SOCCER

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 138, 13 June 1931, Page 20

SOCCER

BY "VANOUAItO" FIRST ROUND OVER THE CHAMPIONSHIP HOSPITAL" AND DIAMOND LEVEL

With one exception, all games in the first round of the senior championship have been played, and the result now is that Hospital and Diamond are level with 11 points each. Diamond have a slightly better goal average than Hospital, but the practice in Wellington has been not to award the championship on goal average. So, therefore, for practical purposes it might be said that Hospital and Diamond are level for championship honours. The only game remaining to be played in the first round is the Marist-W. Y.M.I, match, which was not played owing to bad weather. The result of that'game, whichever way it .goes, cannot affect the positions of the leaders. If Marist win, as they should, it will make them fifth, below Waterside. Eeviewing the form displayed so far in the championship, it might fairly be said that the performances of the first four teams have been well up to standard. As was the case last season, there is not a marked difference between the leading teams, as far as the strength of each side is concerned, and it seems that the competition is to be very interesting. Petone are only three points behind the leaders, and it is still possible for them to finish on top. ■ Thistle, the newly-promoted team, have done quite well so far. At the bottom of the table, Seatoun and W.Y.M.I. are disputing as to which team, shall remain in the first division. Weak Forwards. It was hardly anticipated that Marist and Waterside would draw in their match on Saturday, especially in view of the fact that Marist really had the better of the game. In the first spell, and for a greater part of the second, they enjoyed the advantage, but in the concluding stages Waterside equalised, and then, when Marist really tried hard to get another goal, they failed. Played pn the Basin Eeserve, the game was full of incident, and for the greater part of time was well worth seeing. However, it developed into a yery hard game in the second half, and a Waterside player was ordered* off the field as a result of a kick received by a Marist forward.

On the day's play, Marist should have won, and they would have done so had their forwards, particularly the centre, attempted to shoot goals from a reasonable distance instead of trying to walk up to the.very goal-mouth before giving the final kick. Not once, but on almost a dozen occasions,, the fast-moving Marist van broke away, and goals seemed certain; but hesitation on the part of the forwards prevented goals' being scored. Earlier in the season Marist showed that they had a first-class forward line, and it was expected that the attack would improvej however, that has not been the case. As a side, they are fairly well balanced, but it remains for their scoring men to practise shooting. Barton and Cudby filled the wing positions, and, as usual, Barton was responsible for some pretty touches. Cudby is as^ fast as ever, and, if anything, seems to. be returning to form. M. and W. Condon, in the .inside positions, were always on the ball, but the former showed more finish. The halfline was probably not as strong as the opposition, but the backs, Laracy and Wilson, played a creditable game. Turkington, in goal, performed well: As was only to be,expected, the brunt of the Waterside defence fell on Abernethy and Boltou. They were up against a difficult proposition. Dunsmuir was the pick of the front line. Longbottom received a slight injury during the game, and moved out from centre-forward to the wing. The Waterside forwards were not up. to the standard of their opponents, but nevertheless managed to put in some solid work. Goals Galore. Spectators at the Petone-Seatoun game at Petone had full value for their money in the matter of goals scored during the afternoon. Ideal- weather conditions and a dry, fast ground, together with reputation of the contending 'teams augured well for a keen, interesting exhibition. The visitors, however, played below form, except for-a few patches in the first half, and their goal-scoring period in the second spell. Maybe they were unfortunate in striking Petone right on top of their form, yet they had the material on view to test the opposition more fully. For the major portion of the game, there seemed to be too big a gap between the halves and backs, allowing Leslie and Co. a free and uninterrupted run on the unprotected Parkin. Otter was the outstanding player in the Seatoun side, defending resolutely against a strong, clever forward line. Connell opened in promising fashion, while J. Kershaw pleased best in backing up his forwards, being apt to throw tne burden of defence on the sorely-tried backs. Among the forwards Garrod was a shining light, shooting and centring accurately, and was ably assisted by E. Kershaw, who refused to be overawed by the strength of the opposition. Petone's representative halves, Campbell and Hanlon, dominated play, 'and never allowed the visitors to settle down. The backs had an easy passage, and the front line was constantly plied with the ball. Baistow struck form early, but the feature of the ninety minutes ' play was Leslie's nap hand. Five goals fell to this" opportunist, who, at present, is right at the top of his form. The whole forward line blended well together and exhibited bright - snappy movements. M'Vean thrilled the crowd with one or two of his typical saves, being called upon less often than his vis-a-vis, Parkin, who, however, was little to blame for the total against him.

