ASSOCIATION.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1139, 29 May 1911, Page 7

ASSOCIATION.

BIG FIGHT AT PORIRUA. ) SWIFTS DEFEATED BY HOSPITAL. ; ' The -results of tho senior division matches are as follow:— Mental Hospital s Swifts 1 Thistle 3 Rovers „ 1 S Y.M.C.A. 2 ■ Wanderers 2 j Ramblers 'I Diamonds 2 St.'John's ....,.„ 6 Corinthians -1 MENTAL HOSPITAL-SWIFTS. Quite .a. number of city folks visited Forirua to seo Swifts, the crack city team, play, last year's Second Division • champions. Both teams. were "at full strength and Mr. H. G. Mayer was in charge of the . game. Swifts stepped on to tho Hospital Oval confident in their ability to retain an unbeaten record, and when Mr. Mayer whistled the teams' up for ..the start the ground' presented a pretty sight, the white and red shirts of the' opposing teams being an., effective contrast, with tho green turf as a. background. Swifts began with great dash, ■with tho evident intention of overwhelming the Hospital defence by kick and lush tactics, a defence, however, which refused to be rushed, and which, .presenting a. rock-like opposition, gradually restrained tho early exuberanco of the attack. ..The first shot of the game was a good.effort by 'Guise, , but it went by. Hospital moved down to the • other end.'for the first'time, and after a fine shot by Elliot had sailed over the bar, the same player secured after some-close work in' Swifts' goal-mouth and banged the ball home, after nine minutes' play. Scott got. away, on the. left, but Cockburn ran out and cleared with a huge kick.' Phillips forced a corner which resulted in another shot which struck-tho post and went behind. Matthewson made a lovely shot which brought a thrilling gavo by Cockburn, who tipped the balr over, the bar by a; magnificent effort, lla'tthewson again received and his shot at close range gavejhe keeper no chance —one all. The game pulsated with exciting incidents, but . the [ Hospital then gradually took a firm grip 'of the' proceedings, tha forwards advancing by long ■ swinging pr,sse,s from wing to wing, or by some very fine short passing, confid- , ering tho greasy, ball and wet ground.The play of the team was of a high standard, working together as they did in splendid' unity, and bewildering the Swifts' defence by their , clever manipulation of the'ball. Roots made a great effort to score which just missed, but made no mistake with another cannonball shot, giving his side the lead, which Phillips increased as the result of a tricky effort, beating M'Lean, who had ' run out of goal, and screwing the ball in from a very fine angle. -Half-time arrived with'.Hospital leading by 3, goals to 1. On the resumption of play Hospital forced the game, their training standing them in good stead.. Swifts, after having mado tho pace in the early part of ithe game, looked tired, their.forward efforts being very spasmodic, and being easily held in check by Roots, Shand, and Morgan, the last-named player, play- ■ . ingi in very fine form, his unorthodox methods bewildering Barry and- Roberts, who certainly had a Tartar to deal with. Behind, Wallis was in superb form, and Koutledge approached .his last year's standard, while Coc,kburn, in goal, gave a magnificent display, saving in muck succession, shots,from Vessey and Scott. Davis burst into prominence with a fine run and shot, but his luck was out in the scoring.line, his, field play, however, being very fine. Phillips secured on the left and beating three men, placed a. slow' shot just wide of M'Lean, who mado a weak effort to save. The game wasflowsafe in Hospital's hands, , and they,were having all th 6 piny. Pve-Smith was penalised for, a fonl on Phillips in .-dangerous -proximity to ..the., dreaded .area,, and the"free-kick was cleared -with -difficulty. Scott had n shot after a break- , 1 away, but it went harmlessly by, and Jus forwards were cjuito - impotent, hsving lost every vestige of combination. From a centre by Pearson, Phillips struck the side net, while Elliot shot over the bar. • Roots tipped to Davis; who gave Phillips a lobbing puss which he took on tho volley and rammed home, a scorching, shot, which knocked M'Lean's hand back as' it entered tho . net—a fitting climax to a magnificent display by the Hospital forwards. Barry made an expiring effort to reduce thn Swifts' deficit;, but Cockburn \cleared in finished etyle, and after Tyrer had burst into prominence with a run on the right wing, finishing with a beautiful long shot which grazed the top, corner, Mr. Mayer signalled the cessation of, hostilities.