FOOTBALL.

Evening Star, Issue 11889, 18 May 1903, Page 8

FOOTBALL.

BUGBY. • —Results of Matches.— Alhambra 3 v. Dunedin nil. Southern nil v Kaikoni nil. Pirates 3 v. Union nil. Zingari 6 v. University nil. The following are the? descriptions of Saturday’s matches':— —Alhambra v. Dunedin. \s was anticipated, the Dunedin put i p '•nod game in their match against the Mliambra, played on the Caledonian round. Unfortunately, the weather was <ry disagreeable.' A steady rain set in ■ lie day before, and it continued to come oown at intervals during the progress of |” e Jpr? I ®’ roahdnjjr the ground sloppy and ne ball greasy. Under such circumstances t was not to be expected that a fast, open oack game would be witnessed, although at times the spectators were treated to a little passing, which helped to break the monotony of repeated scrums and line-out ork. The backs, the Dunedin men in ■'articular, handled the wet ball exceed’srly well, and some fine kicking was Town, t Until a few minutes before the close of me first spell both teams stubbornly contested every inch of ground, and for a time it appeared to be anybody’s match. The Dark Blues, playing well together, kept their opponents busy, and the excitement at times grew intense when the ball went <>ut to cither Tecsdale or Stalker. The first-mentioned once looked dangerous, and bad got faisJy on the run when the whistle sounded for an infringement. Don, too, got away smartly by cutting in. Then Stalker was cheered as he bolted down the tcuchline, but instead of using his speed and making a bold dash for (£e line he kicked when approaching the opposing full back. Such incidents as these worked up a good deal of enthusiasm and for a while it seemed as if the Alhambra were in for what tho small boy terms a “ doing.” But towards tlie close of the spell the weight of the Red-and-Blacks’ forwards began to make itself felt, and the Dark Blues’ brigade, wbo up to this stage had given their opponents a hard go for it, began to lose some of their dash. A sprint for the line by the ’Bamas’ backs saw the ball passed out to Bennet, who, wisely or unwisely, tried to get over himself, instead of passing to Brookes on the wing, who had no one in front of him. with tho result that Bennet was brought down on tho line. It was a close shave for the Dark Blues, who now found themselves busily defending. Another passing rush by the Alhambra backs ended in the ball going to Heenan, who fended off Teesdale, only to be rushed at by Stalker. The latter was partly successful in stopping the Alhambra wing, who, however. got the best of it and scored. The kick at goal was resnltless. The second spell opened with the Alhambra continuing aggressive tactics, which they kept up until near the close of the game. More than once p further score seemed imminent, but the Dunedin backs kept their heads, and saved the situation. Hobson once had a stroke of bad luck, for after dribbling the ball over the line from near the twenty-five he lost a good chance of scoring by the leather favoring an opponent, who dropped on it. Further force-downs followed, arid it was not until a few minutes before time that the Dunedin managed to get dear of their difficulties. Fast and furious play had taken place mostly on their territory until a hard) kick over the Alhambra line nearly ended in one of the Dark Bines’ speedy backs getting there first.

As will be seen, the same was a keenlyccntested one, and the liveliest interest was taken in it from start to finish. The forwards on both sides battled hard, but the Alhambra pack had the weight and strength, which gave tbefh the advantage. The backs on both sides gave'a good account of themselves, although the Dunedin gave the best all-round exhibition. Both and Knowles were absent from the\ Alhambra’s back division, who, however, had two capable substitutes in their places. M'Laren, who was injured in the first game of the season, again donned the jersey for the Dunedin, but was not too steady on his pins. Mr Cameron acted as referee. Dunedin have_ appealed against the Alhambra's try, alleging that Heenan was held'and a serum should have ensued. —Kaikorai v. Southern.— •

