SOCCER

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 131, 6 June 1925, Page 18

SOCCER

Clvb 1 football h'as'probably never been better than it is: in Wellington this season. Each Saturday.sees-games full of action azid ; interest;. and brilliant' individualists are brought to the light of day. Yet, hr spite-of'theser-advantages; Wellington - suffers defeat- in the - first', representative'match of tlie season; What is: the reason?' When the team to • meet-. Canterbury was first- announced! "Vanguard" saw reason to criticise the selection rather severely, so severely in fact that one"or two correspondents took him to task, but-after seeing the-Wellington, team in action at" the Basin' Reserve■e ■ on Wednesday, against. Canterbury he <. sees no reason', to retract any of< his- statements. It; was 'provedl' beyond- ddulfc that the players criticised, arc not' up to representative standard-, and; that many, changes -. will; have- to be made by. the selectors if Wellington' are to have a; chance of a-uuexing 1 tho Brown Shield this season;, , ' , ; In'this column-last'week, it-was" stat* cd that of'the five forwards selected, only one—Charlie- Ballard—had earned his, pla.ee, and on Wednesday tlie truth of: this assertion- was borne out: Ballard. was- tlie outstanding figure in the; Wellington- eleven; but much of" his- brilliant work- on the left-wing" was robbed: of its- value owingto lack- of" support. Logan, playing in the inside left position, worked conscientiously alongside the New Zealand representative,, but His--work-was-patchy, and at times there was: lack of understanding between: the; pair. Had' Goordie Campbell been in'the forward 1 line, the result of- the'game might 1 have been, verydifferent, b'nt' for some obscure reason, best known to' the" selectors, Geordie was a spectator. " There must have been times during: the afternoon when he longed to bo alongside Ballard. Orr made a very fair centre, and-his goal- towards- the end 06 the game showed him to bo ready I to- take advantage of openings. In the 1 art of making" openingsl' for ■ himself;, however, he did not prove so proficient, and lack of speed' j in' getting to the ball, cost Wellington at. j-.least two- goals. M'EUigott, at insideright, covered, a lot of ground, but did' I: little of any'real-value: Sordid he work- ,. nr well with the; remaining front rankj;ers._ M'Elligott to-a 1 large extent is an i; individualist, but his' attempts at solo work on-Wednesday met witli little suc-j-cess. 111-- the" first" place, the-conditions-[Were against' him, and in the second. :place the opposing halves- were just a ; shade too- clever. Mooro, on the ri'«ht- ■ wing, was- not a success. He received ; every opportunity to distinguish, him- ■ solt during the- game;, put apart from, a 'few good'centres lie did little to justify ,his inclusion in the eleven. He'is not ;fast enough for a- winger, and. is- easily i beaten for possession of the ball. On'" it-he whole the display of tho local forwards, was very disappointing. They made few attempts-' at combined' play .and when they did' they generally contrived to pass the ball, to an' opposing, back, which; to say the least of it, is 'poor tactics. The shooting too waslacking in sting. M'Kco,. at centre-half was one player wlio did- justify himself, lie played steadily during, tho wliolo ga-vrie, kicking- with restraint and' with good judgment; His goal was one out oi the bag, Neil M'Artliur. on the right 11 id. not show his -true form,- and wuonly a-moderate-display.-'lrvine, on the Jelf., was not up to representative standard. M'Gn-r played his usual brilliant ga'm'o- at left-back, . but Gibb. on the right, was very patchy. In the first spell he made numerous costly mistakes.. Ewin'g was not a, success in goal. Two shots he should have stopped, and his work generally was very shaky. Of the Canterbury players the'outstanding figure was the centre forward, J rotter, who proved himself to be one or. ■*•»<=. finest centres seen in action in Wellington for many a day. He nave a brilliant, all-round display, and was lamely responsible" for the success which attended the movements of the Canterbury forwards. The selector of the New Zealand team this season should not have very far to; look for a pivot for his forward line. Trotter received o-ood support from the remaining members of tlie forward line. G. Ives and F. Isles made, up n brilliant left-wing, and the goal scored by the former early in tho first, spell was one of the features of the match. D. Donaldson, on the ri-ht wing, was not as much at home as his companions, but Greenaway, at inside right, did very valuable work. It was m the half-line that Canterbury's chief iionrce of strength was to be found A. Koberts proved himself to be a. very hue centre and in addition to stoppingmany Wellington attacks he kept his for" wards well supplied with the ball; M'Gill and Howiirth were good supports, and the former proved altogether too .rood tor Mooro. the Wellinelon vieht wine IliK two bricks, Cliappoll and Hirst, were solid without boiun- brilliant. The oonlkeoper, M. Wilson, oave a great ""display, and was largely instrumental in keening clown Wellington's tally. A Runaway Victory. U was unfortunate for tlie Tiutler Benefit Coiniiiitlco that tho weather was not in a. bctler mood fur Uie match between V.Jr.C.A. and Instjlii!,: til the Miisiu l.'esorve, nud it w.-jk also iinfoHiiiuit.. fur (hose few hundred people who dill ;iltend that tho football provided «a.s notof a more interesting description. Bight from the start Young Men demonstrated their superiority. und litnr the ilrst tst! mluuUii at so iJp'ccUloj'B realised that it

