THE ASSOCIATION GAME.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 806, 2 May 1910, Page 5

THE ASSOCIATION GAME.

CHAMPIONSHIP FIXTURES.

For the third successive Saturday Association players had to- battle through their games on fields swept by half a gale of wind, and the quality of the play suffered in consequence. The first, division matches resulted as. under Ramblers (3) defeated Swifts (2). Diamonds (2) defeated Thistle (0). Y-M.C.A. (2) drew with Rovers (2). Y.M.C.A. (2) V. ROVERS (2). j Only a handful of spectators found their way out' to Newtown Park, the convincing ground on which Y.M.C.A. -and Hovers met. The game was a peculiar ono to watch, being fast but still devoid of any particularly attractive feature. Both sides played hard, but at tho bost tho game was not what could bo called really attractive. At tho outset tho pace set by. Rovers was convincing, and Y.M.C.A. were given a great amount of defensive work to do. For a .considerable timo Y.M.C.A. kept their opponents at bay, and varied tho proceedings with an occasional sally into Rovers' territory. Play proceeded oil these lines until tho spell was fairly well advanced, when Rovers drew i first'bloocl. Gillespie secured possession on the right wing, and driving the ball i across goal-mouth to the oqposit* -vino.

enabled Cashinan to swing a fast shot j under, tho bar-' A rally by X*. ' | who' responded with Borne spirit, was followed by another onslaught by Rovers, and W. Gibson sent in a fast shot from tho left, but Hollis was equal to tho call. Rovers continued to have i tho best of the play, but they could not | break doivn tho Y.M.C.A. defence, and at length'they were called on.to guard their own goal. First one of .'h® Y.M.C.A. forwards put in a straight shot, which was cleared by the Rovers goalfeeepor, . but tho attacking party came on once more, and this time iv. Gibson gave his side a lovely °?P° r ~ tunity, which was thrown away. Gibson secured possession close to the gpal-luie on the left wing, and, with a beautiful low pass piloted the leather across goal-month and past the toes of three of his own men, any one of whom, had he taken the pass, must have scored. However, the gift was thrown away, the ball dribbling past the trio and on to the ready too of a Rovers man, wno cleared. From this stage on -to the end of the spell 'Rovers appeared to die away, Y.M.C.A. putting in tlie greater part .of their time in the opposing team's quarters. Several wila shots were sent in, but none of them reached the mark. At length Y.M.C.A. were rewarded, as the result of a free-kick. Moore was given the kick, which did not look much like succeeding, as it was too far away. By the time the ball had reached the goalkeeper ■ the shot had lost its sting, but nevertheless the ball crawled under Penlington's ann and went between the posts. Just on tlrn call of half-time, Covers were attacking, and Bradbury centred nicely to W. Gibson, whose lusty kick went a few inches over the centre of the bar. Open play of no particular Interest characterised the . beginning of the second spell, Y.M.C.A. having a little the best of the futile manoeuvring. At length an unlooked-for score fell to Rovers, as the result of a fine piece of individual work by W. Gibson. This player, whose penchant for roving is strong, found .himself out on the right wing with the ball, and he went ahead, boating three Y.M.C.A. men ,who threatened to block his progress. When within range he shot at the goal, and the ball, striking a Y.M.C.A. player in its flight, cannoned off him into the net. After some lively skirmishing, Y.M.C.A.' equalised tho scores as the result of a fine shot by Phillips. Play was brisk from this on to the end, but no further score was recorded, although a hot shot by Timperly only failed by inches on one occasion, the leather staking one of the uprights and rebounding into play. Mr. J. Davidson was referee.

DIAMONDS (2) V. THISTLES (0). The senior division game between Diamonds and Thistles', played, at Kelburne .Park, was not .without interest, though the play could not bo called scientific. During the first spell, Diamonds played with the advantage of a stiff northerly breeze behind them, and their forward line -mado the pace very hot for their opponents, whoso back divisions were frequently. called upon to save the situation. The leather waa kept in the THstles territory during the-greater part of the spell. Filrsfl blood was drawn by Diamonds not very long after the commencement of. play, the Thistle"goalkeeper being tricked by what looked like a very easy ball. Thistles, warmed up by this ■ reversu, played- with great' determination, making spirited attempts to force an attack on their opponents' territory,' but the paca and superior individual ability of the Blacks enabled them to counterattack, and drive the Thistle men back upon, their pwn defences. The Black right-wing were conspicuous during this stage of tho game, it being ' iiiiuuly through their combination and dash that goal number two was scored. Barnett, playing with cool judgment, initiated the manoeuvre which culminated in the discomfiture of the Thistle goalkeeper. Receiving a pass from the outside ring-wing, ho slipped the ball to Roberts (centre-forward). , The latter neatly passed to Blacks, who occupied a strategic position commanding the Thistle goalmouth, and tho leather was hooked swiftly ' between tho posts. 2—o. There was no further score..

