FOOTBALL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9083, 18 June 1888, Page 6

FOOTBALL.

SATURDAY'S MATCHES.

North Shore v. Ponsonbv. This match was played on the Recreation Ground, Devonport, and resulted in a draw, neither side making any score. The game was greatly confined to forward work, scrummages being abundant. The roughness of the ground, and the slipperiness consequent upon the numerous little pools rendered dribbling uncertain, while the several showers that fell during the game rendered the ball greasy, and made passing difficult and dangerous. The North Shore forwards proved themselves to be too heavy for their opponents in the packs, and in the second spell got on many dangerous rushes, which compelled Ponsonby to act mostly on the defensive. North Shore kicked off against both wind and sun, and after loose play in neutral ground, play was transferred to Ponsonby's quarters, where # Patterson got away quickly once or twice, and looked dangerous, until A. Braund relieved his quarters by a good punt, which Stephenson prevented being returned by fast following. Loose play in the middle fifty succeeded, and Wooller, Fagan, and Hobson invaded the blues' territory, Dut Breeri cleared his lines by good punting. A short dash by Banks, and a judicious kick into touch by Arneil, again took play into North Shore's ground, but a counter rush was quickly macta by the blues' "forwards, which Arneil stopped. Tanfield and Wynyard then, by good passing and running, took the leather to Ponsonby's quarter-line, and a mark by Danks was neutralised by a rush of Jones and Marshall stopped by A. Braund. Packed play ensued in Ponsonby's quarters till Mills broke through, and a hard kick by Keefe transferred play to their opponents' 25. The ball was gradually worked to the centre, and Braund passed to Arneil, who made a pot shot, which, though unsuccessful, caused North Shore to save. From the kick-out play started at North Shore's line, but a useful run by McKeown, seconded by Tanfield, and a dribble by Marshall, took the ball to Ponsonby's quarter flag. Several scrums resulted, and Ponsonby worked the play back somewhat, Bruce, Hobson, Mills, and Edwards being seen to advantage. The leather went into Jones' hands, and he made a fine dodgy run, backed by his forwards being collared well in Ponsonby's 25, where some loose play and rather reckless dashing at the

