SOCCER WELLINGTON BEATEN

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 11, 12 July 1930, Page 22

SOCCER

WELLINGTON BEATEN

By "Vanouaho" THE F.A. TROPHY

RETURN MATCH PROBABLE Goals: Ch. P. AY. 0. L. P. A. pts. Diamond ..3 7,0 2 33 14 14 Scatoun ... 10 5 2 3 23 25 12 Waterside ..10 G 1 3 S3 10 13 Hospital ... 9 5 1 3 25 18 U W.Y.M.I. ..10 1 1 D 21 38 9 l'etone .... 10 4 1 5 31 24 0 Jlarist « 2 1 6 20 35 D Institute ... 11 2 1 8. 20 44 5 It may be very gratifying for Wollington Soccer - football supporters to read the opinion of Auckland critics that the Wellington team that met Auckland in the Football Association Trophy match last week was ono of the strongest assembled in Wellington for many years, but the fact remains that the trophy was.in Auckland, last year, is still there, and is likely to remain thero unless Wellington's next representative side is stronger. It will be welcome news to learn that Auckland is anxious.for another trophy match with Wellington this season, and is prepared to travel to Wellington with the trophy and play here with the trophy as a stake. Naturally, the offer has been readily accepted by tho Wellington Football Association, vwhieh appreciates the sporting offer made by Auckland, and the W.F.A. has decided to ask the New Zealand Council for permission for the match to be played. No difficulties aro anticipated in the way of having the game arranged, and so it is practically definitely assured that Wellington will have a trophy match this season,. Stiffest Opposition. ;-' Commenting on last.Week's game at Auckland, the "Herald" states that Auckland had to meet the stiffest. opposition met so far iv its contests for the possession of .the trophy.. " / ' Soccer followers, knowing the unwholesome reputation Blandford Park has in wet weather, .were filled with, dismay when the rain set in, and all hopes of bright and interesting play were abandoned when it was recognised the ground Vrould bear .a striking resemblance to a quagmire. The critics were confounded, however, for the contost .vhich eventuated could be classed as ono of tho best ever witnessed in Auckland. Tho. typ,e of football playod by the two teams reduced the shocking state of the park to a negligible quantity, and a clever exhibition of strategy and fine footwork remained to reward the fairly largo gathering of optimistic spectators who braved the elements to witness the old rivals get to grips. Auckland's suceoss could bo attributed to a better understanding as a ( team, and also, to a minor degree, to its being used to the notorious characteristics of Blandford Park. - Tho Aucklandors showed superior combination, each man knowing his task and showing no hesitation in performing it, While the forwards did not impress.in the early phases of the match, they quickly fell into line .ajid, co-operated with the backs, to form a :very -.effective- unit. When the .Wellington ..side .finally quitted the fiejd: the impression was left that its best bad not been wholly revealed. Only in suatches did the visitors show what is assuredly .their true form—glimpses of fine cohesion which tore the Auckland defence to shreds and reduced the morale of tho trophy holders. .-■':■ Tho point at which Wellington became irretrievably lost was subsequent to the two brilliant goals, which, while reducing Auckland's deficit, also upset tho local team to a great extent. Had the Wellington forwards flung all their resources into the balance at. this critical stage, instead of: leaving the work to v fen' individualists, it is doubtful whether tho Auckland roar divisions could have stood the strain. As it was, however, Auckland's defence recovered, and soon gained a fresh control over the spasmodic rushes of the Wellingtoninns. . i Wellington Players. . The Wellington, goalie,- I'iirkhi, ii]'pearcd to be troubled by the mud, it being noticed on several occasions that he found difficulty in getting a footing. Nevertheless, he dealt efficiently with the majority of the ■ shots that came his way, and showed courage' in going down to combined rushes. If Wellington could be said to possess a division which gave a better all-round display than the corresponding division on the Auckland side, then it was in the full-back line. ' Bolton and Guest set up a fine defence,' which took some overcoming, while their kicking was of first-class quality. Inconsistency appeared to be one of the characteristics of the middle division, the trio rising to great heights at different stages of the match only toslump badly in-between. Geddis was always up with the play, but had all his work cut out when opposing Christie. M'Leod and MacCormaek did not impress very much, and could have been of much more assistance to their vanguard. ' Opportunism and virility were the strong points of the forwards, every man impressing with his apparent fitness. More result might have accrued from their efforts if attention had been paid to cohesion, especially when they had established a temporary dominance in the second spell. Tho wings were well controlled by Condon and Barton, although tho pair did not help the inside forwards o\'ermuch as regards centring. Jeffrey was a forceful and' troublesome front-ranker, whilo Smith ■.uvd Condon gave good exhibitions in the inside positions. The latter should go far in representative football, as ho possesses fine judgment when under pressure", and seems to' know where to direct his passes. Hutt v. Brooklyn, A particularly clean game was played between Hutt and Brooklyn last Saturday, when Brooklyn were defeated by 6 goals to 3. The minimum of penalties was imposed and both teams displayed a fine sporting spirit. Although the teams were well matched, Hutt 'showod a considerable superiority in the front line. Hutt also exploited the mistakes of the Brooklyn backs. Firmer links in the Brooklyn forward lino would have placed the team on a more competitive basis. Tho well-com-bined forward lino of Hutt consisted of Jessup, Nicolle, Brown, Crandwell, and Batchelor. Nicolle played a bright, clear-headed game. His corner kicking was a specialty. Although by no means a selfish player, a little more cohesion with the other forwards would havo proved advantageous. Brown was the most outstanding player in the team, four of tho six goals being his "bag." He was well supported, and he worked

