SOCCER

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 121, 22 May 1926, Page 22

SOCCER

Br ' Vanguahc<"

HOSPITAL LEAD

IN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP

V.M.C.A. TAKE SECOND PLACE,

The unexpected happened last Saturday. As a result the league championship table has undergone some changes, the most notable being the relegation of V.M.C.A. to second place and the promotion of Hospital to the leading position. That result was brought about by the result of the game between V.M.C.A; and Hospital at Porirua last Saturday, the former team suffering its first defeat of the season. To the majority of enthusiasts the result came as a complete surprise, but there were quite a few wseacres who thought that if Y.M.C.A.'s unbeaten record was to be cheeked it would be by the Hospital eleven, which has been improving steadily each week since the commencement of the season. V.M.C.A. went down by 3 goals to nil, and on the day's play there was no room for doubt as to which was the better side. Hospital were superior in all departments of the game, and if they maintain the form they showed for the remainder of the season they should be hard to displace. In one respect luck was with them, for they met a team that had been weakened by an unfortunate set of circumstances. The abseneo of W. Nicolle from the forward line on account of a severe injury which he suffered in the match against Institute considerably weakened the V.M.C.A. attack. Nicolle is a winger of outstanding ability, and in previous matches this season most of V.M.C.A.'a scoring opportunities came from him. It is to be hoped that he will be able to take his place in the team again in time for cup fixtures. Dempster failed to turn out for his team last Saturday, and this factor also threw the forward play out of gear to some extent. Hospital,, however, played great football in all departments, and they thoroughly deserved the success which came their way. An outstanding player on the Hospital side was Newman, the centre forward. His two goals were the result of great shots, which no goalkeeper could have saved. One of the Wellington selectors was out at Porirua on Saturday, and no doubt he noted Newman's play for future reference. The two games played at the Basin Reserve developed into thrilling contests, full of incident, and they served to show two thousand people that there are many worse ways of spending an afternoon than in watching a Soccer football match. Excitement ran high in the Marist-Institute match. Marist started oil with a great rush, and had a couple of goals on the board before Institute had properly found their feet. When Institute did settle down, however, they played good football, and Marist had to fight hard to gain the goal which finally gave them the victory. The presence of M'Arthur in the half-line strengthened the Institute team very considerably, and there are many who are tipping Institute to make their presence felt in the Cup matches. Waterside sprang a surprise on Brooklyn on No. 2 ground at the Basin Reserve. The Watersiders played great football, reminiscent of the days when the club took a leading part in the competitions. Brooklyn's defence was weak, and their work in front of the goal was also disappointing. Thistle secured their second victory of the season at the expense of Diamonds. Good, All-round Standard. A notable feature of the senior A competition this season has been the good all-round standard of play shown by the various teams. One or two teams, notably Thistle, made a poor opening, but a few Saturdays were enough to wear the rough edges off, and now it is difficult to predict the results of matches with any certainty. That fact was demonstrated last Saturday. The only team in the senior A championship which has failed to register any championship points has been Diamonds, but the Blacks have not yet given up hope of avoiding relegation to senior B ranks. Included in the team there are several players of class, and as the season advances it will not bo surprising to see a victory or two como their way. At present Hospital have a lead of one poiut over V.M.C.A., their record being four wins and one loss. It was in the first match against Institute that Hospital suffered defeat, and since then they have been unbeaten. V.M.C.A. won their first three matches, drew with Institute, and lost against Hospital. Marist are third on the list, with two wins and two drawn games, and then come Institute, Brooklyn, and Thistle, each .with five points. Waterside have four points and Diamonds, so far, have failed to register a championship point. On the whole, the championship table bears a very open appearance, and the chances of an interesting and close finish are very promising. Outstanding Players. So far many indications have been given that Wellington will be able to place a very strong representative team in the field this season. There is no shortage of goalkeepers, and the selectors will have considerable difficulty in deciding on the right man. M'Vean, who filled the position last year, is playing for Petone in the senior B ranks this season, but up to the present he has not been fully tested out. Other goalkeepers who have strong claims for consideration are Ewing (V.M.C.A.), Porteous (Hospital), Tarrant (Institute), and Cox (Waterside). Ewing has been showing great form between the uprights, having recovered all his old skill, and Tarranfc has been doing good service for Institute. The writer does not envy the selectors their task in selecting a goalkeeper. Outstanding backs are the V.M.C.A. pair, Prince and Koberts, both of whom are worthy of inclusion in a. representative side, Fitzgerald (Marist), Gibb (Hospital), Thompson (Hospital), and Edwards (Brooklyn). M'Girr is playing in the half-line this season, but it is not altogether unlikely that lie will be asked to. play full-back if selected for representative honours. There are some who are of the opinion that Wellington will be weak in the half-line, but the writer does not subscribe to those views. Last year's halves, Burke (Marist), M'Kee (Hospital), M'Arthur (Institute), and Thomas (Marist), are all available again, and are playing good football. Others offering are Bowyer (Brooklyn), Lennox (Thistlo), Budolph (Marist), and Trott

