ASSOCIATION.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1174, 8 July 1911, Page 12

ASSOCIATION.

[By Centre-Half.] The positions of tho teams playing in the first division games are as follow;— . o 5 £ o 3 o oi° £ Swifts 11 9 0 2 32 12 18 Thistle 11 !) 0 2 27 11 18 Hospital ... 11 8 0 II .18 l(i 1G Ramblers ... 11 C. 1 i 28 21 13 Y.M.C.A. ... 11 5 1 5 15 20 11 Diamonds ... 10 i 2 i 2(i 20 10 Rovers 11 + 2 5 17 20 10 ■Wanderers 11 3 1 7 IB 25 7 St. John's ... 10 1 2 7 12 2.1 i Corinthians 11 0 1 10 7 48 1 Senior Division Table. Swifts and Thistle are still leading in tho raco for championship with Hospital a good second. The latter team has topped the "goals for" table with a respectable total of 38. Swifts come next with 32, and Ramblers, who are third in tho championship ruuning, have 28 goals to their,credit. As the season advances, there is much speculation as to which team will be successful in annexing the Senior Division championship, and wild and long aro the discussions that can be heard on tho subject. Some incline to tho old favourites, Swifts, and up to tho present their chances look very rosy, but the "Hospital colts" have to bo reckoned with, for the men from Forirua are a determined set of individuals, and, in their own words, they are "going to give tho leading teams a shaking up before the season closes." Thistle deserve to win, if any team does. They are workers—theso Scotchmen, and have had hard luck in past seasons. Apart from this, it is about time that some "new blood" had a chance of winning tho championship. Ramblers wero successful for the first time last year, and they only'managed (o "do tho trick" by solid training and playing the ; game as it should be plaved, so he of ' good cheer, Thistle, and show what you are made of. Wanderers' Defeat Explained. Tin's game, at I'orirua, yielded n. glut of goals to the Hospital team. Wandor- [ ers were somewhat weakened by the ab- ■ spnee of Cornish, and had to make other . changes, which were not conducive to t, combination, and this explains, in some

manner the big reverse. On the lirst meeting of the tennis Wanderers matched a victory by one to nil, but, on this occasion, Hospital made no error, and, at half-time, had a lead of four goals, afterwards taking matters easy, anil running out winners by six to nothing. Tho first part of the galne was productive of some interesting football, both teams putting plenty of life into their work, Iml the superior combination of the Hospital men soon told, .and Elliot placed two gouls to his credit after some coot footwork, while Davis notched another couple, as the. climax to some pretty, play in tho frcr.it line. Tyrcr was early iii the picture with some neat dribbling, but had bad luck with his shooting. Parsons, at back, found plenty of employment, and, but for him and Hayes, in-goal, the score would have been heavier. Tho Wanderers' keeper gave a creditable display, and, without any pretensions to style, kept out many dangerous attempts to score by tho white forwards. Turner, at right'half, was unremitting in his attentions Phillips, intervening With much success on many occasions, and mopping up many passes by theleft-wing of the Hospital team who did not have matters all their own way by any means. Till he was injured, Barker was prominent for good hcadwork, while Rogers was very nippy at outsideleft, showing clever control'of the ball. Trcvethick worked hard, but found Roots rather a difficult customer to tackle. The centre-half, whilo not being exactly brilliant, kept a watchful eye on the opposing forwards, occasionally having a shot at goal. Shand's energy was as noticeable as ever, and one effort by him gave Hayes an anxious moment, while, further behind, Wallis revelled in-putting a stopper on his one-time clubmates. 3lr. J. 31. Wilson only had one occasion to whistlo for a foul, and that was for a charge, that looked to be too boisterous. Otherwise, his task was of tho lightest, as indicating tho good spirit in which the game was played. Swifts-Diamonds Match. Swifts merely scraped through their match with Diamonds, and did not display anything like championship form. Wilson (full-back) is improving every Saturday, and the same improvement is noticeable in Rickaby, but why does he indulge in so much gallery play? Scott was the best forward the maroons had. "Davie" still makes a good "solo" effort when it is wanted. Roberts and Taylor (Diamonds) undoubtedly saved their side from a heavier defeat. Collins puts in a lot of useful work, and tackles really well, too, but lies too much back on top of liis backs when he should Ire immediately behind his forwards. A. Lowe did not catch tho eye on Saturday, as ho usually does; in fact,.the Diamonds forward line was disappointing, and poor shooting from easy scoring positions was noticeable on both sides. Black and B. Lowe mado several smart dashes, but, as a rule, finished weakly. V. Pye-Smith made a very good showing in-goal for a new hand.