FROM THE SIDE LINE

Evening Post, Volume CXXI, Issue 128, 1 June 1936, Page 17

FROM THE SIDE LINE

t PLAYERS AND THE GAMES ! Gendall, Seatoun's outside left was ' the hero of the game against Marist, ! scoring all three goals for his side. Al--5 though only the first was a solo effort , —a beautiful corner kick—the other 1 two showed his quickness to seize the sudden opportunity. Altogether his game was a polished one. Ably partnering Gendall on the left wing was McKenzie, One of the stalwarts of the Seatoun team. His leftfoot shots were a constant danger to Marist, and the combination between him and Gendall made their wing far more dangerous than that occupied by Wilson and Bedford. Wilson, was the weakest of the forwards, though always a hard worker. # # * * H. Salt, Gibson, and J. Salt played inconspicuously but exceedingly soundly in the half line for Seatoun, and the support always available from them lor forwards and backs played no small part in gaining Seatoun a win. « » « • Grimstone and K. Yeoman were sound at full-back for Seatoun. In goal Parton was his usual cool self, though he was frequently hard-pressed, and handling the greasy: ball was no easy matter. Turkington found the same difficulty between the uprights for Marist. He, too, played a fine game, end was in no way responsible lor Marist's loss. Laracy was the stronger of the Marist. backs. He was frequently moving over to cover up Nunns, and although Vaney watched the position there was a weakness there that might have cost 1 Marist something had it been on the Seatoun left wing. • « » • Marist's halves were a capable let, but can still improve. ♦ * «- # It was in the forwards that Marist showed to best advantage. The five worked almost perfectly together and in the second half especially they electrified the crowd with their tactical skill. If Gendall had been on their side the result of the match would have been reversed. Hatchard was the best Of the Marisi side, and after Gendall the best on the field. Waterside have a second-string goalkeeper of unusual promise in Ward Against Institute at Keiburn Park he had many difficulties to face, but he showed fine anticipation and saved his side time and again. His fielding of the slippery ball was excellent. Despite the greasiness of the ball, there were some pretty movements in the. Waterside halves. Longbottom, the centre-half, was Collected throughout, and his distribution was rarely at fault. He was well supported by Cocks, left-half. Eobb, Waterside outside-right, repaid the frequent passes of his inside men and half-backs. His ball control was steady, he used his speed well, and kept his head. His efforts, however, lacked consistency. # ♦. # * King, goalkeeper for Institute, appears to have struck a steady gait. He made few mistakes and often saved what appeared to be certain goals. Marshall put in some solid work on the right wing for Institute, but he could not centre. When he did cross the ball the inside men were prone to dally with it instead of shooting first time. Ward's goal was an example of what snap-shooting can do. It was'difficult to believe after their excellent display the previous Saturday that the Technical Old Boys were the same team that played Island Bay. It must be admitted that Island Bay were practically on the defence all the afternoon, but the attacking display | by Technical was shamefully weak. Individually of the players

showed form, but as a collective team their efforts were hopeless. Neither , the backs nor the forwards seemed to be Able to combine with one another. Playing conditions were not of the best, but this did not uccount for the deplorable exhibition shown. It was lucky for Island . Bay that Technical Old Boys ware off their game. A tally taken of the number of shots at goal by Technical in. the second half revealed that nine shots went over the bar and fifteen behind. Stewart, right wing for Technical, has pace, and several times outpaced the opposition. Had his team-mates been 011 their play, his exhibition would have been faultless. Friend, inside right, occasionally gave a glirnpse of his prowess, but his shooting was very erratic. Beaddlc, centre half, ' and Parker, left full-back, both fed their forwards well. Cook, centre for Island Bay, went through a lot of bustling, work, but was not well backed up. Wrigley, right wing, also did a lot of work, but he hung on to the ball too much. Hicks and Salisbury, the full-backs, were kept busy, but came through the ordeal well. Goalie Wicklifl'e (Swifts) was veryinconsistent. against Diamond. His first half display was quite good; for 20 minutes of the second half he slipped badly, and finished with 10 minutes of brilliant goal-keeping. ' Dickson and Oliver, full backs for Swifts, were inclined to crowd their goalie. Swifts half-back trio cannot be blamed for the heavy defeat; they played well for the whole ninety minutes. *#« • « Heath was the best of Swifts forward line; this player has good footwork, and plays a good inside forward game. He lacked support on Saturday. Lamb at centre-forward for Swifts missed goals through not snooting enough, whilst Hawken on the leftwing spoilt goal scoring opportunities by shooting instead of centring the ball more often. • Bentley, Diamond's goalie; was not overworked; two or three saves by him were quite good,. Hopper .and. Cockburn were a solid pair of backs for Diamond. Hopper was the best back of the game.Upchurch at left half played his usual robust game, and, with Geddes and Nlcol formed a strong half-back line. B. Johnston, outside left for Diamond, was the jack of the forwards on No. 2 ground at the Basin Reserve. This young player has the makings of a future representative. Tucker (Diamond) played a very heady, game. Russell, Dyer, and Baker completed a very dangerous forward line for Diamond. Baker's speed proved very troublesome to the defending backs, and his ball control and distribution were good. Ronald, full-back for Nada. gave an excellent display, giving the impression that he is the stoutest defender in the grade. Another fine performance was that of Walker in centre for Nada. At the beginning of the season Miramar Rangers gave promise of developing into a good side, particularly having the Valuable services of "Joe" May as coach, but on Saturday there was a palpable lack of cohesion between halves and forwards. Marshall, Rover's new centre-half, played a solid game against Lower Hutt and deserved better support. His footwork was particularly good considering the heavy ball. • 4*. Dunn, between the sticks for Rovers, made some good saves. ■ Cross again showed up well for Lower Hutt, but he was not able to cope with the greasy ball. McLellan was well on his game against Rovers, and could nearly always be relied on to beat his man for the ball.