The crowd which assembled at Bishops, court to witness the meeting of these two teams was, considering the day, a surprisingly large one, both sides of'the playing area being lined, and the grand stand completely packed. And it was a crowd whose enthusiasm refused to'be damped bv the weather. Cheers and other joyful noises greeted every incident in the game, and, as incident crowded fast on incident, the cessai f, 0 ”? hv . nt of applause was, as a rule, but thesignal for the commencement Y¥ her Jt this enthusiasm on the part of the spectators which affected the players, or the play which affected the spectators, i* hard to say, but it can safely be affirmed that the game itself proved one of the fastest and most exciting contests seen here for many a day Some inconvenience was caused to Kaikorai by the absence of Smith, who, however, put in an appearance later on, and subsequently went on m place of M’Donald, that played Tav- , sustained an injury which necessitated his retirement. Porteous filled the a t five-eighths, and that redoubtable pair of front-rankers—Spiers and Rontirdfl 0 PU / ° n * he ■> erse J r - Tbe of tfce ball put passing out of the question, and, as with the forwards, so with tbe finish’ fast t°°tworb from start to Taylor kicked off, and Southern jumped terHto™ Tr ? rk U SW€ ® pmg p,ay into Kaikorai S, 0 -* 7 almost at once. Good kicking by Sinclair and Duncan made temporary pound for the Blues, but immediately a K St 1 *; i ß ' led tb * Southern pack nght on to the line, and from a free kick Bennet made a resultless shot at goal, Rah aacapmg with a force-down. M'Donald dropped out, and good kicking by Sinchur got play past halfway. A free kick Booth B w%’V J fair P° sition w as taken ly S L b n ad l t0 ™ teria!ise m Points, and was followed a minute later by a fermidabk Southern rush, in which Simpson lih^ e fh reb -u e ??. oth got the ball into touch m the nick of tune, but from the sucreedmg line-out the active Southern forwards came away in a fashion that very oauch taxed the stopping powers of the d«s iMice. Eventually the ball was rushed over ihe line, and a score only missed by inches. Play bad hardly been resumed when a free ack, taken by M. Casey and missed by Sinclair, saw the ball over the Kaikorai line itgain, but Miller beat everybody for possession, and the Blues were forced for the third tune. Hot work in mid-field ensued As a genera] thing Kaikorai got the ball in the scrums, but who got it after that seemed very much a matter of chance. Competent opinion favored the idea that on such a lay and with such a ball punting would have been much better business than passing, and it was rather surprising to find that an experienced tactician like Sinclair did not see fit to adopt that plan. On the other hand Casey’s kicking was excellent, and tbe ungrammmatical, but very audible, remark of a spectator who said' “’E don’t know nothin’ about finding the line, do ’e?” seemed to meet with the very general approval of the grand stand. Towards the' close of the spell Kaikorai developed an attack dangerous enough to bring a profound hush over the Southern supporters, and Duncan, Smith, Sinclair, and Adamson, all putting in good work, the ball was rapidly worked to within a yard or two of the Southern Line, but that was the nearest approach the Blues made, and presently Bennet, with a brilliant effort, again changed the venue, and half-time was called soon ifterwaids.

. The second spell was but a replica of the srst. Some thought the pace too hot to ast, and that the game would end in a survival of the fittest. But the fittest refused to disclose themselves, and right to the last minute both sides came up to their work as fresh as paint. Both goal lines were frequently threatened in this spell, Southern’s, if anything, a little oftener than Kaikorai’s. The Blues, thanks to Spiers and Ronald, .got the ball consistently in the scrums, hut all attempts on the part of the Kaikorai backs to get on their characteristic passing rushes proved futile, a state of affairs which ‘was partly due to thei state

of the ball and partly to the resolute tackling of the Southern, backs. Southern relied altogether on their footwork, and it waa certainly formidable enough to justify all the confidence they placed in it. But none of the many efforts made by both sides to carry the ball across, or to fall on it when it was across, proved successful, and a splendid game thns ended with honors easy. Mr J. Williams was referee. —Union v. Pirates.—

