SOCCER

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 248, 17 July 1935, Page 14

SOCCER

Season Will Finish Late This Year

LONG PROGRAMME

General Notes and Comments on the Sport

(By

Flag-Kick.)

Next Saturday will see the completion of twelve matches in the First .A Division, and as no team has yet a firm grip on the championship, there is every indication that after the Chatham Cup finalists are found in Wellington at least a further five, and possibly six Saturdays will be required to find the championship winners. And further delays will be occasioned through the North Island final, to be played either at Hamilton or Auckland, and also it a Wellington team is in the New Zealand final. In view of this and the replay in the first round of the Auld Cup competition, all matches will most probably be played on Saturday, July 27, when the Wellington representative team is' in Canterbury. The possibility of Auckland playing in Wellington on August 31 will further delay the competition games and that will mean carrying on until the end of September. At that rate the season will be finished about tliree weeks before the start of the cricket competitions, too late altogether. Three Saturdays will be required for the Auld Cup, and then there is the Alf Williams Trophy to be competed for by the championship winners, and a team selected by the management committee. The twelfth of the sixteen matches to be played for the First B Division championship will take place on Saturday, and a further four Saturdays will be required to find the Victory Cup winners. This competition also looks like going on well into September. The top teams are see-sawing for promotion, but with the consistent forni shown by Seatoun, there is every likelihood of that club replacing Lower Hutt, who cannot escape relegation from the A division. The match on Saturday between Waterside and Hospital for the Wellington final of the Chatham Cup is creating a great deal of interest among followers of the sport. Either team will worthily uphold the prestige of Wellington on the football field. . . The Auckland provincial final is to be played at Auckland on July 27 between Hamilton Wanderers and Auckland Ponsonby. A good contest is expected between Wanganui Technical College and Wellington Technical College at the Basin Reserve to-morrow afternoon. Soccer is given the support it deserves in these schools; and the boys turn on some really scientific gfames. The Wellington Technical College will play the Palmerston North High School at Palmerston .North before the end of this month. The venue of the North Island secondary schools tournament this year will be Auckland, and there are indications that Wellington will be well represented. Team for Canterbury.

It is understood that the sole selector, Mr. George F. Acrs, intends to place Wyatt, "Webster, Shankie, Haines, Cocks, Hindlc, Craig and Hatchard in the team to play Canterbury shortly, and if that is so he will be complimented by most followers of the game, for it will show that he is giving encouragement to some players who deserve a Chance in big football, and at the same time dispatching a team to Christchurch which is likely to give an attractive exhibition, and thus help the southern association along in the manner of finance. Of the eight named above, it is possible that f our —Wyatt, Webster, Shankie and Kindle —would not be selected if the match were against Auckland, but now they have a chance to distinguish themselves, and if they turn on good football they might get preference over better-known players when the Auckland match comes round. The selector is not having an easy job in picking this team, for a number of reasons. In the first place he is making some “experiments” and regarding the match as a trial for the one against Auckland later. But at the same time he has to select a good side, for the sport in the south needs a boost, and it would not do to send a weak eleven down. Those are two problems facing the selector, and his task is made the more difficult because of the fact that certain of the players named are not anxious to make the trip on account of the rush. The team leaves Wellington on Friday night and returns on Saturday night. Representative Caps.

The question of providing caps for representative players is at present exercising the minds of members of the management committee, who at the last meeting received a letter from the Petone Club suggesting that caps should be given to certain members of the club who have represented Wellington for a number of years 'and who have nothing to show for it. Whether the committee will accede to the rgquest remains to be seen, but a feeler was thrown out by Mr. J. Meltzer, who moved that the secretary ascertain the number of men who have represented Wellington three times in the last six years. Mr. Meltzer explained that the motion did not necessarily mean he was in favour of presenting caps to all those p]ay«rs, but he just wanted to get an idea of how many representatives there have been during the last six years so that the committee would know what it would cost for caps. This proposal was brought forward in the first place by .“Flag-Kick,” who intimated that some recognition was due to the stalwarts of former years. It seems, however, that the presentation of caps would be a very costly business, and therefore (be committee might consider the giving of certificates which should not cost a great deal. Possibly the “old-timers’ would prefer a certificate, which could be framed and placed on a wall in the house, to a cap. which in all probability would be stuck in a drawer and forgotten. The team that went to Auckland last month was presented with caps for which the asociation is to be commended, and if something ean be done for the other fellows the association will be performing a really good piece of work.

Railway Excursion. In view of the interest that is being taken in the Chatham Cup game to be plttved at Auckland next month, would it be possible for the Railways Department to run a train at excursion rates on that day? If so, there are many followers of the sport who would make the trip, which would be altogether too expensive at ordinary fares. Not only would the department benefit financially, but it would be doing something for Soceer. which, unfortunately, has not been given very much enecurngement by some persons wno could help It is possible that the management committee of the Wellington Football Association will approach the railway authorities on the question, and there would be something to work on if enthusiasts contemplating an excursion trip advised the committee.