ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19147, 13 October 1925, Page 6

ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL.

| SEASON NEARLY OVER. CHAMPIONSHIP PROSPECTS. LAST SATURDAY'S CONTESTS. Three more playing Saturdays will see the 1925 Association football season finished in Auckland, and the conclusion will not come any too soon. Clubs are finding it difficult even now to field full teams owing to the summer sports commencing. Members of the local executive have signified their intention to see that the season does not drag on so long in future years. This is a wise move, for even the most "faithful heart" among supporters can get an over-dose of football and lose interest. It has been suggested that a great deal of time would be saved by confining the senior league championship to six or eight teams right from the beginning of the season. The difficulty has always been to gauge the strength of clubs at the outset. This could probably be overcome if a special committee was formed to go thoroughly into the personnel of senior teams before the affiliation was accepted. There will, of course, always be a certain number of new arrivals whose form is not known, but these will hardly be sufficient to nullify the work of such a committee. Present indications are that Thistle will take the championship honours for this year. They are now only one point behind North Shore and have a game in hand. Their last opponents are Northcote, and the Scotsmen will have to show a big reversal of form to lose to the suburban team. Their prospects of lifting the Falcon Cup are also very bright. The other teams to contest the semi-finals for the cup are Ponsonby, Tramways and North Shore. Y.M.C.A.'s Victory. The Y.M.C.A.-Ponsonby game on Saturday proved to be a fast and willing encounter. Both sides took the opportunity of giving a number of their junior players a taste of senior football, and although there were no outstanding suc- ! cesses, one or two of them showed distinct promise. The hard surface of the ground and the lightness of the ball were upsetting at times. Men who had been playing in rain and slush for so long found it difficult to adapt themselves to the lively conditions. Paton, in goal for Y.M.C.A., would have had a much busier day but for the fact that the finishing efforts of Ponsonby's front rank were very weak. Time and again opportunities presented themselves, out dallying too long gave the defending backs time to nip in and clear their lines. C. Sparling, at right, fullback for Y.M.C.A., played a vigorous game, displaying much more judgment in his placing than his brother, who partnered him. Dick was the pick of the halves, although Shenkin got through a tremendous amount of work. The former player shows great promise at centre-half. His control of the ball is excellent and his only fault is a tendency to kick too high when placing to his own forwards. Of the forwards Marshall did remarkably well, grafting hard throughout. He was well supported bv McMtken on the right wing and these two were always outstanding in the Y.M.C.A. attack. McMiken has a great turn of speed and always passes to centre with precision. With a season's experience in senior football he should develop into a very capable outside right. The Ponsonby Players.

Hall gave another good display in goal for Pousonby. With a little more experience he will be well up to senior standard. Williams was extremely safe at fullback, playing his usual hard game. His partner. Green, improved ort his previous display, showing some clever touches. His tackling was fearless, making him a very hard man for the opposing forwards to pass, but his fault, too, is "ballooning" the ball. Kennedy, Waugh and Wright worked hard in the half-line. The forwards showed some grand mid-field play, but when it came to adding the finishing touches they were invariably a,II at sea. Cheesman was responsible for some clever pieces of play, but missed two splendid opportunities of scoring. . Ward did not perform up to expeditions, but really got iew chances for his partner, Jermery, hung on to the ball too long in most cases. Thistle's Strong Team. Thistle had a very strong side in the field for their match with Hellaby's on Saturday and never looked like losing. As at present constituted the Scotsmen have the best eleven in the senior league. Their footwork', concerted play and perfect understanding between all the positions was a treat to watch. The dry ground suited them to a nicety and every man gave of his best. Hellaby's were disorganised by the absent* of regular players through injuries. but, notwithstanding this they put up a good fight against a very strong opposition. Their goalkeeper, Watts, gave a very fine exposition of work between the posts, while Rimmer, who changed to fullback from the forward line, played a very sound game indeed. Wilson, who filled the centre-half position, again showed what a great footballer he is, being well supported by McLachlan and Martindale. The forwards all worked hard but lacked combination owing to too many changes. HOCKEY NOTES. JUNIOR CHALLENGE CUPS. WIN FOR TRAINING COLLEGE. The last hockey matches of the season were plaved at Remuera on Saturday afternoon'. The, final for the junior challenge cup between Training College second grade and Somerville third grade provided a splendid exposition, and the former won bv 3 goals to 0. "Training College owed their victory to the co-operation between the backs and forwards, especially on attack. The forwards played admirably, keeping in position and ussing good discretion in the short-passing tactics adopted. Burton, at centre, ably controlled the ball and made many fine solo runs. Brown, on the left, wing, was seen in some splendid flanking runs and his reverse stick play was good. He scored an excellent goal with a perfectly placed reverse stroke. The right wing, Rossiter, secured two good goals and his centre hits were generally well directed. Brilliant work was performed by the hardworking half line. The fullbacks were solid but both showed a tendency to take undue risks by speculating. Scmerville infused great dash in their forward play and some of the concerted attacks were good. The weakness in their display was the inability to finish off good movements. A bad fault was bunching in the circle. The halves offered stubborn defence and the fullbacks proved more solid than brilliant. The goalkeeper's display was often brilliant and he accounted for many hot shots.

In the fourth grade, St. Paul's easily defeated Mount Eden, scoring four goafs to nil. The final game against Epiphany fifth grade team was also won by St. Paul's, who scored the only goal. They therefore win the challenge cup for fourth and fifth grade teams. LADIES' JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIP. The ladies' junior grade championship was decided on Saturday. The following table shows the final positions of the teams:— P. W. D. L. Ch. Ptn. Training College A .. 14 12 Y.W.C.A. A .. ..14 II 1 2 23 Waitomata 14 10 22 22 Mountj, Eden w .. >i 8 1 t> 11 Inter-,Houae- « ..34 6 8 J 2 Y.W.O.A. B V. 14 3 1 10 7 Training College B w H 3 0 11 OS TSnivessity w 14 0 1. 13 1