There was a close and at times a fairly interesting game on the North Ground, which, all things considered, was not in such a bad state as might have been expected. The Pirates, who were hardly represented by their full strength, played uphill the first spell, the major portion of which was very dreary from a spectator’s point of view, lor about the first twenty minutes play was entirely confined to the neighborhood of the King street side-line, with nothing’ but scrum after scrum and short lucks into touch. The Pirates were the first to make the play more open, the backs getting a chance on the attack for about the first time; but nothing came of it, and they were soon called on to defend, a dangerouslooking rush by the Union forwards being well saved by Wynks. For the rest of the spell Union mostly kept the Blacks on the defensive, and had a fairly easy chance to score from a penalty kick close to the posts and almost directly in front. It was not turned to any account, and the spell closed without any scoring being done. The next half was far more interesting, the play' being fairly open, until not the rather irritating preponderance of the referee’s whistle which had marked the previous portion of the game. The Pirates kept up a hot attack, their hicks seeming able to handle the slippery ball better than before. They lost a good chance of scoring from a passing rush through knocking on, and the Union forced down. They were rewarded soon afterwards, for from a scrum the ball came out on the blind side, and De Lautour passing to Saunders, the latter scored a nice try with a dodgy run, the Union bucks seeming to hesitate to tackle him in the expectation of his passing. Saunders took the kick himself, but only succeeded in

going close to the goal. Union tried hard to regain equality, and for rather more than the middle third of the spell pressed, the Pirates hard, but the latter’s defence was sound, Wynks. at full-back being very safe. Union, with the hill againrt them, seemed to tire towards the'finish, and for the last few minutes the Pirates were again attacking. Saunders got a mark in a good position, but the heavy ball made the distance too great, and Hisiop’s kick, though well directed, fell short. Pirates thus ran out winners by a try to nothing. On such a day, of course, the forwards had a big say in the game, and the Union pack stood np to their more weighty opponents in fine style, besides showing up very well in the loose. The Pirates, however, almost invariably got the ball in the scrums, and their backs showed better combination in what little combination was permitted of by the state of the ball and the ground. Mr M Ritchie made an excellent referee. —Zingari-Richmond v. University.— This match was played on the Carisbrook Ground cn Saturday, when there were about eighty spectators present. As was expected, the previous day’s rain had made the ground very greasy, and the ball was heavy to play with. From the start it could be seen which team was the better, and it was only a question of wearing down the ’Varsity forwards and making the play of a loose nature. These were the tactics adopted by the Zingari men, wire for the major portion of the first spell made the game a rough-and-tumble one. Had the ’Varsity backs not been as efficient as they were, a score would have been registered in the first spell. The Colors’ backs, too, were in splendid form, passing, collaring, and kicking better than on the previous 'Saturday, notwithstanding the conditions prevailing. With regard to the ’Varsity’s rearguard, they put in smart and good work, and the way in which they relieved their line in many instances called for approval. When this was the case, their forwards made the best of the advantage, and very often reversed matters by placing their opponents in difficulties.

The University captain won the toss, and elected to play from the pavilion end. For the first ten minutes the ’Varsity men had the advantage, but the Zingari were released by a good kick from a mark. This was not maintained for long, as the ’Varsity again placed their opponents on the defensive, a forte-down re:lilting. From a mixture in front of the Blues’ goal the Zingari backs secured the bail, but lost it again, and it was returned to mkT-fieid. Kicking was then indulged in for a few minutes, with the result that the forwards, following up smartly, brought about several narrow shaves on both sides. Wi Repa (who was playing a splendid game) was prominent at this juncture, and saved his side time and again. Nothing further of moment occurred until near the end of the spell, when the Colors were too strong, obliging the Varsity to force-down twice. The ’Varsity men retaliated, and- were forced down through a misjudged kick by Adams going over the goal-line. For the first spell there was no score.