in unison with tho rest of the. team. His readiness to accept opportunities accounted for his success. Jessup showed a clean pair of heels. He was elusive and outmanoeuvred his opponents. Crandwell supported well. His passing was accurate and timely. Anton played a brilliant game, scoring all Brooklyn's goals in a clean, daring style. It was a pity that ho did not get more support. Tho.halves of both teams were fair. Land, tho Hutt right back, is a powerful kicker. On Saturday ho showed the fault of over-independence. Brooklyn's backs were solid, but their mistakes wore snapped up by Hutt. Archer made a good substitute for Brooklyn's regular goalie. An Honourable Defeat. Although three of their regular players were misisng, Seatoun last Saturday put up an excellent showing against Hospital, who were minus the services of only one of their usual men. In the first half Hospital had to fight their hardest to keep Seatoun out, and were very lucky to be leading 2-1 at the interval, for their forwards lacked their accustomed dash, and neither of their goals was deserved, whereas Seatoun's goal was a beauty. A change came over Seatoun in tho second half, and they showed little, of their first-half brilliance. ! Hospital had no great difficulty in adding three more goals while keeping Seatoun from getting any. Bad shooting in" this half lost Hospital at least one goal. Still, on tho run of tho play Seatoun were by no means outclassed by five to one, as the score would indicate. Had thoy maintained their first-half excellence throughout the game a draw would havo been a likely result. ■ • . . The Hospital forwards missed Jeffreys, who was away at Auckland. Without this bustling player they seemed feebler than usual, and in tho first half at least were a weak combination. James and Marshall were tho best in the line, with Lambert and Miles next. Lambort made a welcome reappearance after an illness, and played a useful 1 game. Stanbridge was a poor centre. [ His first goal was a great piece of luck, although his second was well deserved. The halves were, as in past games, the life of the team, Woods,. Trewiek, and White all doing their share. Gibb and Thompson were good at full-back. They had a more strenous time than they had had for several weeks, for the Seatoun forwards gavo. them few oppor--1 tunities to rest. The Hospital, defenders had aii advantage .over most teams ' because of their unusual combination of weight .and . speed, but it availed ;■ them little against Seatoun, who were fast and nippy and determined tackl- ', lers, always on tho ball. The persistence of their attacks forced Ell at times to throw behind' for: a corner, but on 1 the whole Ell did-well. '. Tho Seatoun team in the first half 1 were a treat to watch. Working with [ machine-liko precision, they swung the 1 ball about with hardly ever a pass go- > ing astray, for their kicking showed ' great accuracy and soundness of judgment. '- Altogether there was a finish ' about their work that spoke of care- '■ ful training. Why they faded so badly lin the second half is a mystery. The fact that three scratch players wero in ' the eleven no doubt accounted fo- a,lot, 1 even though those players did very 1 well.- Of tho forwards, Wilson played ' the best, with Garrod only a shado less ' bright. M'Keuzio was solid at inside i left, and Tomkins showed up well at • centre. . Murio was most conspicuous ' among tho halves. Tho two backs, 1 Newton and Duflill, were very sound, and the latter towards the end of tho 1 game transferred to the forwards, where he played aggressively.. The goal- ' keeper, Gibson, was truly marvellous. 1 considering that he was a.scratch man ' .dalled upon ; to fill the position at short ■ notice. Somo of his saves would have ' done credit to any goalie in Wellin? 1 ton. I Swifts Win Well. Contrary to general anticipations . Swifts had the better of their match t with Island Bay. Tho score, 4 to 2 in > their favour, gives quito a good mdi:- --: cation of the run of the play, though |at ono stngo a draw seemed probable. •On the day Swifts purveyed the better - football, and as a whole, wore more ; imprcssivo. At no time- did tho game 1 attain a high level, but what it lacked j iii polish it occasionally made \ip in ( 'keenness. This was more iv evidence in , tho second half, when the Bay had re- :• duced the load to ono goal, and made . strenuous efforts to forco a share of the points. Tho kick-aud-rush tactics adopted, however, did not secure- the desired result, ■ chiefly. 