FOOTBALL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13491, 18 May 1907, Page 8

FOOTBALL.

: • AUCKLAND UNION FOOTBALL FIXTURES. >, ; - - FIRST AND SECOND FIFTEENS. May 18: Grafton v. Parnell. City v Ton- ' . • aonby, North Shore v. . Newton. May 25Grafton v. City, North Shore jr.- . :Parnell, Newton v. Ponsonby. •*> * Jane 1: Grafton v. Ponsonby, North Shore >T. City, Newton v. Parnell. ; -•/ ' . <. *i, THE CUP MATCHES. . WniLß th© victories of. the City and Ponsonby teams on Saturday were no doubt popular,'* the general football public must • regard the decisiveness of their victories :as . .more or less regrettable, inasmuch 1 as" the winning teams showed superiority that does not augur well for keenness of competition as tho season progresses. The. margin of points by whioh tho games were -won was altogether too great. At the beginning"of "a season teams aro not at their, best, and it often, happens that one. or two teams that have been training longer run away with a few Wins 'while other teams, aro striking : ; form. ' .This, I am inclined io think, is not tho case in ; this instance. City, I am afraid,, is;. team possessed of overwhelming ; strength, and .the poor outlook . for good sport in the winter is due to this, rather than perhaps to any very pronounced weakness on -tho part of the. other teams. ■ -■ f Unless a decided improvement is made as ' the' season progresses' in the play of the other' teams, - interest /' in the • matches -will gradually! diminish, and the 'remaining teams, with the exception of Ponsonby, will have to content themselves with a fight for third place." The City team has of late been, admirably' .organised . .and systematically, trained. . It might bo that some ;of the weaker teams will improve, especially , . if they endeavour to emulate the methods of "the" City -team; . ; X,. . .: . . . . The only team .that . will-. have- any chance against tho redoubtable Cityitea, I think, is Ponsonby. In fact, many of the supporters of, the western suburb consider their representatives equal to those •of City, • but while recognising-; their increased strength and their superiority oVcif' most, if 'riot ; all, ; the clubs except City, I must say lam not quite eo sanguine as* the club's loyal -supporters. Thesei two teams will meet -to-day on No. 1 ground, at Alexandra - . Park, and it should provide one of the best ''i; club matches - 'Been in Auckland- for some time. 'Notwithstanding that there will be' a counter attraction in the form of a raco y- meeting, the attendance at the Park should bo ' exceptionally ; largo. Whiohover way tho result goes, the football exposition '' should bo rof a. -high order. • " • p.;. /;,; On No. 2 ground'at Alexandra Park the {,'■X': two teams that have not won a match, ' namely, Grafton and Parncll, will ,bo seen in contest. Tho ; game should bo ; a close one, but ,as far as interest and ' public' i v . patronage is " concerned, 'it will ho over- _ shadowed by the match between City and ■ Ponsonby on tho adjoining ground. , . ,At .North *' Shore -,the- local fifteen will y. meet the; Newton representatives.-" If the -North Shore men expect to win, their ex- > position of the .Rugby game .will have to be of a 'higher standard' than it was last Saturday, when they fell before Ponsonby, . and could ' not once cross the line, while their opponents .scored. eight tries.' , '■: J. _ The fixtures foi» to-day's matches are as . {allows:-— ' ' .. . v.. ' • '• •' ' FIRST . FIFTEEN'S. >'. _ , '-N.o>. J;grQV®d, Alexandra Park: City v. Ponsojn-. : by.: referee, Sir. A Campbell:-'- * ' ; : ; " ; No. 2 ground: Grafton v. Parnell; referee, Mr. W Pitt#. .. -. *, , At North Shore: Newton v. North Shore;; re-' feree, -Mr. A. Freeman. .-. . ' SECOND FIFTEEN'S. - No. 3 ground (Alexandra Park): 'City v. Ponsonby; referee, Mr." ll.' Frost. /' ' -No. 4 ground: ' Grafton v. Parnell; referee, Mr. C. W. Oram. ' : T/, /<". v ' ■ At Kingelftnd: Newton v. North ; Shore; referee, . Mr. Mefhail. THIRD FIFTEENS. . . . •At North Shore: ' North Shore v. 