Four N.Z. Reps In Soccer Team

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31633, 20 March 1968, Page 15

Four N.Z. Reps In Soccer Team

In spite of the inclusion in its side of nine Canterbury representatives, the fourclubs’ Invitation XI will have a tremendous struggle to beat the Northern League champion, Ponsonby, in the floodlight soccer match at English Park on Saturday.

This was the opinion yesterday of the former New Zealand representative, K. Sudlow (Shamrock), after he was told the Auckland club team. Sudlow has been chosen to play at left-half for the Invitation XI against his old club in the match, sponsored by the Christchurch United Club’s Committee. The Ponsonby team includes four current New Zealand internationals A. Stroud, C. Latimour. G. Lake and G. York—and can afford to put among its reserves its overseas internationals, R Sue (Fiji) and E. Facon (New Caledonia). The team is: Stroud: A. Hetherington. Lake: Latimour, A. Masters, D. Salt: J. Arris, I. Kristensen, F. Ebsworth, York, J. Barber. Reserves: Sue, Facon, K. Church.

Latimour, who won the New Zealand Football Association’s “Player of the Year” award last season, partly for his magnificent play for New Zealand in the South Vietnam tournament in Saigon, has been moved from his international position of rightback to right-half. The usual right-back, J. Campbell, recently broke a bone in his back while at work. Although he will travel with the team, he will not play. Apart from its four national representatives, nine of the Ponsonby team have played for Auckland. The youngest is the left-half, Salt, who represented Auckland at the age of 16 in 1966. Salt, Latimour and Lake were yesterday named in the national squad to train at Huntly at Easter, as were three of the Invitation XI

K. France, G. Davies and T. Haydon. Stroud, Kristensen and Hetherington are three of the most experienced players in New Zealand. Stroud, a former Scottish professional, has played for New Zealand since 1963: Kristensen, a Dane, represented Otago, Poverty Bay and South Australia before moving to Auckland: and Hetherington was an English youth international, played for the English League clubs, Chelsea and Hull City, and for the Sydney club, Budapest St George.. Sudlow describes the centre-half, Masters, as “the most underrated player in New Zealand”. He has been an Auckland first division representative for the last three years, but “surprisingly, has still to gain senior selection,” said Sudlow. The former Ponsonby player said his old club will play in a 4-3-3 formation, relying upon gaining possession in the mid-field to send its forwards away on swift counter-attacks. “York and Arris usually snap up the majority of the goals, the centre-forward Ebsworth playing a deep-lying role,” said Sudlow.

“This Ponsonby team will test any side in New Zealand. It has great strength. But I

think the Invitation XI can win. We will probaby be more constructive, but we must finish off our movements. “This is where Canterbury teams have failed in the past against Aucklanders, not in their ability to play good football.”