SOCCER

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 120, 23 May 1931, Page 20

SOCCER

By "Vanguard" PETONE ON TOP

THE CHAMPIONSHIP

CHANGING POSITIONS

FIRST DIVISION. duals. Ch. P. \V. D. h. F. A. Pts. Petone ,i a 1 0 15 10 7 Hospital 4 3 0 1 12 fl 6 Diamond 4 2 1 1 10 7 5 Waterside 4 2 1 1 13 0 5 Marist -4 1 1 2 .S H 3 Thistle 4 0 :i 1 9 11 v -i Seatoun 4 0 2 2 I 10- - W.YM.I 4 0 1 3 5 In 1

As a result of last week's matches there has been a change in the championship position, Petono having taken the lead from Diamond, who are now disputing third place with Waterside. Hospital have moved up from third place to second, and are only one point behind the leaders. There arc only three more matches to bo played in the first round of the championship, and it seems almost certain that if teams aro to retain the form so far displayed, Petone, Hospital, Diamond, and Waterside will be the teams upon whom most attention will be focused. Marist and Thistle each has three points, and although their chances of disturbing tho leaders axe not-very strong, it is .possible that either may yet upsot calculations. Marist started off the season well, but their later performances have not been as promising as their earlier ones. A margin of, only two points separates the loading team from the third, and it is likely that tho next two or three games will- be followed closely, as on their result depends a great deal. The form so far displayed has been well up to standard, and the indication is that tho closo competition, which was promised by tho results of the opening matches, will be fulfilled. A Disappointing Display. The exhibition of football given by Waterside and Seatoun on Saturday was disappointing, to say the least. Seatouu, earlier in the season, earned a reputation for bright play, and aa AVaterside have been giving displays well up to standard it was expected that the meeting oi these teams would result in interesting football. Such, however, was not the case, and it is t,o be regretted that the Management Committee of the Wellington Football Association was not able to stage a better game at the Basin Reserve, the outstanding Soccer ground. The attendances at matches so far this season have not been of the best, and unlesa tho best games are put on the main ground, receipts will bo sure to suffer. There was not the slightest doubt as to the superiority of Waterside. From start to finish they practically controlled tho game, and it was only on occasions that Seatoun broke away and appeared threatening. Each side played, more or less, the same class of football, but there was a distinction, in that Waterside's tactics were slightly better. Neither team, however, appeared to have a definite understanding as to what should bo done when they possessed the ball, and it not infrequently happened, that tho efforts at scoring were more or less of a haphazard nature. Seatoun, particularly, were lacking in that determination so essential to bring an attacking movement to a successful conclusion, and it may be said that had their attack possessed more finish their score would have been greater. Not once, but on several occasions, they worked into scoring positions, but failed to net because of a lack of understanding among the forwards. Parkin, the Seatoun goalie, played well up to standard, and was called upon frequently. On the great majority of occasions he acquitted himself with merit, the shots that 'did get past him being shots that would have tested a much more successful goalkeeper. Of the backs, Dufflll was the more prominent, but he was well supported by Newton. The halves were an average trio, with Kershaw probably showing up best. The forwards were disappointing, and though they got chances of scoring, did not use them to the best of their ability. In goal for Waterside, Lucas made a good impression. The defenco of the full-backs was sound, and the halves made a much more effective intermediate line than their opponents did. Practically all the forwards played up to standard. The wings did not leave much to be desired, both Dunlop and Cullen playing with dash and judgment. With his inside man Dunsmuir, Dunlop was responsible for some nice touches. Lark, the other inside man, was not as strong as he might have been. By his performance, Longbottom showed that he has not lost all tho dash that characterised his play in previous seasons. His shooting has improved, and he demonstrated that he is still likely to be a dangerous centreforward. Petone v. W.Y.M.I. W.Y.M.I. travelled to Petone to engage the strong moving local team. As a result, the homesters established their position at the top of tho championship tablo at the expense of their lowly opponents. Everything was in order for a bright display, and although the leaders held the upper luud for the major portion of the game, their victory was not of the runaway nature. Haines was absent from the Petone side, while the visitors found it hard to secure anything like the same combination two Saturdays running. They were further handicapped by an injury to M'Leod, their centre-forward, who, showing considerable promise in the opening stages, was forced to retire with a damaged ankle. Novertleless, they "stuck to their guns," and .ire to be commended for their plucky display against such a strong, well-balanced side. Petone wore seen to advantage in all departments of the game, .with tho exception of the full-backs. On -the day's display, Trott and M'Girr were tho stumbling blocks to the dangerous Petone thrusts, and mainly through their stubborn defence was the score kept within reasonable limits. Bently improved as time went on, and had no chance with the two gcals scored against him, the first beinj from point blank range, and the othar being deflected through by one of his own side. M'Vean was, we'll, M'Vein, and when W.Y.M.I. did get within striking distance, he was always en tho spot to deal with everything ;hat came his way. In front of him, Holmes was safe and sure. In midficld, the digerence between tho respective strengths of the two teams was most apparent. Here, the strong Petone trio dominated play, their craft and experience being too much for the recruit* opposed to them,