'Newton; referee, Mr. Jaggs. No. s'ground (Alexandra Park): City v. Ponsonby; referee,-Mr. Donaldson. ' ■- . - No. 6 -ground: Grafton v, Parnell; referee, Mr. M. lienihan. , , ~ : FOURTH FIFTEENS. " " No. 7 ground (Alexandra 'Patk): Grafton v.-Par- ' referee, Mr. : Austin." c :: \ ■■■[ L , n: North ■ Shore' v. Newton; referee, . W N^abound: City v. Parnell B; «tor«, Mr. PaTkcr.>; ; * . ' v"— ' .V. THE GAMES LAST SATURDAY. The Ponsonby ! Shore match was .a ■ • walk-over for the former, and while. V- most departments of the gamo tho visitors ■ eavo" a splendid exhibition, their achieve- • ment was somewhat discounted by the miserable display of goal-kickmg, not one, V •' of 'the; eight' tries ■ notched being" converted, ' although several were from easy positions. ! \ At least ten points should have been added to the total registered, and had the scoring ' been closer (as it must bo when ; Ponsonby •\u meet City), the -importance of goal-kicking '-U, would have more forcibly .emphasised itself "'i on the minds .of the: - Ponsonby players, because obviously tho match could easily i : ; have been thrown away through failure to convert some of 1 the tries. A lesson may, '; -however, be learnt, . and in the interests of the club attention given to such an essential ■ • feature of the game. The blue-and- ' black-jerseyed team . owe not a little of -i' iheir success to the generalship of the übiquitous captain, Gillett, who was everywhere and at all stages of the gamo mari shalling his forces, strategically directing . / operations', '/arid constantly urging, on his' men to greater effort. -He made opening ;• , after, opening,. discerned " the weak points • '•''A of his opponents'-defence, and there attacked .vigorously and unceasingly. His - i work" was brilliant, and was an outstanding : feature of the contest; Ponsonby's forward division showed dasb and resourcefulness, , . their frequent rushes, in which they swept; trf t ' 1 everything before them, - were magnificent; : and -their footwork, individual and .cc lief-. A'lfvitive, wa3 masterful. The backs mado a .good showing in • passing .and .ground■fgaining kicking,, .but some of tho passing . •,rr- was ' ' erratic ' and lacked. " headiness." ■>' . North Shore, as a much weaker combina- ; ,' • tion, put up a good fight. They-raised an • impenetrable defence during the '. first V ■ . stages of the struggle, but this was graduV ally broken-down, and before the 00111"-' |i ; ; pletion of the match hopelessly shattered. On ' tho winners' aide, Murray, Dillimore, 'and' Flyim : wero the most useful of the * 'backs, while Gillett, Francis; Hall, Nichol--1 i Ron.and Cunningham were the best of the ,| forwards. Hall, ' a former Thames player, Vshowed great dash ■a3 well as knowledge, _ and his speedy following-up was a;.source,of. obstruction to North Snore and... advantage .to >hisv-o\rn - team. -. -Woodward- was - the. mainstay of: Shore's backs, and amongst * _• . tho forwards Clarke, Todd, and Marshall Cv' were "tho most' prominent. Tho old trouble of spectators encroaching on the. v line of play was again in evidence, and, . ' besides being an annoyance to tho more 1 , oxderiy sectio: of -the public, impeded the f : (progress of the match, play having to be p. - suspended once '-'or twice wfcilo the line -was being cleared. The match City v, Parnell, in whioh the latter' was ■. defeated by 28 points to nil,, calls for little ' comment. Tho wearers of the maroon jerseys when they entered the *:' field could not have had the slightest hope of defeating their redoubtable opponents, and tho only policy left open for v hem was ; ' to give City as good a "go", for it as possible. Parnell, with plenty of youthful ?v,- blood 'among • its" members, adopted this .