The second spell looked full of promise for Thistles, and it was expected that they would make the most of the advantago given them by the wind. Play opened briskly, Thistles playing a sound game on the whole, but they were not strong enough to outmanoeuvre the Diamonds inner defences. Time after time promising attacks by the Thistle forwards, supported creditably .by the half-back line,, broke on encountering the Diamond half-backs. Diamond!? full-backs, though kept on the alert, were never seriously,attacked. The result of tie match —two goas to nil— hardly did justice to Thistles, who put up a game defence against a stronger team. On the general character of the play, the result of one goal to nil would ■ have been a more reliable indication of the strength of the opposing teams. Mt. Yeoman was the referee. Reddy, Diamonds' outside left wing-forward, sustained a nasty cut on the eye, and had to retire from the field for a tnno.

RAMBLERS (3) V. SWIFTS (2). 1 Last year's champions, Swifts, who were pitted against Ramblers at Duppa Street, had to taste the bitterness of defeat, and that at the hands of a team which was held rather cheaply last season. Outside of the fact'that Swifts were defeated, there was nothing striking about the garner-in fact, it was an uninspiring display. 11l tie first. spell. Swifts put on two _ ■ goals against Ramblers' one, bmfc this concluded the sooring of the champions, whilst Ramblers wont on and added two more goals in the second term. Swifts commenced operations with the wind behind them, and set about an. attack which called upon the very best defence Ramblers could put forward. After a few minutes a nioely placed kiok -by Graves enabled Vessey to sco re—Vossoy headed the ball into goalmouth, the leather striking one of the posts and bouncing through. Syifts kept up a strong, attack, and their persistence was at length rewarded by another goal whidi was scored by Wilson , 1 who sent in a fast low shot from the midst of a scramble near tho posts. The Ramblers made several advances on Swifts' goal and a score resulted from one of them. A well-placed cor-ner-kick entrusted to Paget was driven ■home by Trevethick. With tho wind behind them in tho second spell Ramblers took a turn at attacking. The Swifts' defence held for a considerable time, but at length Smallbone got a fast shot past the Swifts goalkeeper. Before time was called and after several close calls on either side, Johnson headed Ramblers' .third goal through, and scored th© winning point. Mr. J. B. Paton was referee. ,

SECOND DIVtBtON. Wanderers defeated Porirua-Toa by 4 goals to 1. Hayward (2), Garnett, ana Barker scored for the winners. St. John's (8) defeated Berhampore (0). Smith (2), Meikle(2), Dick, and Warner scored for the winners. Marist Brothers Webb Street Methodists by 5 to 0. King (2), Hill, Bowden, and Dooley did the scoring. Diamonds defeated Potone by 4 to 0. Mental Hospital (7) defeated Y.M.C.A. (1). Phillips (4), Elliott (2), and Smith scored for the Hospital, and Macklin for Y.M.C.A. THIRD DIVISION. ' St. David's (4) defeated St. John's (1). Gosney (3), and Jowett scored for the winners, and Hopkirk for the losers. 1. John's played two men abort,

Wadestown Wanderers (4) defeated Brooklyn (1). Murphy (3) and Noyer (1) scored for tho winners, and Robinson scored for the losers. FOURTH DIVISION. Brooklyn, and St. David's drew, neither side scoring. Y.M.CLA. A defeated Marist A by 5 goals to 2. Khandallah (1) and Petone (1) drew. Pearco scored for Khandallah, and M'Gill for Petone., Swifts A defeated Marist B by 16 to 0. Diamonds defeated Y.M.C.A. by one to nil. FIPTH DIVISION. Marist Brothers A defeated Island Bay A by 3 to 2. Fitzgerald, Waller, and I' 1 . O'Driscoll scored for the winners. Brooklyn (3) defeated Petone (1). Beavis, Hastings, and Greeks scored for Brooklyn, and Packard for Petone. Y.M.C.. B beat Wadestown by 4 to 1. „ Crowther (2), Worth, and Swenssen scored for the winners'. SIXTH DIVISION. Marist A defeated Rangers by 4 to 0. Brooklyn defeated Island Bay by 1 to 0. Dovey scored the winners' goal. Y.M.C.A. (6) defeated Marist B (0). Aamodt, Gibbin, and Fieberg scored for the winners. Institute A and Porirua drew, each side scoring a goal.