SOCCER

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 20, 23 July 1927, Page 22

SOCCER

Br ' Vansuahd!" THE CHAMPIONSHIP

V.M.C.A. DEFEATED

DIAMONDS' IMPROVED

POSITION

SENIOR "A.

I with Marist in tho Senior A championship, wore defeated by a team lower in the bible. Marist, who had sixteen points with Young Men, were extremely luck}' to draw with. Thistle. The result is that Marist arc now leading in tho competition by one point. Up till quite recently, tho senior championship was disappointing. Early in tho season Marist and Y.M.O.A. drew well ahead of the others, and judging from the good performance of both teams, it seemed fairly certain that tho winner would bo either one of these. Both Manst and Young Men have been playing excellent football this year, which has been quite apparent from the substantial lead they had over the other teams. However, with the defeat of V.M.C.A., tho position has differed, tf Marist maintain the standard they have set, and are able to keep their present lead, their position is assured. There is, of course, always tho chance that they may be defeated, or even draw which would place them again level with their rivals. At present they are ahead. The question is: will they be ablo to keep tho lead? A gratifying feature about the competition ia recent weeks has been the rapid progress of Diamonds. Some time ago the strength of this club fell considerably, and in the past few seasons efforts have been made to bring it once «gam to the position it occupied. That these efforts have been successful may bo seen from the recent performances of the club. Diamonds have improyed greatly this year. Last season, it will be remembered, they were level with Waterside m the senior competition, but Diamonds just managed to retain their senior A status. They commenced this season in anything like a promising manner, but of late have been showing to advantage. By their win on Saturday they have put themselves within btnking distance of tho leading team, it must not bo overlooked that they TwoVT^J* being able t0 defeat V.M.C.A. last Saturday. Young Men lost their goalkeeper early in the game, and the team played a very much weakened. wdo. Still, Diamonds played good footbal, and made most of matters throughout tho game. They are now

There was a familiar touch about the game between Marist and Thistle. Sevoral seasons ago, when members of the present V.M.C.A. team played in ranks of the Thistle Club, Marist and Thistle were about evenly matched, and oven then were old rivals. An excellent fighting spirit existed between them. That this spirit has not diminished in strength was seen on Saturday, wh^n Thistle fully extended their rivals and managed to make a drawn game Marist may be counted lucky in winning the equalising goal being scored a few moments before final time was caHed In two other games on Saturday surprise victories wore obtained. Brookyn defeated iMtitate, and Seatoun beat Hospital. Institute have been playing good football this season, and I it caniQ as a surprise to see them go down to Brooklyn. The latter not by any means been playing up to senior A standard, and it seemi fairly certain that next season they will exchange Places with Petone, who are at present leading by a substantial margin in the senior B division. The fourth result that occasioned surpriso was the defeat of Hospital at the hands of Seatoun. Seatoun, who were promoted from the B grade this year, started the season well, but after a few games failed to maintain the pace they set! Hospital, of course, arc not the same as last year's team, and have not been Snf. f^;^ thing^to^A Lucky Draw. Marist were decidedly lucky to sliaro the points with Thistlo on No. 1 ground at the Basin Keservo on Saturday It was only in the last few ininutos that they secured the goal which meant bo much to them, and on the run of the play they did not deserve even that moasuro of success. Thistlo were the hotter team practically all through the gamo, tho work of tho forwards beinc particularly attractive. Lothian and Logan wero tho outstanding players and they wero responsible for most of tho oponings. Logan, particularly, was prominent all through, and his kicks from tho corner flag woro a lesson to nil wing forwards. Had it not been for tho stout defence of the Marist backs, Thistle would havo scored more goals than three. Arbuthnott, at centro half, was responsible for some good work, and his goal in the second spell was ono of tho best that has been seen this season. Ho shot from well out, and had Hickoy. tho Marist custodian, well beaten, the ball swervin" right across the goal. Taylor and Jack wero as safo an ever in the full back positions, and Kirkland,. the goal keeper, mado soveral smart saves. In spito of their good display, however it was apparent that the Thistle players' had not dovoted enough attention to training, and towards the end several members of the team were feeling the effects of tho pace that was set in tho second spell. At one stage three Thistle players woro dowi* at the ono {ime Had tho gamo gone another ten minutes it is possible that Marist would havo won, for tho men in green wero as lit at the cud as they were at tho beginning. Condon, tho Marist centre forward, was again responsible for some good work, and ho had good support troin Marchmeut, who . ved smartly in spite of an injury received durin™ tho first spell. Cudby played better than he lias dono in rocont games, and many of his runs on tho left wing placed Marist in a handy position. The shooting, however, was below form Fitzgerald did good in tho full back line, and Hickey was quite safo in goal. V.M.C.A. Go Down. Two reasons may bo attributed for tho defeat of V.M.C.A. by Diamonds last Saturday. Ouo was tho fact that Y.M. lost the services of Bentley, their goalkeeper, in the first ton minutes of play, and the second was the very good reason that Diamonds played tho bettor game. V.M.C.A. played against the wind in the first half, and as is not unfrequontly the caso in these conditions the team played better football against the wind than with it. Diamonds kept matters moving from the start, and for noarly tho whole of the spoil V.M wero kept attacking. Once, through' some pretty play in which Lack featured, the lett wing got a chance, and Ballard made no mistake with the shot But generally, tho Y.M. forwards could not make progress against their nippy opponents. The entire game, the first half particularly, was characterised by fast open play, Diamonds keeping tie ball moving. They were assisted consider- •■£•?/, a stron S wind in keeping play m V.M.'s half, but other than this, they did not uso the advantage of the wind to much effect. They found tho ball more or less uncontrollable. The V.M backs wero thoso who had to work hardest. Generally, their work was not up to tho standard they havo displayed in previous matches. At times, both miskicked. As stated before, Y.M.C.A.'s greatest troublo was in goal. Bentley received a nasty injury early in the match, and though he camo on to the field after ho was hurt, he ' ' ' self unable to play and had to retire. He was replaced between tlio posts i;v Nicollc, the right wing, who, in tliu position of goalkeeper gave an excel-