On resuming, the Zingari assumed the aggressive, but the 'Varsity#men always managed to clear their lines. A penalty kick by Caradus failed to notch any score, but with fast following up the Zingari men looked as though they had scored. This was not the case/however, and a good rush by the Blues soon cased matters. Adams had a shot at goal, but failed, and Fairclough getting possession crossed the line, but being off-side, play for a minute was made a little less dangerous. Wi Repa marked, but Gibson failed at goal. The Zingari men then worked the leather down the field, when Mason got over the line and scored. Caradus tailed to improve the score. Soon after, the ’Varsity were again placed in difficulties, and forced ' down. Within a few minutes of time a penalty kick was awarded Zingari, Caradus placing a capital goal, making the score: Ziugari 6 points, University nil SECOND GRADE. Zingari-Richmond and Taieri Rovers played a drawn game, each side scoring 3 points.—Ravensboume defeated Kaikorai by 4 points to nil.—Port Chalmers and Pirates played a drawn game, each side scoring 3 points. Alhambra defeated Southern by 7 points to nil.—Dunedin and West Taieri played a drawn game, neither side scoring. THIRD GRADE. Zingari-Richmond defeated University by 6 points to nil.—Port Chalmers defeated Alhambra B by 14 points to .nil.—Aliiam-

bra A defeated Dunedin A by 3 points to nil.—Ravensboume defeated Southern by 6 points to nil. Our specials, at other centres supply the following accounts of Saturday’s matches; CHRISTCHURCH. Heavy rain during the week made it doubtiul if any matches would be played. The weather cleared on Saturday forenoon, and it was decided to go on with the games. A shower which fell early in the afternoon upset calculations as to the results. Lancaster Park was very greasy, and the matches were little better than scrambles. Scientific play was conspicuous by its absence. The surprise of the day was the game Linwood-Merivale, in which last year’s champions made a draw by a score near the finish.—Albion beat Old Boys after a close game.—Sydenham defeated Lyttelton by a narrow margin,—At North Park Christchurch secured a win over Canterbury College. The position of the teams in the championship is as follows:—Albion 4 points, Christo hurch 3, Liawood 2£, Sydenham 2i, Old Boys 2, Merivale 1, Canterbury College i, Lyttelton i. The attendance at Lancaster Park was confined to enthusiasts, the gate receipts amounting to £l2 18s 6d. WELLINGTON. Owing to the weather all games .were declared off. AUCKLAND. The senior football fixtures resulted as followGrafton (21) v. Parnell (0); Ponsonby (0) v. City (15); Newton (10) y. North Shore (3).