-ourso, and succeeded in putting up a •v inueb better -game than was anticipated; "Where they wore lacking, however, way in im»king.j the most of their opportunities, but this wa3 probably due to inexperience. -There.is »jo doubt that- they will improve as the season advances. Twiname was the pick of the backs, and Kinder of the forwards. Of the powerful City team, it may bo said that they gave; a remarkably good I V exhibition. of ! their powers, several players, notably Smith, boing quite up to any form they have previously displayed. . • The match between Grafton and Newton does not call for much comment, being cdnfined chiefly to tho forwards. In this ' department, Grafton were much stronger, 1 • hut received no support whatever from tho IPH backs, whereas the Newton; backs played a - fine game," and took advantage; of every chance that offered. The Nowton back division brought off some good passing - runs, the second ' try by Rowe being'; the* , ■' result of - a good' rush, the- ball passing : , through about: five pairs of bands. Wolfgramm made somo dashy runs, his try being scored by feinting and boating of . tho ! Opposing backs. The veteran, Tommy" Roberts, turned out for Newton, v . 'but'did not have a great amount of work ~{'fP to do. Rowo played a fine game, running, v, 1 ' 8 ' 11 ?' - and kicking with judgment. He is ; ' undoubtedly one of tho safest club backs iin < Auckland. Trovarthen, Hooper, and Par rant wero hard workers in the Newton t| vanguard. . Marshall, who has quite re--I'-"?, s .covered from the accident ho received |f; V whilst training, played a good game for tho ' ! black and whites, but unfortunately - res'J'" oeivod no support from the other backs of ' the team. Eaton, Dean, and MacCormick; jM dki good service in the. forward division. 1 : : ■ :: : ' ;

The position of the senior, clubs to-day is as von below: —:• • • ' Points scored. P. W. . L.- For. Agst.City ... '■'... 2,2 — '- 45 3.-'; ; Ponsonby;.: ... 2...: .2 , ... —. , .....41 ,o.. ; ; Newton ... 2 1 1 21 23 North Shore ... 2 * - * *5 '■ ' ? 4 Grafton ... 2 9 2 6 at ; : Parnell ... 2 . 0 2 3, 45 . HERE AND THERE. : Tho results of ail matches > played •under th© auspices of - junior,' school, and outside clubs will be published in the Herald on Monday, mornings. It will, however, bo necessary this season for the secretaries of clubs to: forward tho results? to the Herald Office not later than six o'clock oh Sunday evenings. ; Tho : reports may be placed in the letter-box at tho Queen-street entrance 10 the buildings. Hitherto the; reports have been - collected by a reporter, but thismethod having proved unsatisfactory, secretaries are requested to noto the alteration. Secretaries of : district and -other: clubs will also please: note that the names of players constituting teams will bo published every Friday. After to-day teams cannot bo inserted in Saturday's issue.. ~ Grafton were unfortunate on. Saturday, being without the services of several of their" best players, Sutherland, Kiernan, and Mcintosh, being laid up,; the results of injuries received at the Shore- on the previous Saturday. Maguire and Paris were also absent. •■>.-.■.• ■'■,''' S. S. Dean (Grafton) will not lie available for the rest, of tho season, "owing to ill-health. .-.-,-. I hear that W. Wynyard will not play again this season. * : ' ?! F. Harrison, . who had ■ the : muscles ofhis thigh torn Way in the Shore-Fonsonby match on 'Saturday, is still confined', to, his bed.. ' , . , . ' v South Africa received £2400, as its share of the gate -at the. match, a gainst » England. • The Sydney Referee of the Bth inst. refers to the proposed tour of a New Zealand team to England; for tho purpose .of playing professionals - against Northern Union teams. 'I" quote tho following, because? ''~ it'/' is .very'". much •to / the point: — "The young and, rising players of. New. Zealand, : who .have never;yetr figured i in the highest representative ;games, should give' very carefu I'consideration to this matter before taking a step '.■'■ which - will mean football =- ostracism for the ; rest" of their [ lives. From tho point of view of men ~ whoso football, existence is drawing near its closo, proposed tour obviously has attractions, tho more especially if their ideals of amateurism are not very firm, • and"? their position - in -■ life not one that leads to opulence. ? These, men will take tho step with. eyes wide open, playing for a certain stake, and an equally,certain penalty. It will be purely business with them. In New* Zealand many leading players'are tradesmen or mechanics,' and? though brilliant exponents of tho game, and at present thoroughly amateur in status, th©. prospect; of legitimately -making a financial rise '/by ?: means of their skill is naturally sure to be a highly important consideration." ?