lent exhibition. He had a great deal of work, and brought off some excellent saves. In the second half he went back to the wing, but received few opportunities, and was never very prominent. Diamonds had a comparatively easy time in the first spell. With tho advantages they had they should have had several goals to their credit at halffimc. Lack of good shooting was the team's weakness. They had many more opportunities of scoring than fell to the lot of V.M.C.A., but failed to avail themselves of them. The second half was the spell in which tho Diamond team commenced to play with combination. There was only one team in the picture in this spell, and in that team there was only one player, and that was M'Lcod. This fast winger worked up the line time and again, and invariably centred with judgment. He beat the T.M. backs, and rarely failed with his pass. li> fact, once or twice he completely outdistanced the rest of the forwards, and when he swung in the ball nobody was waiting to receive it. He rarely tried, and wisely so, to score from tho wing, but was content to leave the actual shooting to the men in a better position on the field. Hearne, who was playing in tho centre-forward position, was not as successful as ho might have been. Ho received several passes from M'Leod, but was not quick enough in getting them away. Stocks, on the other wing, was the only other forward of merit. Tho backs proved a safe pair, and when the team was pressed put in some valuable work. Ewinc in goal, was not called on to a great extent. His work was, nevertheless, well done.

t» w t t, fioals. Clip. I". \\. L. D. F. A. Pts. Jlarist 10 S 1 1 30 in i 7 V.M.C.A 10 S 2 0 SO IS 16 Diamonds .... 10 6 2 " ?•) it v Hospltnl 10 5 5 o ?0 "T in Institute .... 10 3 « l -Tq -"7 7 Seatoim 11 2 6 3 or; Jo 7 Thistle 0 2 6 1 :•{ il i- y Brooklyn .... 10 1 7 2 20 35 3 Positions of Clubs. _ The following tables show the positions of the clubs in all grades except Senior Division A:— IST DIVISION "B." „ t ' P- Vf. 1,. D. «. ?S »™::! ? 5 ! ! 2 » » Hut t •••*■•■■_ 7 4 *-! ft *>») io o «^ WoUlnston « 4 2 0 i? n 8 we' Sco"::::: 7 o £ •? i 12 J Y.M-C.A T 0 6 I g 2ND DIVISION "A." _ Coals. Clip. T. liS «o T * ?