(V.M.C.A.). Surely it will be possible to select three worthy representatives from that number. There are plenty of good forwards available. Nicolle (V.M.C.A.) —if his injury allows him to play again this season—Ballard (V.M.C.A.), Newman (Hospital), M<Elligott (Marist), Cudby (Marisf), May (Institute), Maddocks (Institute), Smith (Institute), M'Kay (Waterside), Daniells (Thistle), Lothian (Thistle), Logan (Thistle), M'Leod (Diamonds), and W. Anton (Brooklyn) are all worthy of consideration. The centreforward position will offer a problem to the selectors, as there is very little to choose between Newman, Lothian, and Anton. The writer suggests that a trial match should be played on the Basin Keserve fairly early in the season in order that the selectors may have an opportunity of seeing the prominent players in action together. It is going to be a difficult matter for Wellington to retain the premier trophy of the Dominion this season, and it is essential that the very best team be placed in the field in each of the three games. The following teams would provide a great game, and would allow the selectors to judge the merits of the players:— A team: Ewing; Prince and Thompson; Trott, Thomas, and Rudolph; Daniells, Logan, Newman, May, and Cudby. B team: Tarrant; Roberts and Gibb (or M'Girr); Burke, M'Keo, and M'Arthur; M'Leod, Ballard, Lothian (or Anton), M'Elligott, and Smith. The Incorporation Proposal. This year, next year, sometime, never, has been the policy upon which improvements to Association Park have advanced, each future season being a season of great promise, with, however, fulfilment still another year ahead. Possibly there will be fulfilment, in part, before next football- season opens, depending always upon the speed with which the wheels go round, for the preliminaries in connection with the passing over of the control of the park from the company to the association are well ahead. Some time ago a sub-committee was set up by the association to go into the whole business of reorganisations and re-finance, and as a result detailed proposals were drawn up and laid before the company's solicitors. Apparently the next move lies with the company, and until approval or disapproval is expressed it must.be a case of marking time. The company is not at all likely to turn/to now and put the ground into decent order, and the association cannot move until' the incorporation comes about.

