THE ROUND BALL GAME.

Manawatu Standard, Volume L, Issue 253, 20 September 1930, Page 4 (Supplement)

THE ROUND BALL GAME.

The Knock-out Competition

St. • Andrew’s certainly made no race of the match with Athletic last Saturday. Most followers of the code expected that a much closer contest would eventuate, blit Athletic seemed - powerless to prevent the goals piling upi There was no doubt , that the blue and whites showed better combination and had more experienced player's. MacKenzie staged a wonderful comeback and was a great improvement on his previous showing. Particularly energetic was he in the final 6poll and gave Gear some anxious moments.. His shooting and centring were vastly-.improved. Good combination’and support are useless without a goal shooter—and the Saints possessed the necessary man on Saturday last. , Hearsey attempted to make Athletic realise' the seriousness of the position, but • all his good work went for nought. When he had. the leather cleared by. the. back line, his forwards lacked the necessary vim to cap the efforts. The Saints had a safe player in Lyons who has played consistently. good soccer all through. His and accuracy together with, his "tenacity earned him the plaudits of the spectators. He makes a splendid scout and crops up when least expected. He was instrumental in preventing Athletic breaking through to effect. Paton, in the Saints’ hack line, was up to his usual standard and proved of assistance to Whitaker in goal. Taking everything into consideration, St. Andrew’s are to be congratulated on again winning this competition. Wasted Energy. Although a whole season has passed, certain exponents of the code persist in undue headwork. Last Saturday’s match was an instance of sheer waste of energy. Had the leather been kept down, the score(s) may have been somewhat different. Headwork well done is pleasing to the onlooker, but aimless and unsuccessful attempts to make contact with the hall in mid-air tend to disappoint patrons. Affiliation Fees. During the past season, certain clubs have found great difficulty in meeting their financial obligations to the M.F.A. According to the rules of that body, clubs who fail to pay the requisite fee' automatically cease to become members and to be recognised in any championship. It is a matter for regret that finance should prevent furtherance of the code, but the association requires the money. The only remedy seems to lie in the clubs increasing their membership so that the .expense will not be so hard on each individual member. Winding-up. The Manawatu Football Association Recently decided to undertake something in the nature of an experiment locally, and to stage a sports’ day. It was proposed to hold the event on Saturday next—the final day of the local soccer season. A nominal entry fee from each club was being charged. It was proposed to hold a five-aside tournament in addition to certain other athletic events. The OFeilding club showed its enthusiasm by forwarding its entry to Tuesday week’s meeting of the M.F.A. management committee. However, the meeting to arrange for the sports gathering, and which was twice postponed, is not being held, owing to lack of support. The 1930 soccer season as a consequence ended with today’s match. The Junior “Knock-out.” The junior “knock-out” competition which commenced on Saturday last concluded this afternoon. Unlike the senior competition, the fifth division yielded four clubs to contest the trophy, the primary grade providing three teams. The recent tourna- ; ments already have made an impression on the boys, who, with good training, should become able expon- • *nts of the code.

Local Season Ends.

News And Views.

(BY “CENTRE-HALF.”)

Athletic v. The Rest. The suggestion at a recent meeting of the management committee of the M.F.A. that Athletic (this year’s competition winners) meet a team comprising members of all other clubs, was a happy idea. It was suggested that the selector, Mr H. Johnston, pick a team of three from each of the local clubs and two from Feilding. ■ Accordingly, the. suggestion was carried out, and to-day the match was scheduled, to be played at North Street • Park. Such matches are pLayed in other centres and it was a fitting conclusion to the playing season besides filling in what would have been a “blank” Saturday. Concentration., Some players do not take the game seriously enough, and when a trophy is at stake do not realise that they are instrumental in its gain or loss.-It was Very evident that some Athletic players in Saturday’s match were not as interested as they might have been, and treated the match as a joke. A game may be played in the friendliest of spirit but that is_ no excuse for players not concentrating. One of the many on the sideline'requested a number with craned necks not to “worry about the aeroplane,” but to “buckle into it” and show some tangible results. It was only an unpremeditated remark, but the advice was worth following. It was bad enough for the match to start twenty-five minutes after time, without having a half-hearted attempt at playing. Last Saturday’s offenders were not the only ones this season.