with the result that the visiting middle lino never settled down properly. Kven Boe was "off colour," though a trier all tho time. Campbell, as usual, did two men's work, but llnnlon proved the artist of the line. Until M'Lood's enforced retirement, the W.Y. forward line showed much promise, and plenty of dash, but thereafter their progress was necessarily disjointed. The most dangerous forward was Telford, who came near scoring on several occasions. Tho Petone front rank impressed more, combining well together, but lacked tho necessary sting in their finishing efforts. Indeed, it aoemed at times that they were quite content with the two-goal lead. Watson, at inside-right, was a live wire. Ma-rist's Failure. Marist will never have better chances than they missed against Thistle last Saturday. Had the Greens been going well they would have been five or six goals up at the interval, and even with ordinary shooting they should have been four goals ahead. There can be little excuse for missing a penalty through making a weak kick or through failing to put the ball through an open goal. The lost chances were of the very best, and cost Marist a much-needed win. The team deserved to win on the openings made, for it was neater and cleverer than the Thistle men, and the forwards had the opposing backs hard pressed. Never did tho Thistle team feel safe, and there were some prodigies of defence in the first three-quarters of an hour, Martin and Hopper showing up. Martin, despite slowness of foot, is very solid, and was ably seconded by Hopper and by the goalie, Cluness, while tho halves were working well. The Thistle forwards, though, were not what they used to be, 'and , they obviously must get a new centreforward. The coolness and judgment of Lothian at centre-half (though it was not one of his best days) was in contrast to the bustled and indecisive methods of the Scots' inside forwards, even Cunningham failing to get going. The little right-winger, Johnson, was fully equal to his markers, and there was somo good work done by Stewart, tho lower-grade boy whom Thistle brought up this year and who has justified his promotion. Not least useful was Upchurch, another promoted junior. Tho Marist team did everything but score.enough goals to win. In the first half their forwards made much more use of the ball than Thistle's van were able to do in the second spell, and in the closing half the Marist backs were just as solid, if not more so, than their opponents had shown themselves. The fatal gap in the Marist game was inability to shoot, that thing which ia bemoaned by so many teams and which has undone many otherwise good sides. Marshment was not able to pilot the ball, and though he is an otherwise good forward, it is doubtful if he was much use to his side. Both Condons went well, and Barton, whenever he got the ball, was a danger. He has rare anticipation, too, and the goal he scored was through knowledge of where the chance would open up, and brought off through closing in on a struggle in front of the goal. There were some Marist rearrangements while the match was in progress, Marshment going in to centre, and Quirk, after being injured, dropping back to the last line. The halves wore very good, and Burke played particularly well. Wilson, the small but speedy full-back, also distinguished himself. It was a tribute to tho goal-getting powers of Thistle that they drew the match at all, for they did not have the same chances. The first goal was from perfect use of the wind by the winger, Stewart, whose beautiful centre, from a sharp angle, curled into the goal. The other goal, scored by Martin, was also from a shot sent infield by Stewart and capped sterling work for the side. Hospital and Diamond. The match between Hospital and Diamond, on tho former's ground last week, began disappointingly, and ended excitingly. In the first half, neither team gave of its best, concentrating too much on defenco and not risking enough in attack. A policy of "do' or die" in the early part of the game might have meant a decisive win to the forward line, which adopted it. As it was, each team knowing the merits of the other, hesitated to be too bold, and tho game was only mediocre. At the change-over for the second half the score was 1-1. From the kickoff Hospital took the lead with another goal, and it was from about this point in the game that the sides dropped their excessive caution and concentrated mostly on energetic attack. If anything further were needed to increase the interest in the game it was an equalising goal by Diamond, and it was not long before that came. The few minutes of Titanic struggle that followed amply made up for the dullness of the first half. Even when Hospital scored the fifth and final goal of the match Diamond did not give up hope; atd play was interesting to the end. On the day's play Hospital deserved their 3-2 victory, but only just. Slightly different circumstances might have made all the difference. For one thing, Hospital had the luck of the toss and consequently played with the sun directly behind them in the first half and against no sun at all in the'second. And the Diamond eleven fielded three substitutes. Each of them played a really gowl game but the absence of the regular men was bound to have an unsettling influence on the team. A struggle between Hospital and Diamond, with both sides at full strength, and on a neutral ground would prove of great interest. There is no saying which sido would win in the circumstances. Ell played well in goal for Hospital. Thompson was as safe as usual at fullback, but Jeffreys, who played with him, was not as good as Gibb, whose position he was filling. H. Trewick, at centre-half, was perhaps the best player on the field. His trick of heading in from a corner kick, by now famous, he worked successfully. He was given first-class support by Briggs and J. Woods. Stanbridge was the one weak link in the Hospital team, and it was lucky for Hospital that they had good men on either side of him, at centre forward. He was decidedly off colour and missed chances time and again. It is to be hoped he strikes his usual form again quickly. The rest of the forward line played excellently. • For Diamond, Wyatt had more work to do than did his vis-a-vis, Ell. Ho played a splendid game. Both Wotherspoon and Guest made the best of a bad job occasionod by the former receiving a knock that left him with only one good foot for the greater part of the match. Diamond could not blame their backs for their defeat. The half-line was good though it did not have quite the strength of Hospital's halves. Neal, a substitute at right half, played really well. In the forwards the two wingers were outstanding. Ron M'Leod played a sparkling game on the right, and on the left Bryson, who is now to first division, was just a little nervous in tho first half, but found his confidence and gave a polished display