ball resulted in its beinc fororf ™, r> sonby's line, and a miufreS fa"s P ° n " of the defending side. From «L HJ*? o ** the North Shore's return S? B i»nJi 1 u k ' w,t fast following of StephensonßS r » *• lost most of the advantage Briton^?? 1 * time was called with the EST m ° d H ground.. The second spellst^^ l Bcrumming work m the midrib. «A th until Braund transferred pa to v % Shore's 25 line by good punff/bte t^ The blues" forwards worked the hSi back, but it was shortly back to '„„ i the same position, where Wooller got «* y and Stepnensou, by a high punt folwT y ' smartly by himself, geele, and ffit Up rushed the leather past the blues and 3 y scored at the corner flag. From the kit L y a fine rush of the Shore men. headed "k* Johnson, took the play to Laird,SSe POy„ y sonby fullback, and scrums in the Brrfr° nterritory resulted in the ball bein sent £? touch-in-goal Breen got a mark from 1 ?.' 0 kick-out, and Swinnerton took a nW U; i at about the centre flag for Ponsonby"- -rmaking a good attempt. Arneil's return* ' the ball out at Ponsonby's 25, and aft some loose play on the" stripes' sirlp „* the centre and dodgy defensive T ,kv by Arned, the blues' got another Jn.l on, in which some handball was seen a a forced their opponents down. For the r * of the game Ponsonby were .upon the deW sive, the North Shore men making ireo'v - dangerous rushes from the packs, but Arn l and Brauud by good punting, and Laird inA Conway by dropping on the ball, aided' \l several dribbling rushes, in which BnW Hobson, and Mills took part, saved any ««•>' being made, though three place kicks "at the bars by Swinnerton from long murks «■»! rather too near to be pleasant to the stripes The game was a poor one from a spectator' point of view, as the North Shore forward played a heavy scrumming game throughout while the collaring on both sides beui» goo J and the passing poor runs were infrequent and short. On the whole, however, the N'orth Shore men had a decided advantage, and hid they adopted heeling out tactics in the last spell would proba have scored For Ponsonby A. Braund and Arneil played firstclass defensive games, while Laird, though pressed often, came out each time 'without mishap. Danks also showed improved form The forwards were overweighted in the scrums, and one or two seemed to have an inclination to wait outside. Bruce. Hobson and Mills showed the best form, but in loose work the whole of the stripes' forwards did not watch the ball closely enough. Of the Shore men Tanfield was the best of the backs playing with coolness and quickness, while Jones' speed made him useful on several occasions. Webster and Marshall were foremost in the scrum, and frequently broke through, while Johnson was very smart at his dribbling, and Patterson was, as usual dangerous. : Grafton v. Auckland. — The Grafton players added another victory to their record on Saturday, when they defeated the Auckland team at the Tramway Company's grounds, Epsom. There was a small attendance of spectators. The winners had a good deal the best of the play in the first spell, and it was only towards the end of the game that the Auckland men made aggressive jkn\ Shortly after the game opened J. McCausland kicked a clever goal for Grafton from the field, amidst cheers. From the kick out a succession of scrums took place, and Twiname getting the leather, carried it along to within ten yards of the Auckland goal-line, where he was collared, and after some tight play, a determined rush by the Grafton forwards caused Auckland to'fqrce down. Mackie got the ball from the kick-off, and by a fine run he took it back to Auckland s 25, but it was eventually dribbled up by Baxter, only to be again carried down, when Twiname secured a try, a nice goal being kicked by Ryan. An unsuccessful pot at the bars "was shortly afterwards made by Leeky, and from a mark McCausland made a good place-kick, Brown also obtaining a mark a few moments afterward. The latter player stopped a fine dribble by O'Connor by tailing on trie ball, and time was called with the leather in midfield. A fast run by Carter was made at the commencement of the second spell, and Fisher got a mark in front of Grafton's goal, but his attempt at score fell far short of the mark. Several packs here took place, and on more than one occasion it seemed that Auckland must carry the ball over the line, Baxter, O'Connor, and Crowe just missing scoring, until the Grafton forwards, by clever footwork, cleared their quarters, and from pack play the ball passed into the hands of Mackie, who after a dashing run past the Auckland backs fell over the line, but he was called back, and the leather was then from a scrum secured by McCausland, who obtained a try. Ryan was again entrusted with the kick", hut "did not add to the score. Play of a give-and-take character ensued from the kick off, and good rushes were made, but no further points were scored, and the game therefore resulted in a victory for Grafton by seven points to nil. Civil Service v. A. Battery. — This match resulted in an easy win for the Civil Service by 10 points to nil. Tries were obtained by Howard (2), Griffiths, _ Fountain, Donaldson and Marshall, one each,from which two goals were kicked by Fountain. For the winners, besides those already mentioned, Sustins, Bloxsome, Sealey, Powell, and Baxter played well, and for the losers, Lumsden, Williamson, H. Doughty, Ballantyne, O'Brien, Sykes, and Captain Geddes played the best game. Ponsonby Second won their match against University by 4 points to nil. Gordon Second played a weak team of North Shore Second and scored 15 points.

The Devonport N avals, after a very amusing contest, defeated the blue jacket team from H M.s. Egeria. Oxford beat White Rose by 2 points to nothing. Victoria was defeated by Albany by 3 to 1. White Hose Second won their match with Mersey by 3 to 2, and Oxford Second put National down by 4 to 3. SOUTHERN FOOTBALL. [BY TELEGRAPH. —PRESS ASSOCIATION.] Christchurch, Saturday.—The Sydenham and East Christchurch Clubs met on Saturday, the match being the last of the first round for the championship. The match excited even greater interest than was shown on the previous Saturday, when Sydenham met Merivale. For Saturday's match Sydenham were hot favourites, and won by a goal and two tries to a try. In the match against Merivale McLean scored heavily, kicking a goal from the field, and training a try. Christchurch beat Canterbury College by five points to nil. Sydenham now lead for the championship, having gone through the first round without a defeat. Cambridge, Saturday.—A football match was played at Ohaupo to-day between the Cambridge and Ohaupo teams. Cambridge Slaved one man short. Mr. Kusabs captained haupo, and Mr. H. Wilson Cambridge. The match resulted in a victory for Cam bridge by one try to nil. Wellington, Saturday. — The champion football match between Wellington First and Melrose First was played at Newtown today, and ended in a draw, each side scoring try. The Melrose plays this season for ths first time as a senior club. They had the best of the game throughout, and it was within half a minute of the call of time whet Wellington secured their try.