ASSOCIATION

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 151, 27 June 1914, Page 18

ASSOCIATION

SATURDAY'S GAMES REVIEWED (By " Vanguard " ) POOR GAME— TOO MUCH "RUGBY." Rovers have at last placed a win to their credit by defeating Brooklyn. They were easily the better team, and their play, generally, was deserving of every commendation. Real, good football was practically out of the question, owing to the adverse weather conditions, although the Rover forwards showed good combination at times. A bitterly cold southerly, with occasional rain, swept across the ground, and made things very unpleasant for players and the few spectators who were enthusiastic enough to be present. The game as a whole was a poor one to watch, both sets of forwards indulged in too many Rugby rushes. The exhibition by Brooklyn fell far short of that put up by them the week previous, against Hospital. The game nad not been in progress long before Elford, with a good shot, placed Rovers in the lead. From this on to the end of the spell, the whites had much the best of the play, and added two more goals, per medium of Nicol and 1 Turner. The latter was playing centre-forward, and gave a good display. BROOKLYN'S LACK OF COMBINATION. The Brooklyn' team made several spirited_ dashes — Kelleway, Barnett, and Belhamie being prominent in the lead. But these dashes are useless when hard kicking is indulged in and little combination shown. The fault of some players is that, when they get the ball, they want to go through on their own and score. This, of course, comes off sometimes, but with an alert defence it is rare. In the second half the Brooklyn men played much better, and pressed Rovers hard, the latter's goal being in> great danger for some time. But it was Rovers who scored first, Black finishing off a fine effort by Elford. The latter played ' a splendid game, and was "out on his own" as a forward. The persistence of the suburban team was at last rewarded by Kelloway piloting one past Heap. Towards the finish Barnett added another, but Rovers finished strongly with two goals to spare. „ Clapham turned out for Brooklyn and played at back, but he is not the Clapham of old. Another change was Belhamie as centre-forward for the same team. Although apparently short of training, ho played a good game, and should considerably strengthen their forward line. The main fault of the Brooklyn forwards, as I • 'pointed out before, was that they indulged in too much kick and rush. * The Rover forwards played in striking contrast, keeping control of the ball whenever possible. The defensive portion of the game was also well attended to. Freyberg and Martin being particularly good. DEFEATED BUT NOT DISGRACED. Although iho Swifts suffered defeat at the hands of Thistle by 7 goals to nil at Kilbirnie on Saturday' last, they are, nevertheless, to be congratulated upon the excellent showing they put up. They never said die, and while continuing to struggle against long odd-*— the Thistle team was wholly superior in all departments of the game — made their opponents work hard for oVery point they got. This is moie than can bo said' of most teams which have been defeated by seven goals to nil, rfnd show that the Swifts are made of the right stuff, and with combination which comes, of practice coul4 be relied upon to shake up one or two of the star teams considerably. _ Owing to the extreme cold and the high wind which was blowing accurate play was, of course, out of the