6u account' of a - line display of goal-keoping by Forbes, t and good defensive work by Longbott tom and Dainty. Swifts' . forwards . combined more effectively and.were of ian even class, Dickson/perhapsL staird- ) ing out individually. For Island Bay, • Eeador filled a 'multitude of positions. The left wing was the more prominent, i while Mason supplied the punch to the I front line. Of the others, Corih and i Kerr caught the ©ye in defenco, with l Tricker showing up best in attacking t movements J Among the Goals. . The second division £>ami; between. ; Thistlo and Technical Old Boys was \ keenly contested throughout, and was j remarkable- for the' number of goals , registered. Most of the goals, too, were 3 the result of weil-placedv shots or j neat headers, following good eombiur ation and bright play. As each side ! practically scored in turn, tlio gamo 1 was full of interest almost to tho close. , At half-time, Old Boys were worthy of their one goal lead, but Thistlo gradu- , ally assumed tho upper hand in tho \ second spell, and eventually ran out . winners by 6" goals to 4. . Both sides were minus somo regulars, l Old Boys perhaps being harder hit in r cousequenco. Briggs, a fourth-grade , player, created a fine impression in his j first senior game. Harland was tho most prominent defender for Old Boys, , though, with the rest, ho tired towards 3 tho end. Redmond gave a good display C between .the sticks, 'despite* tho tally , registered against him. The forwards j were fast and eager, though not as y united as tho Thistlo van. s Fletcher's deputy filled tho breach p with credit, supported by two sound , backs in Hopper and Montgomery. The intermediate line was strong, Lothian being in' Ids old-time form, with his wing halves not far behind in all-round - play.: "Donald," who gamely took the t missing right-winger's place, was by - no means just' a stop-gap, though bo P naturally found the pac6 a trifle- warm.' s Few chances were allowed to go beg- - ging on either side, the motto being ,to shoot hard and often, thus doing ;• away with the needless finessing and • hesitation which are usually so much in . evidence. Petone's Come-back. Earlier in tho season Petone beat 3nj stituto 3-1 after a good game. Last Saturday, fielding practically a scratch team, they beat the same opposition to j the tiino of eight goals to nil. Petone s in so doing really played the best game 1 that they' have played this season. It 0 was not that tho opposition was oxtrao ordinarily weak, although Institute's back division was riot too good iv places, > but Petone was simply irresistible. Les- \ lie and. Baistow scintillated amongst

tho forwards, all of whom were good,; and they received very adequate support from their halves. The back division was very souiid ,and held in check any aggressive move on tho part of tho Institute forwards. Petone literally played with -their heads, as- the first three goals were scored in this way, all three being the result of splendid centres or corner kicks from Baistow. The gamo was in reality quite a good ono to watch, as Institute never let up, and it. was not quite as one-sided as tho scoro might indicate. It was played in a pleasing spirit throughout, and tho referee had very little to do. By tliis win Petone impove their position, and if they can continue in the samo vein, they will be higher ,inthe championship table than at one time seemed probable. Perhaps they may even atone for past, mistakes by win.ning tho Chatham Cup.. Good Football. 1 A correspondent, "Old Timer," writes in praise of tho class of football displayed by Trcntham and Miramar Hangers teams on a recent Saturday. The game that Trentham played, he states, would have done credit to a First Division team, and Miramar were no mean team. He considers that the Wellington Football Association should make the divisions bigger. Six clubs in one division, he claims, is too small, as it means only ten competition games. To keep the players interested there should not be many breaks in the playing season, and ho makes the suggestion that the minimum number of teams should be eight.