ASSOCIATION. „ < —Northern v. Southern,— ’ This match was played at Montecillo, where the ground has a better “ crown ” on it than any street in Dunedin, and is about as suitable for Association football as a grazing paddock for bi.liards. If the ball, after being kicked, happened to land fairly on the crown referred to, its rebound might, barring accidents, be calculated to a yard or two, but when (as it generally did) it dropped on either side there was a delightful uncertainty as to how it would shape its course. Add to these disadvantages mud puddles of varying dimensions and a greasy ball, and one' will have guessed something of the nature of the game. Judging it by no higher standard than that of comparison between the two teams, it was good enough in its way. but it was not particularly interesting. One or two individuals found occasional opportunity of doing some creditable footwork, but combination was not a salient feature of the play on either side. The anticipation of the spectators seemed to be th :t the Northerners would make a fa : rly easy game of it, but they did,not. They were fortunate. Each team played' against its opponent and—a. cargo of adverse circumstances, and the Southerners seemed able to make a better stand against vicissitudes than the men with the blue-and-white jerseys. Altogether, matters were fairly equalised. Southern kicked off, and thereafter, for the space of about half an hour or so, the players spent their time doing their best, ana fetching the ball back from one or other of the numerous gullita that surround this remarkable ground. Once a Northern player kicked hard towards his wing, ana the referee “ took off time.” The ball was eventually captured by some small boys, wbo had a lot to say about everything and scrambled for “ the kick,” aud then the man with the whistle jogeed his watch ou > again, and blew the players into renewed efforts. But something must be said about the game. Alter the half-hour or so already written of, a penalty kick was given against Northern for a "rabbit.” The ball was delivered straight into the arms of the goalkeeper, who disposed of it calmly enough. The whistle blew, however. Someone had infringed the six yards’ rule in the judgment of the referee, and the penalty business had to be gone through all over again. This time Southern scored. They in turn were penalised shortly afterwards, but the prognostication of one plaver that “ it’s a b rd this time” was not realised. The Southerners still maintained their lead. Soon afterwards the half-time whistle blew, and the respective teams withdrew to their “dressing rooms” (selected macrocarpas less “drippy” than their neighbors). The second spoil was of the same give-and-take nature as the first, and it was thought by some that the game would be drawn. But Northern have a habit of putting on a goal or two in the last stages of a°match, a,nd they were true to their reputation in this instance. Thanks to Riley, Irvine, and Morrison, Siedeberg got an opening for a quick shot near goal, and scored, well on in the spell, thus bringing the scores even. Then Irvine sent in a hard rising one, about which some seemed to have doubts,, but which the referee ruled a goal. The same player achieved the next and final score hy rushing in smartly and shooting just in time. There was talk of off-side in regard to this, but there was not much doubt about it in the minds of the spectators. Time was called soon afterwards, and so Northern won by three goals to one. Without individualising, it may be. said that the forwards were the strong point of the Northerners and the backs of their opponents. ■’ —Roslyn v. Wakari.— This match attracted a good many spectators, and a good game was seen. Wakari attacked from the kick-off, and G. M‘Millan scored early. There followed some very creditable play, the head work all round being remarked upon. Roslyn now attacked and scored their first goal, Wakari soon after putting in their second. The Blues now roused up. and with good passing soon had the Whites in trouble. With good passing rudies, keeping satisfactory control of the ball, Roslyn had achieved five goals when half-time was called. On resuming play the Wakari forwards tried hard to regain Roslyn’s lead, but the Blues’ backs, bv good kicking, cleared their goal time and again. and then their forwards, with some of their fine rushes, scored three more goals in quick succession, an excellent game ending: Roslyn 8 goals, Wakari 2 goals. It is unnecessary to individualise.

—Mornington y. Kaitangata.—

This match was played at Mornington. Mornington kicked off and attacked, but the Kaitangata backs defending strongly gave their forwards an opening, which resulted in a score. Another followed from a comer kick soon afterwards. Mornington thci* attacked strongly, but the visiting backs were too strong in defence. The Kaitangata forwards rushed again and scored once more. The Mornington men livened up in the second spell, and soon had lessened their opponents’ lead by one goal. Thereafter for a time their efforts were without result, and then Kaitangata attacked once more. They were awarded a free kick, owing to Litolff having run more than the prescribed distance with the ball, and the fourth goal resulted. The fifth came just before time. The game thus ended: Kaitangata 5 goals, Mornington 1 goat. ° / SECOND GRADE. Northern defeated Mornington by seven goals to nil. Green Island v. Rangers was played at Green Island, and resulted, after a fast and interesting game, in a win for the local team by 2 goals to 1. Sawyers Ray met the Southern at the Bay, and defeated them by 8 to 1. THIRD GRADE. Sawyers Bay won their match with the College by default, only one member of the latter team putting in an appearance. A meeting of the Committee of the Rugby Union, members of the Referees’ Association, and captains of football teams of all grades was held in the Stock Exchange Buildings'on Saturday night. The chair was occupied by Mr J. Hutchison, president of the 0.R.F.U., by which body the meeting was called. The proceedings took the form of a discussion upon various points arising out of the interpretation of the laws of the game, the object beincr to secure greater uniformity in the reading of the laws and to arrive at an understanding relative to the desirability of the strict repression of all tendencies in the direction of foul or rough play. The discussion occupied about a couple of hours, during which time an interchange of views took place.