Spectators’ Point of View. 1 Referring to the recent Chatham Cup match in Wellington, a soccer writer says : —When the spectators are treated to such an exposition as they saw last Saturday, it is a great inducement to them to go again, for Western and Petone gave a display of something like the real game. The way in which most of the senior games are played is so scratchy that it is not good enough to attract the public, but present games of last Saturday’s type, and the gates at the Basin Reserve will double or treble. It is true that there was something in the nature of a demonstration, but it really amounted to nothing more than a little keen club rivalry, of which there used to be quite a lot a few years back. The keener the rivalry the more attractive games, or the better the gates, so let it continue to the good of all concerned. Evidently Wellington enthusiasts plso experience the slackness during the latter part of the season. The primary tournament games here attracted a good crowd of spectators, who, qnce trained to good football, must be dissatisfied with “scratchy” games in the senior grades. Lives Up to His Name. A. Trotter, centre-forward of the Thistle Association Football' Club, is now well ahead of any other Christchurch footballer in the tally .of goals that he has landed this season in Hurley Shield matches. In eight matches in which he. scored, Trotter has secured 21 goals. The nearest man to him is F. Smith (New Brighton), claiming 12 goals in 10 matches. L. Petersen (Nomads) is another cen-tre-forward who hqs been quite prolific in goal-getting, although this has been only his first season at soccer; he has secured goals in five matches. G. Cullen, a vigorous and versatile young St. Albans forward, can lay credit to obtaining 10 goals in the seven matches in which he connected with the rigging. World’s Championship. A hundred thousand spectators watched Uruguay and Argentina meet in,the final of what is called the world’s Association football championship, in Monte Video a few weeks ago. Uruguay and Argentina fought out the Olympic final at Amsterdam ■in 1928, when, after a draw, Uruguay won by two goals to one. This year’s .contest was also won by Uruguay, but 1 by four goals to three.

Chinese Jourjsts. Further particulars regarding llie Chinese soccer team which is -to visit England during the coming'season indicate that the tour is to-be something quite out of the ordinary, a world tour in fact. Twenty, players are making the trip, representing the pick of the teams of Tientsin, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore, together with a party of six players from the the Lob Hwa Club. With the assistance of Hugo Meisl, the well-known Australian official, it is proposed to play five international and six club matches on the Continent, producing in revenue about £3500. They are prepared to begin their English matches in November, and to remain in Great Britain about six weeks, when they will return to China via Canada or New York, where further matches will be played. It is a. considerable undertaking, and the success of the proposed visit seems to depend,.on the class of fixture they are able to secure. The promoters are anxious for amateur international matches with England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, together with games l with clubs like the Corinthians, Queen’s Park (Glasgow), Ilford, Oxford, and Cambridge Universities, and an Army eleven. Red Tape. - There is such -a thing as -■ red tape even in the football world. ' Some London working boys were to have a camping holiday at ’ Sandwich • last month, and, as some lads would also be there from Belgium, it was thought it would be a splendid idea to have a football match. “What?” said the Football Association in effect when they were asked for permission.- “A football match during the close season? No!” The application was made by Mr lan Macdonald Horobinj of the National Association of Boys Clubs, for permission for a match at Deal on August 16. He said a gate might be taken and the proceeds given to one of the The team would be chosen from' the boys at camp—all members of the football club. When permission-was refused Mr Horobin asked if the game could be played provided nothing was charged for admission, but the association was adamant. Mr Horobin is honorary warden of Mansfield House Settlement, and he states that if the match were played “our ground might be closed and our players blacklisted—all because twenty-two lads want to kick a ball about upon a holiday.” Sir Frederick Wall, of the Football Association, said to a Press representative: “The Football Association does not control boys’ football. The club which was the subject of the application was the Fairbairn House Football Club. It is affiliated with the London Football Association. Every affiliated club must, of course, observe the regulations. The London Football Association were unable to give their consent for the match, as it was contrary to the rules. The club then applied to the Football Association, which is a National Association, and my committee confirmed the decision of the L.F.A. It is not a question of taking up an autocratic attitude —we are out to help clubs. Had it been possible permission would have been given.”