—Hospitnl, 5; Swifts;:-!. ' Tho' Hospital nien, all through, were a cohesive eleven, working in harmony and subordination of self for the benefit of the whole. -Swifts, when their early assaults were -stemmed and ' repelled, practically wont to pieces, and could not stay the pace, set.by their-opponents. THISTLE-nOVERS. ' With an extremely greasy turf, ■ the 1 match between Thistle and Rovers at Kelburne Park on Saturday lacked vim, ' and from tl(e spectator's roiiit of view i tho play, greater part of , the time, was uninteresting. Tho contest opened, with an- attack by Rovers, and for a few minutes a' score looked iiuini- . rent; but the treacherous , turf gave the players such a precarious foothold that I accurate shooting was very difficult. The next phase of tho game was n rallying attack By Thistle, who invaded the Rovers' inner' defences, and looked dangerous till a free-kick for-olt-sido was given against them, and they were driven back. Give-and-take play followed, with a good deal of long kicking, which lasted for Borne considerable time. Then Thistle asserted themselves, and after keeping their opponents on the defensive for some minutes, scored the first goal of the match.-Play became even for a while alter that, Rovers striving to force an opening in their opponents' defences, and Thistle, doggedly 'counter-attacking. By dint of sheer persistence Rovers, after several abortive attacks, at last managed to score, O Shea putting in a fine shot. The quality of tho play now improved verv' muph, and the latter part of the g; w ,e was lull of incident. A comparably f as J'I 0 ? 1 - sc °red aeainst them by r.rownleo (Thistle), put Rovers ion their mettle and with two goals to win,they worked like- Irojans to reduce tho odds. But fortune favoured tho Thistle men, and' not- long after Brownlee's score M'Lellan suddenly and most unexpectedly, railed the Rovers' country, finishing u pa S run by -scoring cleverly-Thistle, 3-fijy err.,-1. JJhcro-wns no further score Mr" Ince was the referee. ylm.c.a.-wanderers. The match between Y.M.C.A..and Wan derers, played at Miramar, was a lively t contest, both teams being keen for a win The result was-a-win for Y.M.C.A. by two. goals to one, strong combination in <lefence being the winning factor in the end. The kick-off was followed by somo brisk skirmishes on either side, culminating in a smart score by "Wilkins' (V.M.C.A.). , Phillips, a. few . minutes later, followed with a second goal, leaving Wanderers with u handicap of two goals early in the game. These reverses ( stiffened up the ranks of the Wanderers, and a strong rallying attack was made on the Y.M.C.A. goal, and th« vanguard, ' from a free-kick, broke through the back lines, Hayw.ird scoring wit'i a good .shot. Y.M.C.A. oonnbr.iittaek'jd, but without result. Wanderers the:-i mnde a dangerous attack, which was relieved, by Forsyth, who i thGn led a'passing rush up the field, culminating'in a shot at goal. But the danger was averted by the coolness of the goalkeeper, who proved himself to bo a strong "fister." Tho second spell was chiefly featured by a series of (•kirmishss,' which en-led mi nothing, although.the play was interesting to the' spectators, thsre leiag some clever work on'both' , sides'. Mr.' J. M. AVilsoh was tho refer 39. , ■ .- DIAMONDS-RAMBLERS. On tho somewhat slippery Basin Reserve, Diamonds inet Ramblers', whom they found a hardy team. In the early inniloeuvres. Diamonds' backs had to summon all their powers to keep their goal

secure. But persistent effort on Ramblers' part hail its reward, for 11. Hart, from a pass from the left, scored a goal. Diamonds' forwards, who up till this score were not doing very much, bestirred themselves, nml straightway Lowe carried play to Ramblers' end, where a pretty passing rush followed. The business kick failed, and the ball was snon in Edwards's possession. Ramblers followed up well, but idwards took the ball too far, and was unable to centre. Ramblers had Diamonds nemmeil in again, and, for several minutes, kept them so, but without scoring.' At length, Lowe again broke free, and raced merrily down the line, hut Kirschberg settled matters, beating Lowe and putting Ramblers in a good position, but their efforts failed, and the spell ende..: Ramblers. 1; Diamonds, nil. Ihe play in the second spell was faster, and both teams were better able to keep their feet. Ramblers were still in «)i-v moncls , charters, and W. Hart charging suddenly, brought his side the second goal. Diamonds, realising that defeat looked certain, dispatohed Lowe on a determined mission. He took the leather nicely along the line, and, centring cleverly, enabled his brother to score Diamonds' first goal. A win for Diamonds now looked possible, and both sides kept strong pressure up, Diamonds having the better of matters. Ramblers seemed able to keep them out, but a penalty kick was awarded against them just at a critical period, and Roberts, with a strong kick, made the result-of the contest a draw. Mr. R. S. Lithgow was referee.

