LOCAL FOOTBALL.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXIX, Issue 8481, 14 May 1888, Page 6

LOCAL FOOTBALL.

The first Senior football matches of the season were played on Saturday, under unfavourable circumstances, the heavy rain giving the ground a thorough soaking, and making the ball so greasy that it was difficult to hold. As will be seen by the following reports, Merivale defeated Christchurch by a try to nil; Bast Christchurch gained a victory over the newly-formed Canterbury College Club by four points to nil ; while, at Bangiora, North Canterbury went down before Sydenham to the tune of eight points to a point.

MEBIVALB V. CHRISTCHURCH. This match was played on the Christchurch ground, North Park. When the ground was by no means faTbad tadm, but by the time the first mall waa finished, it was covered with wator. the rwratt of the heavy ram that fan at intervals throughout the afternoon, dajatdtairoh were without the assistance of one or two good men, notably Beawiok and Webb, and to make matters worse had two of thebe forwards crippled during the match, playing nearly the whole of the last SSwithonly fourteen men,and tholast quarter of an hour with but thirteen. Dallas waa the only absentee from Medvale’s ranks. The first spell was or a war* even nature, the forwards doing the bulk of the work, as was only natural, aU ; thbagataken-into consideration. It was a great risk passing; consequently, tWa of the game was almost entirely neglected, although Merivale made several attempts, which In a few matances gmned thus a little ’ ground, bat generally resulted in no benefit whatever. Each side had several escapes, Christchurch when Lowry, Plank, and Crowe, by a smart piece of work, gob vary near them line, and again when a combined rush of the forwards was only stopped within a abort distance of the goal posts. ChristftfrriynTi frftH a good chance wmu Laurie got away by himself, and waa unsupported at adnoment when, had he been backed up, a Booze might have been registered, and later cmT through Richards picking up a dead baN within a couple of yards* of the goal line.-* The struggle at this point was very keen, and it was only due to their unceasing exertions that Merivale escaped. In the second spell the play waa decidedly in favour of Merivale. the ball being in their opponents’ half of the field nearly the whue time. Christchurch were forced down* several times, and it waa just after a kick-out, which was fumbled by one of the Hexhalebacks, that Wilkinson, by a hard kfcfc.sent the ball close to theMenvale Dm. Bat the advantage waa short lived, aa it-waa when Greenwood, after a good rqn along the-touoh-line, was collared about half-a-dozen yards from the Merivale line, and again when Fuller, Turnbull and C urrie, hy/a daah. almoafc gained a score. These were, the only occasions on ‘ which Christohurch were-dangerous. The remainder of the time was almost taken up by their endeavours to dislodge Merivale from their quarters- Several times their goal waa in danger, Crowe and Mountfort making shots at the goal, which, however, went wide, with one exception when the ball just ■want outside the posts. Lowry was stopped not a moment too soon, and Crowe also made a dangerous rush, being-very closeto the . line when he waa stopped. Christohurch showed fine defence, the kicking of Lahatt being of the greatest service, while the forwards offeredsuch a stubborn resistance, playing every bit aa lively aa their opponents, that aa time wore on a draw seemed probable. Just before time, however, the Merivale forwards got on a loose rush, and Homer kicking hard the ball, and touched down close to the corner flag. Hiddlestone took the kick at goal, but failed. Under the circumstances the play waa hardly a criterion of the merits of the aa the backs were very seldom utilised, the forwards having the greater part of the game to themselves. Turnbull, Laurie and Fuller seemed to be the best of the Christchurch forwards. Lahatt did some good punting into touch, and Greenwood also kicked well and made one or two Harley was idle almost the whole Sme. In the first spell he made several oit runs, which appeared to take some stopping. Broughton waa an excellent fullback. Flank waa the most prominent of the Merivale forwards, due probably tohia playing on the wing. Evans, Garrett and Bennetts were prominent amongst the forwards. Lowry, for a novioe, waa very good at hall-hack, and F. Horner also played well'ia that position. The three-quarters suffered from the effects of the wet and slippery ground. Crowe was the heat, and Borman suffered most from the depressing effects of the weather. Richards was not so good as usual at full-back.

SYDENHAM v. NORTH CANTERBURY The First Fifteens of the above Clubs met at Baagiora on Saturday afternoon. The •weather could nothavebeen more wretched t.imw it was, a soaking rain falling the whole time the game was going on, much to the discomfort of both players and spectators. Helmore, Her tell, and M. Dixon was absent from the Dark Blues' selected team, their places being filled by E. d’Auvorgne, Sherwin. and M'Cracken. AUardyce won the toss, and elected to kick towardstheNorthgoal. Torlesaesettheball in motion, and for some few minutes the play was kept to the centre of the ground, ultimately Wilson got away, and took the ball into Sydenham's twenty-five, when he was brought to grass by O'Brien, the fullback. . The Blues managed to keep the ball well up to the Sydenham goal-line, and as the result of a smart bit of play on the part of the forwards Walls carried it over, hut it slipped from hia grasp before he could touch down. E. d'Auvergne, however, managed to secure the ball, and scored a try. Wilson took the kick, but, owing to the angle and wet ball, failed to grtfww - Ontheballbemg again put in motion, the Sydenham men, with a grand rush, carried it into the Blues’ territory near the goal, but Wilson, with a run and a S' j, planted it out of touch by the centre 'Che Blues followed np well, and a neat piece of dribbling Du Moulin and E. d'Auvergne took the ball close to the Sydenham goal-line, a try being cleverly prevented by O'Brien. Directly afterwards the Sydenham men were forced downs and from the kick out they took the ball to the North Canterbury twenty-fives. AUardyce getting possession, passed to M*Lean, who ran in and obtained a try. -Weekea took the kick, and although the angle was difficult, dropped the ball over the bar in splendid style. The first spell ended almost directly afterwards. In the sected spall the Sydenham men had much’ the best of tha gama. After some m- the sentta of fho gjwund, the Sydenham forwards got away with the ball aadplaoed it dangerously near the Blues' goat The latter responded gamely, and returned it to their opponents' territory. Tor lease heading the rush. The leather was quickly back again, a run by Sutherland, and tamest determined rush carrying it up to the Blues' goal line, Cochrane securing a seoond tty. Weekea took the try, and placed a goal. AUardyce shortly afterwards obtained a try, but no goal resulted. The Blues now poUed themselves together, and carried the ball down to the Sydenham ground, but it was quickly back Mainland Sutherland wound up a splendid dribble with another try. Weekea again took the-kick, bub failed to ■cower. play from tblrout was but zarely ontaidethe Dark Blues’ ground, but no further scoring was dome. The game, therefore, resulted in favour of the Sydenham team by eight points to-one. Stotito winning team AUardyce, Sutherland, Donnelly, M'Lean and Cochrane did goodservice, whilefor the North Canterbury CLand B. dfAuvergne, Wilson, Du Moulin, Todesae and Walla were conspicuous by their pby. Messrs Hoban and Bean acted a» Umpires,, and Mr flelmore as Eafereo.

