SOUTHERN LEAGUE SOCCER Brighton Again Loses, Title Hopes Fading

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32359, 27 July 1970, Page 10

SOUTHERN LEAGUE SOCCER Brighton Again Loses, Title Hopes Fading

New Brighton’s hopes of winning the southern league soccer championship and qualifying for the national league playoff series are fast fading. The seasiders suffered another shattering blow on Saturday when the Shamrock centre-forward, M. Ellis, headed in the only goal of the main match at English Park with 45 seconds remaining.

This goal inflicted on Brighton its second successive defeat and plummetted the club to fourth place in the table, while Shamrock has risen just as spectacularly into second position.

Equally galling to Brighton was that before its match started, the seasiders had watched the Dunedin club, St Kilda-Mornington, scramble to a 2-1 victory over Rangers with a disputed penalty taken twice, after the first shot had bit the post. St Kilda has now extended its lead over Brighton to four points. The two teams have still to meet twice, so that Brighton’s cause is not yet lost, although it has Caversham, only one point behind it and a game in hand, as another serious challenger. Rangers' defeat reopened the club’s relegation worries, for the bottom team, Northern, surprised by defeating Christchurch City and closed the gap at the foot of the table to one point. Western kept alive its chances of winning the championship with a clear-cut victory over Roslyn-Wakari and has moved into third place. Results and first division table are:— Division I.—Rangers 1, St Kilda-Mornington 2; Shamrock 1, New Brighton 0: RoslynWakari 0. western 3; Northern S, Christchurch City 0.

Division 2.—queen's Park 2. Green Island 2; Dunedin City 1. Tlmaru City 2; Dunedin Technical 0, Invercargill City 0: Mosglel 2. Maori Hill 0.

DRAMATIC WINNER The Shamrock striker. M Ellis, has scored some fine goals in the 14 he has now netted In the southern league this season, but none has ben so dra-

matically conceived as the one that sank Brighton at English Park. Although it needed a victory, especially after St Kitda's defeat of Rangers, a draw would have been a welcome second best for the seasiders. And a draw it looked like being as the clock showed only a minute of the match regaining. Then, Shamrock forced a corner on the right. C. Cawley dropped the most tempting of centres Into the goalmouth, and Ellis went up highest to head goalwards. Even then It'looked as though Brighton had been reprieved, for its goal-keeper, P. Cadwallader, had the ball in his hands and was Intent on making his clearance. But the Shamrock forwards appealed for a goal and the referee (Mr A. Coulson) consulted a linesman, who confirmed his view that the ball was over the line before it was taken by Cadwallader. There was just enough time to kick off before the final whistle went and a horde of young Shamrock supporters poured on to the field to congratulate their seniors. ON TIGHT REIN Unfortunately tor Brighton, the last-minute header was one of the very few occasions it had allowed the dangerous Ellis to get within striking distance of the goal. In the first half the centre-forward had had a good chance with a header but was unable to get enough power behind It to beat Cadwallader: otherwise he was held on a tight rein by w. Chisholm and J. Langan. However, if Ellis was finally the match-winner for Shamrock. P. Straw was even more the destroyer of Brighton's hopes. The Shamrock goal-keeper made two glorious saves at the feet of Brighton’s forwards, and although there were Umes when he stretched himself too much, he recovered quickly to deny Brighton a chance to score. It was a hard, tightly-con-tested game in the vintage of other matches between the two teams this season, and once again the referee had hie notebook out, taking the names of both Ellis and C. Storer after one incident which looked like developing into a IS-man free-for-all. Brighton had chances to score in both halves and very nearly took them, none going closer than a header by G. Taylor and a shot by W. Quirke. But either Straw was equal to all Brighton had to offer, or a very solid Shamrock defence held the Initiative. DISPUTED PENALTY St Kilda was extremely fortunate to gain a win over Rangers, for without the award of a penalty late in the second half and the two chances given the team to convert it. the likelihood is that Rangers would have got at least a point, possibly two. In the first case, the penalty decision was harsh, to say the

least. A Rangers defender was judged to have handled the ball, but It was far from being a deliberate gesture or took the advantage .away from St Kilda. I. Garner fired the first kick against a post, but the Dunedin club was given a second chance as the Rafigers goalkeeper. G. Chellew, had moved before the ball was. kicked. The next time, W. Kennedy, took over and hit his shot low and hard into the corner.

Apart from giving St Kilda the lead. U had another decisive effect on the match. The Dunedin players, becoming desfierate for a win and being argeiy out of touch with each other, Immediately settled down, and for the rest of the game had play largely under control.

Before the penalty,. St Kilda had been under considerable pressure, particularly on the wings, and had trouble getting the ball out of its danger zone. G. Dacombe had given Rangers the lead from a fine movement, and after D. Tyndall had equalised. Rangers had the ball in the net a second time but was adjudged off-side. Even so. there was an inconsistency of effort in the Rangers play, periods of strong pressure being followed by longer phases when the life seemed to go out of the home players. Undoubtedly this was Rangers undoing. for there were big gaps in the St Kilda defence to be exploited. In Dunedin, honours were shared by Otago and Canterbury clubs, but City suffered from a bad refereeing decision that presented Northern with its second goal, the visiting goal-keeper, A. Fleming, being judged to have carried the ball over the line against City's heated protests that he had not. B.' Bond <2) and I. Clark scored for Northern.

Western had command of play over Roslyn, and with two goals by L. Wilson and one from A. Bishop, won comfortably.

St Kilda 11 8 1 .2 27 16 17 Shamrock 12 7 0 24 17 14 Western 11 4 5 20 13 13 Brighton 11 5 3 24 16 13 C’snam 10 5 2 23 14 12 City 12 4 ,3 19 21 11 Tech. 10 5 0 12 20 10 Roslyn 12 3 3 19 29 9 Rangers 11 2 .3 12 22 7 Northern 12 2 2 15 35 0