ASSOCIATION CODE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19632, 10 May 1927, Page 14

ASSOCIATION CODE.

THIRD SERIES OF GAMES, -.' •:/■ : ; :.. ■" " •■ •• j- . • " ■■• ■ : : -' -' - COMMENTS ON THE PLAYERS. TWO TEAMS LEVEL ON TCP. The third series of matches an ,the Auckland Association football - -senior grade competition has been decided and already there has been a sifting of the wheat from the chaff. Two teams, Thistle and North ■ Shore, have unbeaten records, and neither team should be-in danger of defeat until opposed to each other* Of the other teams, Ponsonby. seems to be most capable of turning the .tables', on the joint leaders, as its play is undoubtedly improving and there is every prospect of this club taking an even;' more prominent part in the decision of future games. Thistle added two more championship points in the match against Navy Depot on Saturday by winning fairly easily, at the linish. With Kay back in his usual position the Thistle forward line was at full strength, especially in view of the fact that the.outside left was right on his game. His first goal came from a rebound off an opponent, but no assistance was lent when he scored his goal in the second half. It was a great srot and took' the goalkeeper—who, by the way, was too far out of the goal-mouth—com pletely by surprise. All the Thistle forwards cam 3 into the limelight during the game, but Kay was most conspicuous. The half-line was changed, J. Stewart being on the left wing and Dickson at left fullback, replacing Ferguson. The reshuffling worked fairly well with Christie playing r, good game at centre and catering • uristintingly for his forwards, and Carter revealing clever footwork on the right flank. Dickson's powerful kicking was an asset and he stopped many Navy' attacks. Zoull; the goalkeeper, also .worked well. Prominent Navy Players. - ' " /• r ; ' ' / . The Navy players gave a very good account of themselves, and held the Thistle, forwards beyond expectations, particularly in the second spell./ The outstanding players in the Navy front row were Miles and Pitcher, although a great deal of credit is also due to. Ronton and Mey hell. Pitcher was moved on to the wing in the second half, where he repeated his quick sizing-up of the position. But for the centre-half weakness, the forwards would have had a better supply of the ball and more opportunities than they did. Ila acock was below standard for the important pivot position, and : was also too slow moving, to do himself justice. The best halfback was Gilmcur, whose spoiling work" against Kay was particularly good The nimble wing was shadowed almost continuously by the , young Navy half, and would have worried .the goalkeeper even more than was the case had he not been bustled by Gilmour. Tho latter and Hall, the fullback,; were obviously bent on the - one mission of reducing tlia sting of the opposing left wing as far as they . were able, and they were successful to considerable degree, Kay was just as determined to shako off his pursuers and accepted what was probably tho only chance he had of be; ting them. A goal was 'the result. Apart from his roving tendency, Eacock defended well for the Navy. " Tramways . Disappointing. Tramways has lost much of its old-time sparkle, and Ponsonby inflicted a second defeat rin'the team on Saturday. A victory on a penalty goai' is always questioned, but there can be no gainsaying the iact that tho better team won. With mem ories of Tramways' exploits ol last year still" in mind, it was disheartening for the 'team's supporters to see such golden opportunities as those on Saturday cast to the winds for want of accurate shoot rig. It- was in front of the goal that the players showed their weakness, and it was this weakness that made the difference between success and failure. One of the best players on the field was Wright, the Ponsonby centre-half, who, fortunately for his club, was not permanently relegated to tha reserve ranks. Wright was always in the proper place, and combined clever footwork with a clear conception of the best direction in which to place ihe ball. Consequently, .the forwards were well supplied with the ball, and were able to initiate many pretty pieces of combined play. Booth, on the left wing, was below his form of the previous week, but his support, Mooney,. was steady and sure, and helped Bell frequently. The other- flank also worked in ; good style, although Ahearn was in son - distent. Another player who did some sound spoiling work was Morrison, right-half. Pickett ended many offensives and was in good, all-round form, while tfjick caught and cleared acenratelv in goal. In the Tramways' front rank Dodds staged a" come-back," but has still to strike .form. He was inclined to overdo shooting from too far out. Spencer will probably ,regard the afternoon as a black one in view of the frequency with which lie was penalised. As far as shooting goes, he also" had a day off. although he was often on tie verge of scoring, Tinkler lias yet to produce last season's form On Saturday he played his best game this season, hut was still not doing justice ~to The' right wing, Wat son, did valuable work. Simpson took some hard, knocks at fullback, but did not shirk his task; while McElligott played a fair game. BaUy's goalkeeping was good. Y.M.C.A. and- Nortbcote. Bettor condition and combination gave T.M.C.A. a win over Northcote, whose defeat would probably have been larger except for the very fine defence of Hibbert and Lvon. Northcotn played surprisingly well in tht first half, but fell away in the second. Humphreys was of great assistance to tho winners, his feeding ot the forwards, -especially after the inter val, indicating that he has struck form Uoban, tho scorer of the • goals in the pre vious match, ngc-in caught thip eve and was n"t'ccab!o ior h;s able assistance oi jtie backs when they needed t Only Lyon's goalkeeping prevented hiirrt scoring at least two goals. Dick, the centre-half. was not so prominent in the second spell .-and- was-liable to'."drop back too far. -The nutside-nght. Gale, sent in _ some very good centres. 'Playing : at right' fallback instead ' of'G-ebbie. Bach' -'created a ;fairly good impression. In the Northcote ranks Hart, who w transferred "from North Shorii recently, revealed football capabilities. _ Hah kins did not carry sufficient condition to see him through" tho second half, when he found the pace trying, hat Lithgow gave his usual hardworking display al_ centre half. Another player. . . who displayed plenty of if.-ie.rgy was McDonald.. How. ever/ the life' and son!'of the front line was Treniam, who. eertsinly deserved greater success. With a few more play - ers of his calibre Northcote would fare much better. . .Great .Soal~"s2pmg by. llsPlie®. • A large crowd saw North Shore v-.t-cri-ous over Onehnnga by the only goal scored. The feature « the days flay was the brilliant display jpven -by ■ McPhee. in goal for 0 nebnnga. ■ Th&Vbe afeitted dft J eat only once, although he was hem barded with shots from all quarters, is a tribute to feis dsan bandbng and antser pation. Thai game from the start proved to be & case of North Shore' forwards and halves - attempting •■■■■ to •. wear down the defence of the Qnehangs side- 'There were glimpses of forward play,,by the visiters, . Mel!cr always bring prominent. Hut there v-as a Sack of sting in the attacks, which were easily tsfaved of? by the -ound home : defends.. " . ■ . ; .