SOCCER TOURISTS

Manawatu Standard, Volume LVII, Issue 156, 3 June 1937, Page 14

SOCCER TOURISTS

WIN AT INVERCARGILL. SPEED OfTrHE BALL. Per Press Association. • INVERCARGILL, June 2. Association football at its best, fast, clever and scientific, was provided for over 2000 people at Rugby Park this afternoon in a match in which the visiting English team beat a combined Otago-Southland side by nine goals to nil. The game was rather drab in the opening stages, but after the visitors became accustomed to the bumpy surface of the ground they played football which delighted the crowd. Their footwork and positional'piny were a revelation to those who had seen little firstclass football. .

Goals for England were scored by Davis, Mathews. Eastham (2), Lewis (2), Riley (2) and Leek.. The combined team played as well as it was allowed to by the visitors, but even then it inissed at least two good opportunities to score. The Englishmen were never really tested by the home side, and when attacks came there was always someone ready to turn the tables. A feature of the visitors’ game was their speed on the ball. In this they were much superior to the combined team. Rarely was a pass wasted. Their headwork .was both spectacular and well directed.

The Southland-Otago side never relaxed its efforts, but showed little cohesion. Opportunities went begging because men were either not np with the play or were out of position. The combined team’s players were also inclined to bunch over much. Their general work on the ball was below standard, too many passes going straight to members of the opposing side. G. Taylor and A. Sutherland (both of Otago) stood out in the back division ot the combined side. G. Sutherland (Southland) and S. Duncan (Otago) were the best of a poor set of forwards.

J. AV. Lewis and K. Tunnington in the half-back line, and F. Davis, It. J. Mathews and A. 1 Last Imm in the forwards, were visiting players whose form throughout the match was brilliant. Tlie half-time score was four to nil in favour of the Englishmen. In the second half both teams played better football, and toward the close of the game the crowd was given excitement by the lightning thrusts of the visitors.