CORINTHIANS-ST. JOHN'S. Corinthians suffered another defeat at Newtown Park on 'Saturday at the hands of tho St. John's team. At tho commencemont of the match both teams stood equal in the matter of a list of continuous, defeats for the present season; and both were eager to notch their first win in senior soccer football. • The ground was heavy, but Otherwise the conditions were not unfavourable to the game. Owing to boots and jerseys having gone astray, Corinthians commenced with ton men, and in spite of this disadvantage, their superior individual play forced the early stages of the game into the vicinity of St. John's goal, and a. fine 'shot just struck the cross-bar. Combination, howover, shortly began to assert itself, and Hie St. John's.forwards made five excursions into their opponents' territory, two goals .being notched in quick succession. The Corinthian temn was now up to full strength, but the rout, had set in, and another goal was added, making the score at half-time: St. John's,' 3; Corinthians, 0. Corinthians opened tho second spell with a vigorous attack. Shortly afterwards Cottle headed the ball into the net, giving Walls no chance to save. During the latter stages of the game St. John's Ravo evidence, of better training, and three more goals were added, making the score: β-l. Hythe, the Corinthian centreforward, was easily the best player oh thn field.-' Gosney. who scored four goals, anrl Egler, who scored two goals, played well for St. John's. Mr. 11. C. Hay'ton refereed. ■ OTHER MATCHES. The results of the matches in the junior divisions were as follow:— . Second. Division. Wadestown defeated Rovers by 2 goals to 1. Half-time saw each side with a goal to its credit. In the fecond spell Wadestown pressed hard, and near tho call of time Jlagee scored from a pass by Warne. Mr. Yeoman refereed. Brooklyn beat Y.M.C.A. by 7 goals' to nil. The goals were.scored. by Robinson, Holland (one each), Bellamhie four, and one off a 'Y.M.C.A. man. Third Divisjon, St. David's beat St. John's by seven goals to one. Fetone drew with Johnsonville—one all. Fourth Division. Diamonds beat St. David's by five goals to nil. ' . Brooklyn defeated South Wellington by five goals to two. Thomas (3), and Baldwin and Davies (one each) scored for the $inucrs. •.'....'.,,'•'.''"'* • Newtown Congregational beat Institute by seven goals to two. . '; Fifth (A) Division. Marist Brothers beat , Brooklyn by two 'goalfTto nil.' Ryan and Fitzgerald scored for the winners. Fifth Division Representatives, The following team has been selected to represent the Fifth Division in the Association match against the Marlborough Boys' League, on the Basin on June 10 next:—W. L. Burrows (goal); fullbacks, F. M'Nally (Brooklyn),. V. ■ Sullivan '(Marist'Brothers); half-backs, J. Wareham (Marist Brothers), B. Marshall, captain. (Morist■Brothers); E. Flaws (Swifts); forwards, B. Waller (Marist Brothers), P. Thomas (Erooklyn), G. Fitzgerald (Marist Brothers), Grey (Y.M.C.A.), Reid (Brooklyn). Reserves: Henderson, full-back (Y.M.C.A.), Bowden, half (Swifts), Worth, forward (Y.M.C.A.). The selectors were Messrs. B. L. Salmon, T. Thompson, and Bro. Frederick. . ...