Soccer Reps Outplayed

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32012, 12 June 1969, Page 15

Soccer Reps Outplayed

(From Our Soccer Reporter)

AUCKLAND.

The England F.A. soccer tour ended in Auckland yesterday as it had begun there three weeks previously—the tourists producing the football, the New Zealanders grit and courage.

New Zealand went down, 5-0, not disgraced, but vastly outplayed in all the departments essential to success.

goals might have been doubled.

was a success. In New Zealand’s most productive spell, the first half-hour, and when attacks developed down the wings that should have brought pressure on the Englishmen, Guildea and Bruce were unable to lift tbe ball into the middle. Their centres rarely rose above knee-height, and were easily intercepted and cleared.

the basic fault of New Zealand soccer—its slowness, both in the use of the ball and in thought. What has come to be acceptable in the weekly competitions was at least two yards too slow when opposed by men who can sum up a situation a second or two faster.

At least, they could have been yesterday. If the goals were there to be taken, the effort was always made. If it meant something a little extra, the tourists were prepared to surrender that chance, for the next one—which was bound to come.

After leading 3-0 at halftime the Englishmen played exhibition football, pushing the ball round as if it was guided by radar. New Zealand seemed able only to follow the play, wait for a mistake or a break-down and send the ball back to the Englishmen’s half, for the whole process to be repeated. To the English professionals, it was so simple, to the New Zealanders it was constant hard work. And from the start there was never a doubt that the artists must win. BIG TALLY Unbeaten, and stretched to the limit only once, by tbe Central League side, the English F.A. finished with a goals tally of 45 for, six against, from its seven matches —and there is little doubt that if the side had exerted itself to 'the full in every game the

The $300,000 Coventry City centre-forward, A. Hateley, got three of the goals, two with his head and the third a runaway through the defence, finishing with a rasping shot from the edge of the penalty area. With these three, Hateley edged ahead as the leading tour scorer with 13. The other goals were scored by K. Weller—the first of the five, a weak hook shot that crept into the corner of the net—and the last. GOAL-MAKER

There were times yesterday, as there have been in most of the Englishmen’s matches, when the New Zealanders moved intelligently, with four and five-man passes. But inevitably when something extra was required, it! was not forthcoming. Then the ball was lost or given : away. “TOO GOOD” Afterwards, the English! F.A. player-manager, J. Arm-j field, who had made his only! appearance of the tour when; he replaced'B. Rioch in the! second half, summed up, [ simply and concisely: “Wei were too good for you.” ■ It was as simple as that! yesterday—and throughout! the seven matches.

Only the two linkmen, R. Mears and T. Francis—the latter was inexplicably taken off in the second half—produced the constructive midfield play to test the Englishmen. Mears was clearly New Zealand’s outstanding player, but neither he nor Francis had the support they needed to break down a solid defence.

Mears, however, provided New Zealand’s only clear-cut goal chance, when he dropped the ball bn to the head of an unmarked E. Thomas. The Aucklander put it high over the top: it would have been a certain goal for Hateley. The other linkman, the captain, G. Bilby, drifted out of the match far too often and was always too slow covering. Many times he was lagging two and three yards behind the English forwards when the tourists moved on to attack. POOR MATCH The Palmerston North goalkeeper, L. Cutler, had a poor match, and only when he was injured in a collision with Weller, was taken off and replaced by D. Phillips, did New Zealand look solid in defence. During his time in the game Phillips made two courageous saves. As a stopper, A. Jeffrey (Wellington) ' was uncompromising, as a distributor of the ball he was never impressive. G. Griffiths (Canterbury) was the most reliable of the New Zealand defenders, sticking to his task for the whole 90 minutes, in spite of an injured wrist. At full-back, G. Davis (Canterbury) and W. Thomas (Auckland) were under intense pressure from whichever English player took the ball down the wing. Although Davis came through better than Hunter, neither could be said afterwards to have made the positions his own. Throughout their tour the Englishmen have laid bare

But the man-of-the -match was not a scorer, but the maker of three of the goals—the former England international, G. Eastham. Everything this brilliant player did had the hallmark of class about it, whether he was drawing the New Zealand defence into his web or pushing the ball into open spaces f„.’ Hate' and Weller to take their goals. It was a disappointing performance by New Zealand, in the light of its World Cup matches against Israel in October. Instead of producing the answers to many problems, the match added more.

Neither wing, M. Guildea (Auckland) nor the 17-year-old S, Bruce (Wellington),