• *j to *1? & d!.::::: JjJi»»» Waterside a 4 4 1 S? «l 2 Waciestown .... 9 4 4 t 5i ;X 2 Seatoim ft 4 4 1 1' 1? I Brooklyn 9 1 c 2 U $ I Pl-'to°° 9; 1 7 1 15 33 3 2ND DIVISION "B." t> „, , Coals. Clip, islaad Bay A. . \ D o " f 0 \ *£ Island Bay B. . !i s 1 0 « ■>, }„ Stlu WeUmgton S 6 .2 0 3? « " V.M.C.A. .... S 2 (i 0 33 33 4 Wc?ea*o .... 8 1 6 I 12 23 3 2ND DIVISION "C." Goals. Clip. ~ ys T * * & io T£ Isliiud Buy B s 2 1 17 la 7 StU Wellington 7 a 4 1 »A ip r Welgasco .... 7 2 4 I Ji ■>« T Technical 3 1 6 1 12 U 3 3RD DIVISION "A." t» •.,, -r Goals. Clip. loloisonvlUo .. T \ R s - ft ««■ V.M.C.A. 7 4 o 1 25 S 0 Waterside .... 8 4 3 1 32 11 b X ::::::: i ! S i £ is ? 3RD DIVISION "B." Hut, *4 wr- \»• aA. r'S Sth WolUngton 7 5 2 0') « £5 Diamonds S 3 4 1 r 17 7 Stop out .... 1 0 c 1 10 Jg- 1 4TH DIVISION "A." 1> w t^ Goals- dp. Sill Wellington. 10 0' 0 1 « A" o 3 ' Brooklyn 10 S 2 x «i fi " Watcrsldo .... 10 fi 2 2 v \\ Soatouu 10 G 4 0 25 12 12 Marlst 10 4 4 2 14 v> in Institute 10 2 7 1 it In r. Mlrainnr It. ... 10 1 s 1 12 34 ■> Y-w.c.A 10 on 0 a ig o 4TH DIVISION "B." Wadc S town ... %T\ ?" £°"i s Mlraraar It. ... 10 « 2 2 25 14 \\ Potono 10 7 3 0 25 2 14 Sontoun 10 5 5 0 14 i<> in S'V«« 10 4 5 I is is * Brooklyn 10 3 C 1 11 \i 7 as 1:::::: 1! I I I i jl I STH DIVISION "A." *oato f"^ SSJa..-:::: 5 5 S » » ""ffii 2**J " » S 111111 3 2 7 0 11 21 .js STH DIVISION "B." T w T „ ,(;< ">'S. Clip. "'(.A Jo T i A h «?•. w!^S s:!?; *8 2 7 S 11 » » S«'lfU 5 1 io 3 21 2 BTH DIVISION. „ ... b (ioals. Clip. ~ 5 * ? - fr ]i- So AiariM 1 10 8 2 2 41 id i* Mlramar K. ... 10 6 2 2 ■>« nil Scntoim 10 5 4 i H, ,7 }* JohnsouTlllo ..10 4 4 2 is g Inatiluto 10 4 « 0 IT so s T.M.C.A 10 1 7 2 io 31 2 ath Wellington. 10 0 10 0 4 50 0 7TH DIVISION. M«jr.Jt N . .... Jri S' * T\ V.M.C.A 10 li « 2 'H 1» Tl Institute 10 3 5 2 id •!« r Scatoun 10 2 4 4 •>} -,» » St. Fetor's .... 10 2 7 1 "k „ 2 Slop Out. 10 1 G 3 10 »5 5 BTH DIVISION. „ „, Coals. Clip. Scatouu *6 TJODof; \it Marlst N. .. . a 8 1 S 5 4 \ \* a SlKarV-::: I! s I j » ,• » S^.::::: II -1 2« g 1 St Potcr'a .... 7 10 0 2 54 •" Stop Out .■ 3 3 0 0 0 23 0 Last Saturday tho unexpected happened. Y.H.C.A., who were leading