IBY "VANGUARD"! CANTERBURY TOO GOOD WELLINGTON- TEAM DEFEATEDFORWARDS LET THE SIDE DOWN 1:

was not a question of who would winbut how many goals V.M.C.A. would-win-i by. Institute's defence- was lamentably weak—weaker' than': it < has. been iv any match this ■ season—and> the .fast-moving, and scientific V.M.C..A. forwards' were not slow to grasp-the numerous opportunities that •came their way. Five goals were scored in the first spell, when Y.M.C.A. had the advantage of a strong southerly wind, and.'three,more.were.added m the second,",, when. Institute-held the ■ advantage as far. : as - weather • conditions wore concerned.' In the -. second spell Y.M.C.A'. played in such- a: way that, spectators might be'excused iforexpvessing the opinion* that they* were not doing their best.and were letting their opponents down as "lightly as possible. Goals were thrown away in a most careless fashion, and so-uninteresting,did.the game become that 'many patrons.left, theground half-way through the finaL spell., Every member-of->tho.Y..M.O?A, elevenplayed to the book, and. the result wasi that the-team made-machine-like move-ments,-..which were-.-asi;effective«as-. t-hfey : were spectacular. The forwards controlled the ball like-internationals, and provedi themselves' beyond' doubt: to be tlie'best set" of front-rankers in Wellington at the present time.. Doubt was. ex" pressed in these columns early in the. season whether Eton, the-ex-Karon player' would fit into the- line,.especially^in; such an important, position • as, centre-forward, but he proved himself on Saturday by: playing a sterling game; He was always with the ■ ball, and' showed-: himself to be capable of taking advantage of opportunities that offered'-themselves:- Dempster, inside-right, also did. well, and Nicolle-again demonstrated what a-really fine winger he is. Campbell and. Bui-' ;lard were as sound* as-ever—and that is saying a.good.deal. The pair of internationals did-, some clever, work,on the left, wing,, and had. the defence at> a-loss :the- • whole time. M'Arthur. Trott, and; At--ikinson made up an efficient half-line, and jM'Girr and-Prince, in ( the full-back, positions; played! well, enough to break the ,hearts of any opposing- set of forwards. ; larrant, in goal, had: little to do. | Tlie form shown by the Institute>play--prs,. with, few exceptions, was very-. pooi\ .There was little attempt at concerted ac;tion, and^ the result was that-.good openings went a-begging. The outstanding player on the side was-the centre-Half, KaUaher, who' took on himself 'the- burton of the- defensive work; Ho played •in a determined' fashion all through the. piece; "and- refused to give way" until, numbers told against him. If he had received a,, little more support: V.M.C.A. would;not" have rattled!on as-many- goals. Gerald BelUplayed.his usual sound,game; but Caulton in goal] was not as- alert asusual. After a' Hard- Game. Diamonds have had a- fair share of ill-luck, this season,, but it-was, added; to I on; Saturday when: they, had: to acknowledge defeat to Scottish; Wanderers to the score of 2 goals'to-1. In tlie first place, Wanderers- won on a last-minute victory, which- in itself is- always disheartening to' a team,, but Diamonds were further penalised! by being, without three of their best playors when they niet the Scotchmen; Guest,-tlie veteran back, ajid Daniels- and; Stocks,, all' players of merit, were the absentees. To take the place of Guest, tlie team, had recourse; to "Ted" Newport, who is nowadays- a stranger to the. ball.. In- spite of that, lie gave a good account of himself. Although he made his. presene-e, ielf,,- and was- able-- to- rescue-, his side h'OM many a tight- corner, he< was not. as was anticipated, as serviceable asGuesfc. Guest's- absence was acutely felt in the second speir when Diamonds werebattling against heavy odds in the-shape of a fast and nippy team, assisted by a. strong wind. When all' these factors aretaken into consideration, their performance in keeping the score down to what it was, has added: merit. With the absence of the three above-mentioned players, Scottish Wanderers took, the field with confidence, for. it brought Diamonds down to about their own strength. From the kick-off, it was seen that the issue would bo strenuously contested, and so it proved to be, though at times play became very ragged. Wanderers were always on tlie move, and when they failed to keep the ball moving Diamonds who displayed better all-round football! never failed to take up the charge and force matters. Diamonds had tlie advantage of a sti-ong wind iv the first spell, but they did not avail themselves of it, for the only point which came to them during that part of the game was a goal which a member of the Wanderers' side put through his own nettunlv^but^if tO f "eiZ°- aDy °PPWlumiy, out did not receive many— Wanderers saw to that. Wanderers niore than held their own in the early spell, and when the team changed sides the result was practically a foregone conclusion. The spectators, however, were not. going to sod a team easily beaten,' and some surprise was occasioned when it was found thai, Diamonds were hnlding the Scotchmen, in spitn of tlie fact that they were fighting against a heavy wind, and had their ranks reinforced with fifth-class boys. Iv the first partof the second half Mic game was very keen, bolh le;nns striving for possession of tlio leather and making every imidwivuiu- In register points. In ,-onsej quence, the spectators were treatetl to a display of football, which, if not of first-class standard, was bright, and at times thrilling. For over half an hour Scottish tried hard to score, uud during that time Diauwndjß held them, and aim