The players owe the company and its shareholders a good deal more than they give credit for, for when the company was proposed it was already fairly clear that there would not be much in the way of dividends for shareholders; it was a move to establish Soccer firmly, and the old hands, and a few, in comparison to numbers, of the new hands, reached down into their respective pockets and took so many shares, knowing pretty well that if the game went well Association Park would be there for all time, and consequently, that they would never see their money again—without being unpleasant about it, at aay rate —and that if Soccer did not progress in astonishing faahion they would probably see no more of their money either. Only if Soccer had failed to make any progress at all and fallen back to a truly dead game would there have been a real chance of their money coming home again, bringing some more with it, for had Soccer fallen wjith a dull thud, presumably the park would havo been sold, and shareholders would have profited by the increased land value. And as a matter of fact the value of the park has increased very greatly indeed from the day when it was first obtained. It was then a small patch of wilderness completely surrounded by a larger patch of wilderness, sandhills, and sand hollows. There was then scarcely a house near it and, generally, it was a rather hopeless looking place, but to make up for that it had possibilities and it was moderately cheap. Today if it were cut up it would be simply rushed as residential land, and each year its value rises. A year or so ago, so it was reported, a straight-out offer was made for the park, but there was nothing doing. Association Park remains as Association Park. Though it has, quite frankly, been a hard-up concern from the first, nevertheless, here is a tidy bit of property to-day without a penny of mortgage on it, or if there is any mortgage it is so small as to worry not at all. In a few years' time, when the population of the eastern suburbs has increased still more, and when the City Council has carried out its scheme of developing the Rongotai sandhill area into a sports area, Association Park will be regarded as not so far out of town after all, and its usefulness will be re&Uy appreciated. Benefits to be Expected. * Though the company has undoubtedly done a lot for the game in getting hold of and holding on to a ground, the dual control of company and association has been a cumbersome business, and probably no big ground improvement could be made while it lasted. The association has used the ground and paid over to the company just what the company handed away for rates and taxes, company charges, and so on,'so that there has not been any great thickness of butter on anyone's bread. If the proposals are adopted the control will be solely in the hands of the association. It will, furthermore, be permissible for the association to apply to the Valuer-General for a new valuation of the land, and to hope for a reduction in\ the rate demands to about half what they are at present (now approximately £60 per annum). With the way clear ahead, the association will also be in a position to consider re-financing the park, per mediu-i of a mortgage, and to think about a grandstand. Last year a small stand, to seat about 500 wns discussed in a general sort of way, but when the idea of incorporation came up it was decided to let well alone for the time being. Probably any new plans will provide for the building of a stand by sections as finance permits. The playing fields will also have to be rearranged, frr as the two east and west grounds are at present there is a, serious waste of good playing spac<. One east and west and two north and south grounds could be fitted in if further levelling work were done. The shelter is badly needed, and will have to come if the park is to be given a fair chance. Several times trees have been set out, but horses, high winds, small boys, and folk who drop over the fence, and later do a little treeplanting cj home have seen to those. Trees can be grown, but only if given a chance, by proper fencing and so on. The gale last week, by the way, certainly did treat the fencing roughly, and yards of it are down on three sides, notwit' standing the overhauling i' was given only a couple of months ago. Next Year? All attempts to bring the park up to scratch in the past have got so far and no further. A few diehards have kept at it, or did so until a few seasons ago, patching things up and making bricks without straw, endeavouring at times

