Players’ Final Bid To Win Trial Places

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31983, 9 May 1969, Page 13

Players’ Final Bid To Win Trial Places

('By Our Soccer Reporter) Canterbury’s World Cup soccer candidates will make their final bid to win places in the national trial to be played at Wellington on Sunday week, when the first representative game of the season, against Nelson, is played at English Park tomorrow.

Canterbury has at least seven players with outstanding claims for the trial and all have high hopes of being included in the national teams to play the English F.A. tourists next month.

The seven are: both goalkeepers, D. Phiiyps and O. Nuttridge, two defenders, K. France and G. Davis, two linkmen, T. Conley and A. Gowans, and the left-wing, F. Madrussan.

One of the three national selectors will be at English Park to see them perform, and to report back to his colleagues for the selection of the national trial teams early next week. It is unfortunate that both Phillips and Nuttridge should be disputing the goal-keeping positions and be from the same province. Inevitably, one has to be made first choice by the Canterbury selector-coach (Mr R. C. Carter) and the present inter-

national, Phillips, has been given that distinction. Whether Nuttridge will get an opportunity to play later in the match will probably depend upon the state of the game, or if Phillips suffered an injury serious enough to force him to leave the field. There is little doubt that Nelson will force Canterbury to play at its best to win. In the past matches between the two sides have caused Canterbury little trouble, but in the last two or three years Nelson has produced far stronger opposition. Last year Canterbury only just scraped through, and one of the players who inspired a magnificent Nelson performance was the inside-right R. Balcolmbe. He will be playing again tomorrow and must interest the national selectors as much as the Canterbury candidates. On paper, at least, Canterbury shot’U win, and it has always done so comfortably at English Park. But it will need to get into top gear very quickly and the forwards to take the chances that come their way, especially during Nelson’s settling-in period. The teams are: Canterbury.— D. Phillip*; G. Davie, K. Franca, G. Griffiths, w. McKenna; A. Gowan J. T. Conley, B. Wilkinson; C. Cawley, W. Qulrke. F. Madruss in. £lOO,OOO For 18-Year-Old (N.Z.P.A.-Reuter—Coppripht) The 18-year-old Aberdeen wing-half, T. Craig, became the youngest British footballer to command a £lOO,OOO transfer fee when he joined the English first division club, Sheffield Wednesday, yesterday.

H,lhh.-Y. Grlnlaubs; P. Granger, E. Rush, I. Fraser. J. Proudfoot; G. Reburn, S. Shaw; R. Richardson, R. Balcombe, I. Bartlett, M. Smithson.