Most of the goals were of the close-in nature, with the exception of a firsttimer from Leslie, and E. Kershaw's effort from the eighteen yards' line. Considerable time elapsed before any score accrued, and Petone crossed over 'with a comfortable three-goal lead. The visitors had possible scoring chances in this half, but lacked a first-timer to press home any advantage. It was expected that Seatoun would come to light in the second half, but a quick, wellsnatched goal to Petone seemed to have a disheartening effect, .Better positional

play by the forwards and good backing jy the halves enabled Seatoun to reduce the lead by two, after which there were few "beg-pardons." Play became willing and strenuous, and knocks were frequent. Two more goals to Petone in quick succession put the issue beyond doubt, and although Seatoun added another to their account, the home team responded near the end with yet one more. No Match. Diamond were expected to beat W.Y.M.I. when the teams*' met last Saturday, but probably not even Diamond expected to run up such a score as 9 goals to 1. The match was just as one-sided as the score, which cannot always be said of Soccer games, and the Y.M. team played its most disappointing game to date. What precisely is wrong with Y.M.? It is not alone lack of players; it is a general lack of ginger and the fighting spirit which they showed years ago (and not so many years ago) when they inflicted three sound thrashings on Diamond within a short period, thoroughly upset the team, and ruined their championship chances. To-day Y.M. are no longer a team of triers, and that is the long and short of it. • , There was no dePal"tmcllt ia which the side shone last Saturday. M'Girr is. now not up to the form of 'past years, though he is still a thorn in the side of anyone. Trott, the other full-back, has seldom been less happy than he has revealed himself lately, for his lack of ability to clear successfully has undone the good work that he has performed in rush stopping. His clearing kicks have been snapped up by'the opposing halves, and converted into another opportunity of attack, oiten before Trott has found his way back to his rightful place. The halves have been only fair, though they have played better football than the forwards, who are not able to combine successfully. The danger in the teani has been in the right wing, where Telford and Babbitt have shown themselves a pair of triers. The form of the Diamond men really does not matter ruttch, for they were not seriously tested. The most interesting side of the match was the fact that Eon. Mteod, who moved over to left wing because of the fact that Thompson, a newcomer from the reserve team, could kick only with his right foot, showed himself a very handy man indeed, and sent over some fine centres and shots at goal. With M'Leod away from his usual place, Diamond did not show the tendency to play one wing too much, and Thompson got his share of play, and showed himself a useful enough man. The star goal-getter of the day was Smith, and his five goals were all fairly earned. The wonder, though, was that he or Dickinson did not get a couple more. Unique Incident. ' An incident probably unique in the history of Soccer football in New Zealand occurred at Hagley Park on Saturday (says the Christchurch "Press"). Shortly after the interval in the Technical Old Boys-Bangers match, D. Sutherland was leading an Old Boys' raid to the .Bangers' goal. In attempting to head down to,his toe the bouncing ball, he came into contact with the sole of W. Barnes's, boot. Sutherland received a nasty gash near the eye, which, upon his removal to the Hospital, necessitated five stitches. Following the incident, the referee (Mr. J. j Cawtheray) examined the boots of j Barnes, and deciding the studs were dangerous, ordered the player off to effect a change. Upon further inspection, the referee found that in a majority of cases the studs in the players' boots were dangerous. He forthwith declared the match off. According to the referee's instructions compiled by $he English Football Association, and under whose rules the local association plays, a referee is empowered to order off any player whose footgear is, in his opinion, dangerous to an opponent. There j is no appeal against such .a ruling of' the referee. In the first half of the match, and playing with the wind, Bangers had scored two goals—both by Fraser at outside right. . Bangers are at the top, and Technical Old Boys at the bottom of the championship.

Goals. Ch. P. W. D. L. F. A. Pts. Hospital 7 5 1 1 18 9 11 Diamond 7 5 1 1 29 12 11 Fetone 7 4 2 1 25 18 10 Waterside 7 3 2 2 18 12 8 Thistle ' 7 13 3 15 16 5 Marlst ...... 6 1 3 2 13 16 5 Seatoun 7-0 3 4 12 26 3 W.Y.M.I. 6 0 1 5 7 28 1