxed inside a bunch of Otago defenders, like a runner who has penned himself in down the back straight and cannot unleash his winning sprint. So did the Canterbury forwards and no amount of shufflng this way and that way could produce them the opening for a clear shot at goal. With less of the play Otago generally moved the ball more purposefully, and their right wing pair, Kirkland and Patterson, were always a menacing combination. Too often they had to be met by Hawthorn on his own, or reinforced by a Donaldson forced to move away from the middle, and had the rest of of the Otago forwards matched their right wing pair. Canterbury would have been in dire

trouble earlier and for much longer. There were some exciting goalmouth incidents, as when Donaldson three times in as many minutes kicked and headed away what seemed certain goals. At the other end a centre from Logan passed in front of three Canterbury players, all within five yards of the goal, and none could get a foot to the ball. AGAINST A POST Yates put one header against the inside of a post and another into the side netting; Taylor had a stinging drive finger-tip-ped against the post; Hicks put a header over the bar when it was easier to put it under; and in one period of six minutes Canterbury won five corners, all of which were scrambled away. Otago took the lead after 37 minutes when Caldwell placed a free kick into Canterbury’s goalmouth. It was no more than head high but no Canterbury defender got to it, and Little, near the far post, was able to pick his spot to head Otago into the lead without raising himself above his natural sft Sin. Four minutes later Otago was two up, from another header. Kirkland put the ball across and Neilsen met it moving on to the goal. Canterbury reduced the gap a minute after the restart. From 25 yards out Gowans chipped a free kick into the goal and Graves, looking up into the sun, pushed the ball on to the underneath of the bar from where it rebounded into the goal. Otago regained its two-goal lead after 60 minutes when Patterson. from an off-side position, cut inside and beat Nuttrldge with a left-footed drive. Until the end of the game Canterbury attacked almost incessantly, going close many times. Good shots from difficult angles went high and wide, better scoring chances were fluffed, but to the final whistle Canterbury failed to find a way through a massed defence. UNDER-20 TEAMS In the match between the un-der-20 teams, Otago beat Canterbury 4-1. For Otago, goals were scored by D. Stenhouse, K. Feathers, P. Lawson, and T Reilly (own goal); W. Penman scored for Canterbury,