■ _ , '■• At a meeting of • the committee of tho Auckland Rugby Union on Thursday* evening, the following resolution was passed:— "That the Auckland ! Rugby Union views' with alarm and ? indignation the suggestion of a tour/ of a professional Rugby football team -to' '_ England, and ■; trusts the local football authorities' will uso,every .'endeavour to discountenance such tour as being inimical to the best interests of football in this colony!'-':-' ■;'r"V" i "-' ///* /.'-;,:'■/' ■.:■/;;./, ' ' ';': :•■'■'"■.• i The public -schools matches will bo continued to-day at Alexandra Park and Kings--land. , At Kingoland, at one o'clock, Mount Albert * (B grade) will meet ? Bayfield, and at ,:• the ?: same timo;-■ Ellorslie • (B grade) will contest a game with Point Chevalien /The Ayb'ndaleW. Epsom' match (fi ' grade) will commence at two o'clock. ? ! On No. 4 ground, Alexandra Park, Parnell';? (A; grade, ). section .two) will meet Newton West, at two o'clock. /'</^.'/ ; * ■ V; : ' v ••' One of, the outstanding' features in last Saturday's matches was the erratic and alto-: gether inferior kicking. In:the three senior matches 22 : tries were scored, and only two goals were ? kicked; those. being a penalty : goal and a goal from a mark; .' ( ' . .-' "?. Complaints have been made to the Rugby Union of r the damage done by players wearing spikes ;in their boots, / These are very 'dangerous, and are prohibited by tho rules. The referees ! have been, requested to deal strictly with this matter .to-day. .'» }, There seems to bo a lot of misunderstanding among players of all grades about where the, kick is to take place for a mark or penalty. A ; player may run from either side, so', long as •;. the kick takes place opposite tho ? mark, and' it is, not necessary for ball to go oyer?the mark', but it must, go in 1 the direction of the _ opponent's goalfine. The penalty ; for kicking the ball back to one's own side is a scrum at the mark.•?. : .While in Wellington last week the bluejackets at jpresent in. Auckland with ; the Australasian squadron had .an afternoon's excitement 'in . the * shape "of a football match between the crews of the : Encounter and Powerful. After an excellent game, the Encounter crew won by three goals to two. thus /carrying j? off the ; squadron , football' shield. _ The! match between University and St. John's ■' Old - Boys" will be played this afternoon ■on the sports ground.at St. 'John's Collegiate? School, The Pah, , Onebunga. Play will commence \at three p.m. sharp. ' ; , ■ . ' At Cardiff, on March 23, ! Cardiff defeated Swansea, ,; in the presence of ■ 30,000 /people, by a try fto nil. At -.the gates :? £700 was taken. :: The idea •' that the meeting of the two best Welsh , clubs would . produce a great? game proved a very wrong- one. So keen was the rivalry, and so great the excitement, that /neither,7side attempted ._ to. play the Welsh game, and the interesting incidents of the ■ whole match could be counted on the? fingers of one hand. On the play, says the Athletic News, Cardiff, deserved their win,? and once again showed their ability -to' makeV;the -most of every opportunity that presented itself. Their success - was chiefly due to their forwards,, who clearly proved that a good eight can beat,a. good seven. ; The fact that the Swansea forwards, one of ; the cleverest heeling imaginable, -were beaten lor possession :; in a great; majority of the -scrummages was proof positive of the fact, and the policy of : Swansea keeping Sorines out-of-' the scrummages throughout the whole, of the game, when there was nothing to, roye about with, must be ? regarded as. a mistaken one. r So" keen was tho■. "'feeling' over the match -that .the j following telegram was., sent„rt6.;LGwynn - Nicholl* on the Saturday morning: Members of the Cardiff . Exchango most desirous you should turn out to-day : against Swansea- Feeling intense. ,*, Cardiff must win. "On behalf 'of 'its members, J. A.SJosES,*prcsidont.", : ;? Gollan, the ex-Dunedin player,:: was not considered good enough lor the Poneke three-quarter line, and is, in consequence, playing foe, one, of the? other -senior -teams •—Wellington, to wit^—--" ■'--■■-

