Two black eyes, 15 stitches INJURED FRANCE TO MISS UNITED GAME

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32666, 23 July 1971, Page 24

Two black eyes, 15 stitches INJURED FRANCE TO MISS UNITED GAME

(By D. P. MANSBRIDGE)

The Christchurch United captain, K. France, led New Zealand’s walking wounded soccer players back to their homes yesterday after the short tour of New Caledonia —with 15 stitches in a 2in cut on his forehead and two black, swollen eyes shielded behind sun glasses.

The injuries, the legacy of only 10 minutes football in New Zealand’s first match against New Caledonia last Sunday, will prevent him playing for United against Mount AlbertPonsonby in the Rothman’s National League fixture at English Park tomorrow.

However, United’s other three internationals G. Griffiths, V. Pollard, and B. Hardman —all managed to evade injuries in the bruising battles, and will play against the Auckland club. Such was the battering the New Zealanders suffered that the national coach, Mr B. Truman, who accompanied the team. Was ready to play himself in the second, and last, game on Tuesday. “The players took such a

hammering in the first game that if the second match had been the same I would have considered taking the team off to protect the players,” Mr Truman said on his return yesterday. "Fortunately, we had a better referee in that second match and it was a big improvement.” Such was the state of the 16-man party that Pollard, who refuses for religious reasons to play on Sundays, tempered his inclinations for the sake of the team, and played as a substitute for 10 minutes in the second half. In the end, all 16 of the New Zealanders played in this game (there was no limit placed on substitutes). As Pollard explained his own decision to play: “It was an emergency. There was nobody else left.” TAKEN TO HOSPITAL France was the first to go off—after only 10 minutes. He clashed heads with the New Caledonia striker, Astre, and was taken to hospital for treatment. Astre was carried off and he had eight stitches inserted in a cut under his left eye. And behind France in the queue of injured that returned home yesterday were E. Thomas (knee), G. Bilby (hamstring), G. Brand (badly bruised forearm which was a suspected fracture when he, too, was taken to hospital in Noumea), and D. Tindall (leg). There was a liberal assortment of bumps and bruises among the rest of the party. In the second match, Mr Truman had to send on the injured Thomas as a substitute after Tindall had been chopped down from behind. And next up was Mr Truman himself. COACH OPTIMISTIC

Despite the fact that the New Zealanders lost both matches—2-4 on the Sunday, 1-2 on the Tuesday, although they were ahead in both games before running out of substitutes—Mr Truman was far from pessimistic for the return visit to New Caledonia in October, for the sixnation Oceania tournament. "We now have some idea what we are going to be up

against,” he said. “And we learned enough to know that we can beat New Caledonia in the tournament.

"I would say the team played better than I have seen it before, especially in the second match, which we should have won.” After New Caledonia equalised, New Zealand had what appeared a perfectly fair goal disallowed by a linesman. Pollard and Hardman both starred in the second match, Hardman in particular producing his finest early-season form. And the tour also produced two outstanding performances by players in unusual roles. Mr Truman had been forced to switch the full-back, G. Lake, to sweeper, and the linkman, I. Hastie, to fullback, and both played magnificently.