SPORT IN BRITAIN

Evening Star, Issue 18925, 27 April 1925, Page 10

SPORT IN BRITAIN

[From Our English Correspondent.] LONDON, March 11. SOCCER. The Football Association Cup competition was advanced another stage on Saturday, when the fourth round altacted c wide attention. How great the interest is may be judged by 60,000 people attending the Blackburn Rovers v. Blackpool match, the receipts amounting to £4,482. This is a record gate for the Blackburn Ground, and when the local team managed to win the enthusiasm was extraordinary. Though a second division team, the visitors put up a great fight, and had rather the better of the play during the first half. After the interval Blackburn did better, and at length Puddlefoot broke through and scored the only goal of the match.

Another great crowd, well over 57,000, saw Sheffield United beat West Bromwich Albion. No doubt it was worth something to Sheffield in being able to play on the local ground, but, apart from this, there is no mistaking the quality of the football now being shown by tlie United men. They are first favorites for final honors, and after beating the Throstles their prospects certainly look good. The Throstles were never able to show quite the same finished football as Sheffield, though it was not until an hour had gone that Tunstaii opened tlie scoring. A little later a free kick Jed to Sheffield scoring a second goal, tlie margin of the win.

Another 50,000 gale was soon at Cardiff where the city team were at home to Leicester City. This was a wonderful match, with the issue in the balance right up to tho end. Beadles scored for Cardiff after eight minutes, but Duncan soon equalised for the visitors. A draw looked likely, but in what was the last kick of the match Davies scored the. winning goal for the homo side, the ball curling into tho net, to the surprise of both sides.

The fourth tic -was between Southampton and Liverpool, and here again there was an exciting conclusion. Nothing had been scored when hut four minutes remained for play. A free kick gavo Southampton a chance, and after a player had misled the defence by feinting to shoot ho allowed the ball to pass to Rawlings, who netted the ball.

The semi-finals promise well, with three teams representing the first division and Southampton doing duty for the second divison. The latter will be called on to meet Sheffield at Stamford Bridge, whilst Blackburn and Cardiff will fry conclusions at the Aston Villa Ground. Thus the country is widely interested, with teams from Yorkshire, Lancashire, Hampshire, and Wales concerned. LEAGUE FRAY.

Naturally the interest in League matches suffered somewhat on Saturday, whilst the results led to no materia! alteration in the position of the loaders. Neither Huddersfield nor West Bromwich Albion were after league points on Saturday, so their tally still remains 42, West Bromwich Albion having a match in hand. Bolton Wanderers had a chance to draw level on points, hut Arsenal beat the Lancashire team by a goal to nil. Newcastle drew up by winning against their Preston visitors, only one goal being registered. This leaves the winners with 41 points. Tottenham gained a real success when visiting Aston Villa, scoring a goal without response from the home side, RUGBY. The match between the Army and Navy at Twickenham was the big event of the Rugby world on Saturday. It was a remarkable match, the naval men looking all over winners at the interval, when they led by 8 points to 3. It was Stephenson, ’the Irish international, who scored the opening try for the Navy, which was converted. Soon after this the Army " threes” got going, and a fine passing movement ended in a try. Once again the Navy returned to the attack, W. J. A. Davies making a nm from the halfway line to register a fine try. After the interval the Army forwards showed groat form, and the attack ultimately led to Phillips scoring a try well out, and the conversion of this, from a difficult angle, made the scores level, A great struggle followed, each side in turn appearing likely to score. With only another minute to go, Green managed to burst across the line for a try, and the Army thus won a great triumph by 11 points to 8. The reappearance of W r . .1. A. Davies and G. A. Kershaw for the Navy was a feature, and this wonderful pair of half-backs showed up so well that many good judges would like to see them representing England again in international fray. BILLIARDS. The amateur billiard championship final proved a triumph for experience. It was left for S. 11. Fry and \V. B. .Marshall to contest the issue, the game being 6,0U0 up. The same pair met in 1320, when Marshall gained a lead of over 600 at. the halfway mark, only to be beaten at the finish. Since then the Vooclt Green amateur had made a big advance, and he was strongly fancied' this year. The opening session was very even, but dining the second session Fry made a break of 38 and another of 97, his average being 17. This fine form enabled him to open up a gap of 40-1, and lie never lost, the lead. He set himself to play careful billiards, safety play being the rule. This slowed! up the pace of .scoring and made the averages small; but the result justified the means. Marshall gradually closed the gap, and at one time on the third and Inst, day ho wao only 164 behind. Fry was equal to the occasion, however, Ids experience enabling him to keei) in front and finally win by 222 points. He made a break of 145 on the second clay, and Marshall's best effort in the final was 111.