to get working bees together, and generally being disappointed at the response. Gradually, they, too, have become rather fed up with the lack of progress at the park, ugh the game as a whole has made goo 4 progress, but Soccer's season on the Basin, plus the probability of reorganisation at last, has some promise of real progress next season. Or is it to be some other season still? Institute Fight Hard. Although Marist gained the verdict over Institute at the Basin Reserve on Saturday, they had to fight hard all the way in order to win by a margin of one goal. Institute played good football apart from two outstanding weaknesses—a tendency to bunch and a tendency to retain the Fall too long. Bunching is a weakness that is liable to prove very expensive, as it naturally has the effect of leaving an opposing player unmarked and consequently gives him greater freedom of action. It was the fault of hanging on to the ball too long that brought about Institute's downfall, however, as in almost every case the player guilty of the offence had the ball taken off him by a Marist player before he could make any use of it. A good slogan is: "Get rid of the ball, and make sure that it goes to a player on your own side." Indiscriminate kicking often leads to a goal —for the other side. An outstanding player in the Institute forward line on Saturday was May, who showed great skill in controlling the ball and passed with rare judgment. The selectors will have' to keep an eye on this player. Although Gill, scored a couple of goals he did not show to very great advantage in the centre-forward position, but in justice it must bo said that his work was hampered to some extent by other players crowding in on him, especially irf front of the goal. M'Arthur did good work in the half-line, and Jeffery also shone out. Rusterholz, however, was a weak link in the defence. Calvert and Bell did well in the full-back positions, and Tarraht put in a strenuous afternoon's work between the uprights, so strenuous in fact that he had to retire once or twice. Cudb'y, M'Elligott, and Hennessey were the pick of the Marist forwards, and Thomas shone out in the half-line. It was fitting that Thomas' should have had the honour of scoring the winning goal. Fitzgerald did good work at full-back, and Hickey was satisfactory in goal. Fine Game at Fbrirua. The meeting cf Hospital and V.M.C.A. at Porirua provided a great contest, quite up to general expectation, and much more closely contested, than the score, 3-0 in the former's favour, would indicate. It was a game between two high-class teams, who were both well aware before the match that the contest would be a stern one. V.M.C.A. were generally favourites, but there was plenty of support and confidence in the suburb for the local team, who fielded their strongest team of the season. The play was more in the nature of a cup-tie, with the tackling keen, and little time allowed for frills or fancy work. When V.M.C.A. won the toss and took the only advantage offering, -the sun at their backs, it. was anticipated by many that they wouli> score goals while the sun shone. The home team, however, kept them out until half-time, although the strong glare of the sun was very troublesome. In the second half Hospital had the sun on their side until half-way through the spell, when the old fellow dipped behind the hills, and made conditions equal for both. V.M.C.A. were a beaten side at half-time, although no score had been registered. It seems that to beat Hospital this season a team must get a good lead in the first half, and then possess a very strong defence to keep their opponents out in the sec-, ond. V.M.C.A., although playing good football, did not shape like a champion team, and on the day were beaten by a better and sounder combination. They quite failed to drive home the advantages gained and were at times very weak and reckless in their shooting. The game swung rapidly from end to end, and evt^i when the match was won and lost the speed and quality of the play was class enough to keep the large crowd on the ground until the last whistle. Hospital won the match by their steadiness and accurate play and also by their superb defence. Porteous demonstrated that he has lost none of his skill and ability as a first-class goalkeeper. His anticipation and fielding, combined with his cool but daring methods, played a great part in the success of his team. Gibb was lame when he took the field, suffering from an injury incurred the previous week, and he virtually played the game'on one leg. The deft touch to one side and the push forward to the halves proved juat as effective in baulking his opponents as hefty kicking. His colleague, Thompson, played a wonderful game, quite the best of his career, and as a right or left-back, will need serious consideration by the representative selectors. Thompson, having extra work to do simply revelled in it, and never made a mistake in his kicking, while his pace, weight, and height proved a great asset. The strong feature of Hospital's team is in the halves, and Brown, M'Kee, and Simon proved too good a trio for the opposing forwards. V.M.C.A. were not strong in defence, and to my mind M'Girr was wasted at right-half. He should either be centrehalf or full-back if a team wan»s to get the best out of his play. Ewing had no earthly chance of saving the first two goals scored, but the third was saveable, although it made no difference, being close on time. It was a very fast ground shot from a good way out, and Swing got to the ball, but failed to hold it. Prince and Roberts were not at their best, and the latter in particular was shaky, and on more than one occasion badly miss-kicked. They improved as the game wore on and gave a good display, with Prince the better of the two. Roberts and M'Girr should exchange positions, to improve the defence. Pearson and Trott did a lot of work in the halves, but the main fault of the halves was in overkicking their forwards and not placing to advantage. The forwards played splendidly, except when in front of goal. The combination and field work, especially in the first half, was good to watch. Too much use, however, was made of the loft wing, to the detriment of the right. Worth, on the right wing, took full advantage of the few opportunities he had, and although he is not the equal of Nicolle, he is a good footballer, with a good turn of speed, and would do better with more of the ball. Eton partnered him and combined well with the others, but missed one very easy chance to score. Ballard and Stark were the stars in the front" line; the latter is a very fine player who will be hard to keep out of the representatives. Presentation Goals. Diamonds had distinctly bad luck at Association Park on Saturday last, for if bad luck does not include the making of two presentation goals to the other side, then the terra has too narrow en application. Possibly ths rough surface of the ground had a good deal to do with it, for there was a lot of miskicking by both sets of defenders, but these two naturally stood out prominently since they tipped the balance so definitely against the Blacks. In other respects Diamonds have been unfortunate this season, their captain, Hcarne, crashing heavily on his knee at the park three Saturdays ago, and going to the bank and the maßseur as "a result. Auld was badly knocked while playing against Hospital a couple of weeks ago, and last Saturday carried on under a handicap.