/ AUCKLAND WEDNESDAY UNION/ '. With beautiful weather for the ■* opening matches of the Wednesday Union, the President cap competition was inaugurated auspiciously, and indications point to the tnird season of the union being the most successful The play in -the two senior matches, though not by any means of high order was well ur.to; the standard of opening matches. .In the, Post,-Telegraph and Railway v. Grocers and Milkmen match, play was more open, and consequently brighter- than in the ot * l . e £ senior game, but -it lacked the interest ; which is always manifested m a close contest. ! Little, behind the scrum; proved himself to be the beat half that has so far figured in the position for the Post, Telegraph, and Railway, and should .show, to.even better advantage _in future matches. Edwards, as usual, was bright and effective in attack. Castleton 7-the new threequarter—scored a brilliant try in the J , first spell. He is possessed of .pace. In the forwards Civil servants were. not so well served as in the rear division, but nevertheless Parker demonstrated that with better support the pack should not lack solidity, Foster distinguished himself by scoring twice, and appears to be in better form than at any tune last year. The Grocers and Milkmen held the upper hand -in the pack, their forwards playing with vim and working hard throughout. lii the backs the standard of play, was not so good, though Hunt and Littlejohn were strong in defence. v ' • _ Excellent forward play was the essential factor in securing the Drapers their first win for two seasons, but at the same time they were fortunate in meeting the Butchers when they had such a weak team. It is a very unusual thing to find the Butchers opposed by a pack that can offer them serious opposition, and the Drapers deserve credit for the sturdy play of their vanguard. Of a good lot,, perhaps Martin had no equal, and he need only reproduce his present form to -find himself in the front rank of mid-weekly players. Thomas also shone to advantage, arid Bull was up to his old form.'/ Behind the pack Marshall gave .a good display, and Batkin got through his usual amount of work. Scott and Purcell had. an immense amount of defensive work to get, through, and thev performed capably. Amongst the Butchers, Cooper and. Griffiths bore the brunt of the .work, but Walker did his share with credit. On the whole, the Butchers need not be disappointed by their defeat, as, although such sterling players asTurdic. Cox, and Laing are hard ,to replace, ..they possess such a, clever pack that they can pull through with even a 'mediocre,set of backs- >■ - The success of the Drapers endorsed tne union's action in allowing this team's " boundaries" to be enlarged, ,as in the past their weakness was a, sad blot on the competition. " Armstrong and Traue, who were watching the game from the "trandstand on • Wednesday last.will be in, their old places in the Civil servants', pack wext Wednesday. ? ='

. NEW; ZEALAND RUGBY UNION. [UT-TKLEGRAPH.—PRESS ASSOCIATION*.] ' Wellington*, Friday." ; At a meeting' of tho Management Committee of the New Zealand Rugby Union ■j last night a letter was .received ? from>. tho. Hawke's Bay Union protesting against the? Wairoa sub-union being attached to ? Gisborne? Consideration of the matter was deferred for a week. '.>:. ,' : . •, ... '^It:? was decided that for the North 'v. South Island match 17 men be picked for each team, r allowing ah. emergency back and forward.'