This is the eighth time Fry has won <lie billiard championship, and at 56 years of age he appears to he better than ever. It mav he added that hr is a, golfer of first class, as will be realised when it. is pointed out that ho ran up for the amateur championship at ilnyiako in 1902, when the title was won bv Cecil Hutchins.

Turning to the doings of professionals. Willie Smith has apparently done what Newman failed to accomplish. Or rather he lias done better still, for whilst, the champion Inst to Clark MTlonachy. of New Zealand, when conceding 3,000 points in 16,000 up. Smith has given away 4,000, and is now leading the visitor.

M‘Con achy has not shown to the same advantage as when playing against Newman. and l it may he that the dominant personality of Smith has something to do with this. Nearing the halfway stage

Smith plajed so well that he was only just over 1,000 points behind when the first week’s play ended. Resuming this week, he overplayed, his rival, and when play ended last night the scratch, man had a lead of over 600. Newman is also winning bis match against Reece, the latter with 5,000 points in 16,000. The champion made a break of 864 yesterday, which is n record 1 for Scotland, where tie match is being played. BOXING. A match for the light heavy-weight championship was decided at the National Sporting Club on Monday, Tom Berry and Sid Pape being the rivals. Originally Berry should have met Jack Bloomfield, but the latter had to cry off and return the bell, ho finding it difficult to make, the weight and retain his strength. Berry is a veteran, whilst his rival, a soldier from York, ia a young boxer of energy and dash. Tho pair had met twice before, and on each occasion Pape gained the decision. Thus Berry seemed to be up against a stiff task, but lie managed it, winning fairly easily on points at the end of the twenty rounds. The winner owed his victory to his ringcraft and his demonstration of what is most bleed in England—that being clean hitting and. no clinching. . He lacks a real punch, however, and it would be difficult to imagine his .beating one of the hard-hitting punchers from tho United States. Another big attraction this week was tin match between E. Iz/.ard and P. Lcukcmans, of Belgium. They met at the light-weight limit, and, as usual with visitors, hard punching, rather than science and tapping, was found to be, his strong suit. Crouching low, lie proved difficult to hit, and though many of his loads wore wild swings he hurt when he got one home. Izzard was almost knocked out in the fourteenth round, but lie managed to last out the fifteen rounds, when the Belgian gained the decision. More interesting contests were furnished by the Oxford and Cambridge University matches at Oxford this week. There was a- real dement of international flavor about the bouts, and visitors did well. Two Ceylon boxers competed, and both with success, J. L. Pieri.s winning the bantam weights for Cambridge, whilst Oxford owed success in the light-weight to C. J. de Saram. Cambridge also secured the light heavy-weight through S. F. Meike, who unexpectedly defeated the Marquise of Clydesdale. Oxford won the remainder. H. Hepker, who is from Cape Town, beating S. G. CVmlson in the feathers, and Viscount Knebworth taking the welterweight. An American in J. T. Merrill proved best in the middle-weight, but Another of his countrymen went down before E. D. Arbuthnot in the heavy-weight contest, This left Oxford victorious by five events to seven. ATHLETICS. The remarkable high jumping of C. J. Van Geyscl was the feature of the final day of tho Cambridge ’Varsity sports. Ho cleared the bar at 6ft 3in, the highest ever jumped at Cambridge, and a great performance on a eold March day. It is particuiwly meritorious for a man hailing from Ceylon, ns naturally ho prefers warmth to icy oast winds. Van Geyscl now looks to have a chance, of sotting up a. new record for the intervarsity sports, the best so far being half an inch less than his big effort on Saturday. D. G; A. Lowe won both the 440 and 880 yards, and tho fact that he went for the shorter distance, instead of the mile, suggests that lie intends to tackle the ’‘quarter” at Queen’s Club. He will bo called on to meet I). M. Johnson, of Canada, and W. A. Stevenson, of America, who will do duty for Oxford. Another surprise was forthcoming when R.. S. Starr stood down from the three miles, being content with his win in tho mile. This paved the way for T. C. Fooks, who won the cross-country race against Oxford in 1923. Fooks showed good judgment and proved successful in 15min 12sec, which is fair running at this time of the year. Tim Scottish and Irish national crosscountry championships at Ayr and Baldoyle were also decided on Saturday. Tho former o?nt. to I). Wright, who won tho Windsor to London Marathon race last May. Tho Irish race proved good; for J. J. Ryan, who is a fine stayer. He; created great surprise in tho international last, year by establishing a. long lead, and it came ns a. shock when he collapsed a- little over a quarter of a. mile from home, when challenged by Cntterell and Harper, who were first and second. This year’s international will be decided at, Dublin, and Rvan will have many supporters, as will Richards, of Wales.