SOCCER

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 23 May 1925, Page 11

SOCCER

(By “Centre Half.”)

On account of the postponement of the fixtures last s>atuiuay and the unusual trend or events following the death oi : our late Prime Minister, the lit. Hon. W. F. Massey, i-u.... really marks the opening of the .>-->• cor coiie in South Taranaki. As ha’s been stated before in these columns, it is unfortunate that the “mixed” half-holiday in this province spoilt what wou.d be a big conipetition ioi' tne .Julian Gup a prize which has been the foiemost for some tears past. The New Plymouth clubs are starving up there for games, and I notice that tuev have quite a good programme drawn no against the dirterent Home line ns that visit tne port, there oy Keeping in goou form; also it is intended” that they wilt compete for the Gninese Citizens’ uhailenge Cup tins year—our new and novel trophy. Stratford and Fit ham would oe m the limelight again tins year if the half-holiday were the same; but with three different half-day's for Nev I iymouth Eltham, Stratford, and .Hawera it makes it difficult to arrange matches, so Eitham and Stratford, unfortunately, nave mopped out —for this year at any rate. Soutn taranaki will be as .so,*nu again tnis year as it was last, and tne prospects for this season are very encouraging. A bnei review of the tiuferen” embs win pennies be appieciated. , , Auroa. —This club is to be congratu lated on its endeavour to pusn the round hall game along in the country, and to that end they _ nave registered two teams (A and B) again this season. Tnev certainl.v haven t a great number of players “to call on over and above tueir tiro teams, but with the new rule recently brought in by the T.E.A. ,regarding the interchanging of players, d;, will he.p them to ue.p themselves. They have a number ox experienced playehs in their ranks, and some ol then)- have already gained high honours • It is to be hoped that tne town clubs will heip this cLub to get its games off punctually, to allow the country payers to get back to then “dairy” m good tinie. The management of this club is a very efficient one, and it would come as no surprise to the writer if this club won the “double” this year. Kaponga. —I hear that these la.*t year’s champions are finding it hard to put a good team into the field this year. Let us hope that their present difficulty will soon be overcome, and that we shall see the ‘ IblAclcs” with the same or similar combination as tney had last year. One could almostwrite a book on this club and then possibilities, for they certainly have a fine team. It was very noticeable at the recent seven-a-side tournament at Manaia how fit they all were. Theiein lies the road to success! More than once they were behind at the interval; then condition told, and how they ran out winners of the Julian Cup has gone to history in the T.ff -A. They annexed the seveh-a-side tournament at Manaia this season for the second year in succession, simply because they were in training. They pi a ved good football —possibly no better' than the other teams, but ? they were "on it” from the word “go” till the whistle went. It is pleasing to see veteran George l< reakley stilj going as well as. ever again this year; may he continue for many years yet. Like Auroa and -Manaia these players leave their farms’ and often travel miles to be “on deck” for their team. Manaia. —Keen interest is being taken in our suburban team this year, and they are sure to be in the lighting line by the end of the season. They played a friendly game with Hawera on'the 9th, and beat them by 2 to 1 after a very fair game. In this team are a number of piayers of great promise, and several of them are. sure to don ’the chocolate and gold jerseys lor Taranaki. It- was good to see George Edwards (who was badly injured last year) almost his old self again, taking an active interest in his ciub and “fathering” the younger players. Although he possibly may never play again, his advice and assistance will be valuable to Manaia. Hawera.—lf the town club, were only as keen as their country cousins there would be no cause to complain. There sseems to be a lack of .unity and cohesion with the cLub this year, and it is up to all playing members of this team to get going again and make the Hawera Club as of old. It is only fair to say that a large number of them are Wednesday players, and it is a pity that a competition couldn’t be arranged for them. Still, there is no reason why they could not turn out a first-class, team on a Saturday. The Material is there right enough; -it only means a little seif-sacriffce, thought for- the club and others. Several new players have been signed on for this season, and with the enthusiasm, which is needed badly, Hawera should be somewhere near the top. This club would do well to take for their motto “Be on Time,” for that is one of their bad faults

Followers of the “Soccer” code have every reason to be proud of the new management of the Taranaki Football Association, for they have a very keen and energetic executive committee as well as a live wire in their new secretary (Mr. M. H. Kendall). One of the best alterations recently brought in was the appointing of a sole selector, ft has proved a success in other sports and, with the coming representative fixtures, players will need to do their best to “catch iiis eye,” for he knows his job and knows it well.

WEST INDIAN SPORTSMEN. HAITIAN SOCCER PLAYERS. Haiti’s gendarmerie which won world fame last year by capturing second place at the Olympic Games at Paris in the international rifle contests against formidable opponents from Switzerland, Great Britain, France, and Italy, has become the active centre of national athletics in Haiti, and has now developed a Soccer team which, according to its marine coaches, will be able to put up a respectable game even against the world champions in that sport from Uruguay. Following district, departmental, and inter-departmental elimination contests, the,materia) for a team of remarkable speed, endurance, and technical skill ‘has been developed which has decided the Haitians to enter the 1928 Olympic Games in Holland with hopes of winning laurels in still another sport. f The Haitians play baseball much more diffidently than do their neighbours in Santo Domingo, who.have defeated picked marine teams on many occasions, and who send teams on victorious tours of Porto Rico. The close connection of young Haitians with France, where many sons of the best families have been educated, has given Soccer football in Hait.j an ascendancy which baseball has never shaken, and the marine athletic instructors of the gendarmes have wisely accepted this fact. In consequence they have gained the coaching assistance of practicady all the sporting fraternity in the country. •