tried a bit of scoring besides.. Then,the. Scotchmen got a lead .when Sutherland and Montgomery boro down on ihe.goallinc,. iiud ibo latter found, the',net \vJUi . a beautiful .shot after a.fine piece of tidSo play. A point behind, Diamonds, mad?, Etrciuious;_ efforts, io equalise, and oni| two occasions almost.succeeded, but they were a -weakened team ...which Jacked,thaV extra spirit necessary to score with. They.. were. unable, lo .penetrate. the., Scottish defence, and .- had ; to. acknowledge - another hard defeat... Dreary- and Drab. : A-,dreary, drab.game, full ol ; missed, chances,, aboutrsums up., the-:' HospitalThistle, .clash last.-Saturday. The exhibition of football was, below senior standard,; and, although .Hospital won, therewas .no..feeling .of elation amongst them,, as.-they recognised- .they .were, rather, fortunate t0... collect the .points. V Porteous. was absent-.from Hospital. owing to ill-' ness,.and Trewick-,was called into'action, again. Thistle. were more- unfortunate, - as,they arrived.minus,M'Kenzie and Patv erson, and their places were hard-to fill.', Duncan, who has a fine-..club spirit, filled pne of tho vacancies, and . did really well, although not -in.condition.- Hospital at times simply overwhelmed Thistle, but the shooting was atrocious,, and easy chances to score were badly-missed.-The greasy ball was, no doubt,;'a. contributing cause to this;- as a light drizzle.fell throughout the game. The'ground was good viand firing but. the,grass<-.was wet', and; the-..ba11. at.;,times . : played.; queer tricks;; The., main cause .<of .the,. home', team's-weakness-in the forwards;, howr, ever,-, was the adoption and never iChanjjing,- close,passing -game.-, The..ball : was., wrapped lip amongst the. inside men, and they> all triedoto. ■ walk;:the rball-;- through: the goal,.which isnot the game, iparticu-, larly-with a .wet ball. 16.. they, had gono. in :for thevlong passing, wing to wing,, with; the insidei-men coming; up for tho"-: centre, a; better ■-. game, would :have. re--, suited,: and the win--would have beem as.-: sured earlior.i Thistle were weak, and, although, they,scored.-first and •held.^lie,, lead;; for some-, time,. they did .not: give, the, impression, that tiiey. would win.. .Their defence- played: a , rare,- spoiling, game, and. time and again; broke up. tho. home,-attack, butv.the; forwards., generally wereofeeble, and'rarely managed to. pass Gibb(,and. Thompson. M'Kee ■ and Simon were the. outstanding: pkyers^ior - Hospital,: and the 1 former also-accounted.' for.tho.home-gpals.. Taylor played,splendidly for' Thistle,, and gave,- bright-glimpses-oHiisold : form, and.-showed that ho.-is.far,-from a; backs,number yet. M'Beau- did .not ■ get muchrto do,, but, did. it; well,! and:, liad/j no;, chance with.-, the. goals;, one: a : . penalty,, against,- him.. ■Bi-ownlie also- showedra: return do.form,-and,-was; : well supported ' by-. Weatherspoon.-,: Where Games are Won. The main poirits.inna speech! imade by-Major-:-E.-.:6. ■ Murdoch to a. representa-tive-meeting of. the,-Bristol.and.-Subur-ban League-is sound rand helpful, advice on;, "What • should, be done - before •- going onr,tho,:field," and ."Whatvshould- be done: when on : . the.? field.": Referring..to,-the former, he, said, that football rwas, a .game;, of-.combination;. and not-a.one-man game. The. amateur of any skill-.whatever 'was. always-, well:; worth-, watching in,, these, days of. spectacular- football. The. Britisher nowadays enjoyedithe^game:that, made him hot—and if needs be, dirty.' Before a team went on the green "carpet" there.: should be.T. a working arrangement and a common understanding. The players did not now gather round i and- decide- on what-, they- were fomg to do:. Unity and cohesion were adlyv wanted. Matches, were won in the-dressing-room, and i not. on-- the- field; At: the; present: time three -classes- of 'football: were- being.: played—the- individual, short- passing, and i long.