Czechs Held To Draw

Press, Volume CVII, Issue 31543, 4 December 1967, Page 24

Czechs Held To Draw

“The Press’* Special Service AUCKLAND. For one of the very few times in the history of New Zealand soccer, a “local” side has matched a European team. On Saturday evening, Auckland, fit and full of vim and vigour, drew 2-all with the touring Czechoslovakian club, Slavia Praha, and only lost a 2-1 lead with 10 minutes of the game remaining. The Czechs will play the second and final match of their short tour, against Canterbury at English Park this evening. Leading 1-0 after 30 minutes, the Auckland side held the match in command, and even after Slavia drew level five minutes later, it was still the home side which looked the better team.

Most of the Aucklanders had recently returned from the New Zealand team’s games in Saigon, Kuala Lumpur and Perth, and they looked extremely fit and fast. Their ball control was good and they seldom wasted a pass.

The first goal came after J. Legg beat Slavia players on the left-wing, made ground, in-passed to B. Turner, who crossed the ball for the 16-year-old W. de Graff to make no mistake from in front of goal. The inside-left, J. Kopecky, evened the scores five minutes later when he broke through the defence with a weaving run, and the half-time score was 1-all. ‘ Fourteen minutes into the

second spell, it was 2-1 to Auckland. C. Shaw, the centreforward, took a pass from Legg and he gave the Slavia goal-keeper, J. Vosta, no chance from about 12 yards. The equaliser came 10 minutes from the end and once again it was Kopecky who did the damage. Auckland played like a team and it would be hard to single out a hero. It was amazing the difference in the Auckland players, in comparison to their form earlier in the year when they were thrashed, 12-1, by another Czecholslovakian dub, Sparta Prague, Slavia beat Sparta, 1-0, earlier this year. Gone in the main were the frail-looking passes which have been a disappointing featiu - of Auckland play over the last few seasons. In their place were crisp passes backed by players who moved well on and off the ball and who had obviously taken on a new lease of soccer life. The Slavia side was the complete master in mid-field play but that was the end of its domination. The shortpassing methods the Czechs used on attack bore littlte fruit.

Among the Czechs Vosta, the goal-keeper, was spectacular, although once he palmed out a ball from Turner instead of catching it and it nearly cost Slavia a goal. The full backs, J. Lala, a national representative, and J. Hildebrant, were solid and speedy. The other members of the back-line in the 4-2-4 system, K. Knesl and B. Smolik, were both class players. In the forwards, R. Novak, T. Kopecky and M. Zeigler

were the three who impressed the most but on the whole, it was Auckland's night and the 5000 spectators rose to the players leaving the field. Until the end, each team had its chances, but Auckland, with opportunities squandered, could have won by at least three goals.