- ' ': ' .' : ','?' i: For the New Zealand team- to visit Australia it was decided to send 22 men. ;:.; Mr. J. • D. Avery, - secretary of . tho Wellington Rugby Union, has,been appointed secretary of the New Zealand Rugby Union. V \ '-/THE AUSTRALIAN GAME. \ ' The premiership matches open this afternoon, both senior and junior. The seniori ; match is between Eden and Imperial, and, give fine weather, a first-class game should be witnessed, as both teams will be strongly ? represented and have had.." the benefit of a full round of practice matches. The use i of ..two ' boundary -umpires for all senior ! games this season will, have the effect of I making the play much 'aster, the idea j being to make the players thoroughly ac'qtiairited with the system, in preparation j for next year's tout of Australia, as in | .every game on the other side the boundary .' umpires aro used. To give New Zealanders I .an idea, of how very fast the game is, as ; -played by the crack team of Australia,. it j may be mentioned . that, the rules provide'l :for a penalty, in the • shape of a free-kick,-, , to any player who wilfulb* knocks or kicks ' the 'ball out of bounds. * ... *' ? - { The Management Committee are to be ! congratulated on a new rule adopted in J regard to the payment by members of their j annual subscription. :: . ? The captain of the Imperial team last season (W. R. Forster) returned from his j trip to Melbourne last Sunday, and will! probably load the red and blacks this sea■son. Ho reports having had a good time at the bands of the officials of the Victorian League, whose hospitality is so well known. A big parcol of footballs was; part of the generosity meted out: to the Imperial cap,tain. -■;'. .''» >• t ,:}> y. ? .-;'";„ •"'".-" ? ' ■ Latest news re Victoria League premier- ! "ship matches shows St. Kilda and Essendon at the head .of affairs. Cumberland, iate of the Imperial team (Auckland), is credited with being so far the star performer of St. Kilda, and, in fact, is picked out as the probable champion of Melbourne, teams.. Mr. J. P. Hegarty, the secretary of the i Auckland League, has just returned from ? j a visit to Thames and Waihi, and whilst , in the district he completed arrangements j for a match to ; be played on tho Thames Racecourse between both senior and junior representative teams of Auckland and Waihi I on Empire Day (May 24) ■> next. Tho pro- j ceeds of the match ,are to be. donated towards the : building of ■a" new annexe to | the Thamos Hospital, which is. to be de-:J voted exclusively to the treatment of in- | feotious diseases. The match is likely to i turn- out a financial success, as, being foxso laudable ,an object, tho matter is • being 1 enthusiastically taken tip at Thames and | Waihi. - The authorities of the Thames Hos- : pital ; express their gratitude v to the: Aus- - : tra.lian_ footballers for interesting themselves ; ■ in their - institution. A somewhat uniauo feature of'tho senior match in question is that it will be played:with the ball used in that memorable contest at the end of last season between the two Victorian crack teams, Carlton and Fitzroy, of Melbourne, and at which there were some 45,00P spectators present. The' thanks of 'ill those concerned are duo to' Mr. Harry Peters, of the Thames, himself '■; an ex-player of the highest order, who was connected with the game for some years in Gippsla'nd,' Victoria. Mr. Peters has? worked assiduously to mako this match at the Thames: a financial sue-: cess, and it is to,be hoped his expectations will bo realised. ' The Auckland teams will be made known on Monday night. :'. - - ... .Up at Taihapo they are'in deadly earnest in pushing forward the 'Australian ? game, as ;■ a set-off to Rugby, i and the promoters aro very pleased at the success of ? their .efforts to date. •' ' : . THE ASSOCIATION GAME.: ; The ' Auckland Football Association • will Continue their competitions this, afternoon at tho various grounds. The two first-grade fixtures will be Corinthians v. : Ponsonbv (Domain) and Nor Shore v. Everton (North Shore). -Both matches should provide close and interesting contests. •?? * The Association opened: their season on Saturday afternoon; ? last. 1- Two senior matches were played, one at Point Chevalier and the other at the North Shore. /At tho first-named ground Ponsonby > tried conclusions with ? Everton, the ? latter coming out on top by? three goals to one. ? From a . spectator's standpoint the game was any.-i thing but interesting. Of courso when reviewing the games one must, take into consideration that Saturday's matches were the first of the season,, but. nevertheless,?