in tho second. Smith, at centre, was prominent with some good, shooting. The Navy Cup. S The ltoyul Marines (Chatham) won tho Navy Cup for the second time since the war when tliey defeated 11.M.5. Vivid at Gillingham by 3 goals to 1. Except for a short period in the second half, when Vivid were pressing, tho Marines always appeared, the stronger side, states an English daily. They had the advantage over their opponents in height and physique, and also controlled a rather difficult ball i bettor. Marine Woods played a big part in tho victory by his ceaseless vigilaneo in watching Dcmmellweek, -who on the IV w occasions he did get away showed himself the cleverest forward on tho field. If this outside right's foot-, ball continues to improve as it has done this season ho will soon bo in the running for an amateur cap. Marine Harbot, who has on one oc-' casion played for the Navy's representative side, also had a very good match. Not only did he make some very thrustful efforts to get through himself, but he fed his wings diligently and well. But actually the most accomplished footballer on the Marines' side was Green, a very speedy outside left, who controlled the ball well and sent in some accurate centres. Chawner at centre-half kept a 'tight grip on the game, and the backs, Herron and Dunn, showed more understanding than the Vivid pair. Tho very capable goalkceping of Crocker did much to keep the score down when the Marines were pressing towards the end of the game. Tho Marines had more of the game in the first half, and deserved to take the lead when Green converted a penalty kick awarded against a Vivid back for handling.. On resuming Vivid attacked strongly, and their efforts were rewarded whon Bland headed the equalising goal following a free-kick. As the game wore on, however, tho Marines asserted themselves more and more, and sustained pressure round the Vivid goal ended in Harbot scoring. Soon afterwards Trounce added to their lead.