question, but both teams made up for this deficiency by piling on the pace, with the result that things happened quickly and often. Of the Thistle combination those who distinguished themselves most were Ferguson, Dick Edwards, and Reid, while of the Swifts team those who rendered the best ser- ' vice were Ross (centre-half) and White (left full-back). Y.M.C.A.'S EASY TASK, i There was little deserving of comment in the Y.M.C.A.-Petone fixture on the Petone ground. Petone played with only ten men, and V.M.C.A. had no difficulty in securing a win by a margin of two goals. It would be quite safe to say "that, given a fine day, the. I margin would have been much greater. Under the circumstances nothing " brilliant in the way of play could t>e"-ex-pected. A cold southerly wind, with heavy rain, swept the field throughout, leaving large pools of water in many places, and it is not surprising that some of the men abandoned play before time. PETONE PLAYERS IMPROVING. Under such circumstances it is scarcely possible to single out players for special mention. For V.M.C.A. Coate,' at cen-tre-half, did a lot of solid work, and the play of the other halves, Wilson and Roberts, was also noticeable. This latter player has a habit of throwing his arms about, which has on previous occasions resulted disastrously to hi& side, and which last week gave Petone their only goal from a penalty. Hindmarsh, who played in Philips's position at insideleft, is a -promoted junior, and displayed some dash, and fully justified his inclusion by scoring one goal in fine style. Carruthers, on the right wing, was a dangerous man, and put in Borne good work. The Petone team evidenced signs of improvement, especially in the forward division, Stewart and Howett showing , to advantage. Martin, at centre-half, ' put in some solid work. Bold kicked j the greasy ball well too, but was not as safe as on previous occasions. Guthrie, in goal, was good. He is very safe, and is particularly good on ground shots, and has a very strong kick. TO-DAY'S BIG GAME. The- Corinthians' had a bye last Saturday, and consequently some of their players and supporters were to be seen witnessing the Thistles running up a big score against Swifts in the Park. The Corinthians meet the Scotchmen to-day, and the game is expected to prove a battle royal, as neither team up to time of writing has tasted defeat, although Thistle have drawn two while Corinthians have only lost one point. WANTED— A LARGE CROWD. The Basin Reserve is the scene of strife, and the writer will be disappointed if the crowd does not at ' least reach the number which attended at the Hospital-Corinthian match. True, there is a big draw at Athletic Park, but " Soccei ' has made its stand and has come to stay, and after the keen interest displayed by the 2000 spectators on tile King s Birthday there should be as big a ■ crowd to-day. THISTLE'S OPPORTUNITY. Tho Thistle team is going strong these days, and with their new blood are out foi taking the " stripes" down for two points. On the other hnad, Corinthians are somewhat unfortunate in having to take tho field against Thistle -minus Ruttet and Burke, both ,' full-backs. Rutter is a player whose position will be very difficult to fill. His displays this season have, been a treat to watch, and the selector's mind must have been fujly made up as to Rutter's 1 place for the "reps" this .year. v ' | However, it is expected that the energetic secretary of the Corinthians will have a " dark horse %1 or f,wo_ to help keep the club's colours flying and assisting the top team to still retain the honourable position they at present iiold. NOTES. A prominent half-back of the Rovers team has a bad habit of showing his displeasure when the referee or linesman's decision does not coincide with his own views The fault was very apparent on daturday in the Rover-Brooklyn match, and it certainly did not enllanco the player's reputation. A new arrival from England. Mr. Harris, should prove an acquisition to 'the ranks of the local Referees' Association. He has been closely identified with English football, both as player and referee, for many years. For the last five years Mr. Harris has controlled matches in different l.eagues in the South of England. The game at Palmerston, played re- ' cently between Wellington and Manawatu, proved very one-sided. An idea has been mooted which should meet with popular favour. It is this : — That next season, at Show time, instead of sending up a representative team to meet Manawatu, the W.F.A. send two of the leading clubs to play a championship.match. This would prove a" novelty and an attraction to the general public, besides doing the game an immense amount of good. The Rugby people put, on a very strong attraction annually in playing Wanganui versus Te Aute, and the "soccer" authorities would be wise to do likewise. • The transfer of H. Barnes from Derby ' County to Manchester United at the record price of £2800 is of particular interest to Harry Heath, of the Hospital Club. Heath and Barnes played for the same team for several seasons in the Sheffield Sunday School League, from which Barnes was secured for the sum of £10. In a chatty letter to Heath, Barnes tells of his good fortune, and also of the fact that he is this mohth taking unto himself a life partner to share his joys and sorrows. The Irish Football Association expect to return a profit of £2000 on the season. Not bad for the "distressful country." In reply to a letter from the Burnley secretary, thanking him for his kindness in presenting the English cup and medals, the King, through air equerry, expressed pleasure at having had the opportunity of witnessing the final. - The competition for the "wooden* spoon " promises to be as keen as that for the championship. Wanderers, Brooklyn, and Rovers are now level, and it only wants Petone to win _ a match to have the four teams running neck-and-neck. Now that Rovers have broken their " duck," it woufd not be surprising in the least of see them lower the colours of some of the leading teams. They have a good forward line, and with a little strengthening in the rear division should be capable of extending any team. A commencement was made last Wednesday with the League championship, under tho auspices of the Wellington Football Association. There are at present five entries : Porirua United. V.M.C.A., Brooklyn, Tramway, and Hearts. There is a probability that Artillery will also enter a team.* The game at Porirua between Porirua United and V.M.C.A. provided an exciting finish, the former winning by 4 ! goals to 3. V.M.C.A. certainly had ' hard luck in having , two penalties awarded against them, but they yere palpable offences, and the referee had j no option. t Both teams showed a lack of combination which will no doubt be ! remedied after a match or two together. Roots was, of course, the star pjayer, but he was well_ watched, and did not have things all his own way. M'Ufegor also kicked powerfully at back, being ably assisted by Crutchlcy. The forwards were eager and willing until want of condition found them out.