/. a better display should have been ? given "at , Point Chevalier. At Devonport Corinthians? met: and: defeated ; North Shore by three goals to one— similar sco-re to that registered in the other first-grade, match—after a good display on the part of tho victors. Playing ■'.' in the second-grade competition ,W.Y.M.I. A brought off a surprise by de- ; feating the "•■ Corinthian eleven. With sevral of the ; members ■' of "? the City Club - (last I year's champions) ■ included in the team the opinion was freely expressed that ;■ Corinthians, would go through ;■: the - season with an unbeaten record. . However, tho unexpected happened, and "W,Y.M.1.; A won by four "goals to one.* Tho winning team had all ? the best of the ' game, and fully deserved their; victory. ' No; less ? than six teams made their first appearance in " sockor" football on ) Satur'and in five instances they wore pitted against ..".old hands" at the game, while/ two of the teams; making their debut were - matched against one another. In four out of the five cases when they were set? down to meet their more experienced opponents, they were successful, the only hew team to suffer, defeat being St. David's. The above result must be highly gratifying to the Association, and it should also,have the effect of .putting fresh interest, into the competition. . . » .-,-!,. ? .-. : • ~-/• ?y•^,-••^!-.•■^ , ; In: the j: match '?.'-against '■; JPbhsbiiby Baker (Everton) 'lost a splendid cliaiico in tho .second spell through hanging, the ball tco long, with: the result that he soon .had a couple of opponents around, him. / Another fault on tho part of several players.is that they ' aro inclined ~ to.: iake the > ball tco far down tho line before taking their shot, the consequence being 'that.'the angle, is then too sharp and tho';.'ball flics, .wide' of its mark. -•.-'• ■ J '-\ The now grounds secured at Point Cheva-; lier were in demand last week, no less than five matches' being played on them. In "places tho grass is rather..long, but- the Association are having this fault remedied. : and the grounds should soon be in ; splendid order. The players appeared well satisfied, one prominent member of a senior eleven, expressing the opinion that -ho would as soon play there as on the Kingsland Cricket Ground. , '/■ . ■ The referee appointed to officiate in one of tho matches .set, down for decision last Saturday failed to put in an appearance,' and the services of a' substitute had to be obtained. It is to be hoped -that incidents like these are not of frequent occurrence. ./ - - Ponsonbv played ono .man? short in their match against Everton. The play of the W;Y.M.I. A backs gainst Corinthians was far above tho , or- ' dinary. Whitehead ? (half) ? and Galloway and Campbell (fullbacks) had a- day out, their play being almost faultless. /< - Tho Association 'gamo must be making great progress in the South. The, number of players taking part this season in Otago' alone is estimated at 800. The Management Committee, of the Auckland Football| Association have , decided ■■ to present each referee officiating this season with : a blue cap, 1 on which will bo; a gold monogram.- ' Law son,' a member of the South African. : team which played against the Corinthians' touring eleven last year, is now residing in Auckland, and "has thrown in his lot with Corinthians. His position in the team will bo centre-half. '- " : • In. the English Association Cup final Shef-, field' Wednesday beat Everton by two goals - to one, in the presence: of 85,000 people. , At: Fulhani on March 17 -25,000 people witnessed England and Wales play a drawn game. ~Of 29 matches played "England has, won 21, Wales two, and six have been drawn. //" , ,At Belfast on March ■ 17, 30,000 people being present, Scotland defeated Ireland by three goals to nil. ;i ' :,> //- : ' '■'- , The difficulty of providing grounds on" which to play the third-grade matches was settled at ? tho' ordinary meeting of the Management Committee on Tuesday evening. 'It was decided to play two matches at both Devonport and Point Chevalier and one on the Domain,. . :• ?/ •• ,