-passing> game.From-, his - experience—a... considerable one —he;- fully, recommended! the. long.-passing - game.-- for- all: sorts-: of- grounds. Theopen:game,—with the.-even.spacing of. the. forwards—was-, always' the. besti one., There should be nov bunching; because: that only helped the. enemy. The important men.on the field were the halves, because, either in offence or defence they were entirely responsible for the movements- of: the game. It was in their power to open up the different movements and to check their opponents from, developing their movements.. In con-' elusion, Major Murdoch strongly urged' all players to learn to kick with both feet; there were far, too' many onelegged; players 1 in present-day football. Good; advice for Bristol, but also good advice-for-Wellington; Odds, and Ends It is stated on good-authority that iftho Waterside Club-arc-not able in the ne.\_t couple.of weeks to..strengthen. their senior, team, it will be withdrawn. This, will be. a great pity. if. it comes t« pass, us the club" has. always., been- very, keen.: on. the game, and iit : their, fairly; short. existence have put up a.iiue record: Wlieu so many football, clubs, are-suf r 1 fering from chronic impecuniosity, the., financial' figures of. Bolton Wanderers .make pleasant reading. Tho. balance--sheet wbs; issued' just, recently. It, dis- . closes a profit of £5751: on. the year, mak- , ing. a total of £25,000- since the war, and leaving the dub with, a nest-egg at tho bank and investments representing £17,000. Of the '88 clubs forming the League; I only 28 offered the F.A. the aid of players in connection with the Australian touv. The 28. were made up of seven ; First Division clubs, nine of. the Second. Division, nine of the Southern Section, i and three of the Northern Section. The response was very poor, indeed. However, the final team will include five in- ■ terriatiomil players, one amateur internu- ; tional, anctthree men who have taken part in F.A. trials; so one hopes England will be in a fair position' to give tlie j Australians good Bocvice.—'"Sports Times." Mr. John Lewis, who is cpnd.uctinf: the Euglish team in Australia, is .70 years of j age. Ho holds the long-service medals | of the Football Association, the Football ! League, aud the Lancashire F.A. He is styled, and worthy so, as Ambassador of Sport. In Australia the teams do not, upon entering (he field, indulge in a little shooting practice, as in 'England and usually in New Zealand. They line up in front of tho pavilion, and give three hurrahs for each other. In Switzerland, the captain or president of a foreign team is presented with a largo bouquet. The report from Paris of a "silent sports meeting," where dumb and ° deal teams met in their own Olympic Games, reminds me that Millwali. during the war, played a deaf and dumb goalkeeper. Ono of tho Berks and Bucks clubs playect a. ono-lotcgod ,a;oii)koi!|jur some years a«o. but I think the i-ase of JMilhvall must be unique in the aunaU of good class football. Curiously enough, adunib sol--dicr, watching a match at Millwall during the period of the war, became so axcited that he regained tho rjpwer of. apsedi.

Goals. Cli. X \V; D. L. For 'Agst. Pt-s. V.M.C.A. ........ 6 GO OS 1 12Mnrisf 0' •!' 1 1 IB' 5 fl Hospital' ........ 0 .[ 0 2 22 C S' Tliiatle- ........ e^ 2 2.- 2' 11' 12 6. Si Wanderers' 6 3 - 0"; 3 n 12': (i Institute ....... 0 1. 2. 3' 10 23 4Diiimoiids 6-1 1 i> 9 12. 3; Waterside' 1' 6 0; 0' 6 6 29 0-

SENSOR A - J

P. W. D. t. For, Agst Pts'. V.M.C.A. C 5 5 0 0 20 3 10 Jolinsonvillo .....5 i 0 1 19 9. 8 I'etone o -t 0" 1 13 7: S ■ Seatoun « » • 1 2 22 9 8 Irooklyn- , 5: 3 1 1 15 7 ■-7 - i.Sr.C.A. B 5 3 1 1 10 8 6 Diamonds li l 0 57 20-.2-' Swifts (j; 0 0 0. 2 25 . 0 \\elgasco li 0 0 6 3 11 0

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