BAST CHRISTCHURCH v. CANTERBURT COLLEGE. - Tfcoe'Chaferbury Coljege.team. the latest

acquisition to the ranks of senior teams in Christchurch, essayed their first match on Saturday against the East Christchurch Club at Lancaster Park; and, although at the finish they had to “ knuckle under” to the redoubtable Yellow and Black, they showed sufficiently good football to warrant them in joining the ranks of Canterbury’s senior teams. As may be imagined, the game was witnessed by a very limited number of spectators. The weather was more suggestive of a comfortable warm by tbe fireside than watching a game of football in the pouring rain, and although soma good play wae put in, the most of the game developed into a scramble in the mud. The first spell was fairly even, neither side scoring; but after the interval the elder Club asserted their superiority. F. Hobbs potted a very neat goal from a good pass by Hassall; and his brother soonj afterwards followed up his effort by getting over the line and securing a try, from, which, however, no goal was kicked. The'College team was once or twice very nearly scoring through the phenomenal kicking of Garrard, who made some magnificent shots at goals from marks. As may be imagined, the ball was iu a terribly greasy condition, and to that fact maybe attributed the College team leaving the field without a score.

THE EAST CHRISTCHURCH SECOND FIFTEEN Y. LINCOLN COLLEGE. The match between these teams was played at Lincoln, and resulted in a win for the College by six points to nil. As only eleven of the town Club put in an (appearance, the College team very kindly placed two of their men at the disposal of the visitors, the game being played with thirteen men a-side. In the first spell the Yellows were kept most of the time on the defensive. The passing of the College backs made the game very fast, and this told its tale on the Yellow forwards. During the second spell, however, the Yellows warmed to their work, and gave their opponents a much better game, but owing to a want of combination amongst their forwards failed to score. The tries for the College were gained by J. Berney——two—from one of which R. Berney kicked a goal; and Cantrell and Brown one try each.

The rough weather on Saturday did not interfere with the match between the Cambridge First Fifteen and Addington Second, which took place on the former’s ground. North Park. The Colours kicked off soon after three o’clock, and some tough play was witnessed on both sides. The Colours had the beat of the game, and kept the Blacks on the defensive side for the greater part of the game. _ Several times the Colours looked like scoring, but the Blacks, being good in defence, prevented them within two or three yards from the line. The most noticeable were Nielson, Barford, Garrigan, Dockerty, Willis for the Colours, and Williamson, Moore, Hepburn, and Crummy for the Blacks. The game ended in a draw, neither side scoring. The Merivale-Christchurch Junior Cup match was played on Saturday on the North Park in a pouring rain, and resulted in a win for the former by two goals to nil. The first score was obtained by Cook, who got over the line midway between the goalposts and touch-line. The odds were greatly against a goal being kicked, owing to the sloppy ground and greasy ball. J. Garrard, who has a very good reputation as a goal-kicker, essayed the kick, and sent the ball over the middle of the posts, a beautiful goal. No further score was obtained in the first spell. In the second spell the Bines had much the best of the play and forced Christchurch back to their lines, where, after a scrimmage. Smart got the ball, and with a nice dodgy run touched down between the posts. J. Garrard again placed a goal. Merivale were now showing their superiority over the Beds, forcing them down time after time, and many narrow escapes were averted by the ball going into touch in goal. The back play of Christchurch was not up to its usual good standard, neither of the two sprinters, Wilkinson and Hempton, being able to do anything startling. The Merivale forwards were down on them very smartly, and stopped any danger, and with a wet ball to handle, they had not a very nice time of it. From appearances, the Beds were the heavier forwards, but the Blues invariably carried the scrimmage, and, dribbling better than their opponents, who picked up too much, gained a lot of ground. Merivale’s backs were more fortunate than the Beds’ in the taking of the ball, and their performance was very creditable. The Third Fifteens of the same Clubs also met, when Merivale, after two spells of thirty minutes each, were declared the winners by three points to nil. Mundy, Bides, and Kirk obtained the tries. The match between Addington First and Sydenham Second resulted in a draw, both sides securing a try. Thompson obtained the try for Addington, and Kobson for Sydenham. The game was a forward one throughout, and for Sydenham, Pender, Peacock, and Brown were very conspicuous, as were Hepburn, Knight (2), Thompson, and Hoft for Addington. A match was played between the Shamrock and Star of Waltham Clubs, which resulted in a draw in favour of the Shamrock.