SOCCER GAME

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23057, 7 June 1938, Page 18

SOCCER GAME

NAVY TRIUMPHANT | /.BRILLIANT EXHIBITION 1 MARGIN OF TWO GOALS ! Playing Soccer of a type which ' thrilled a large attendance at Blandford Park yesterday, the Nary repret; sentatives scored a convincing victory ovfer Auckland by three goals to one. The contest was one of the finest witnessed for several seasons, teams revelling in the perfect conditions and displaying splendid all-round tactics. Evenly matched, the teams fought for supremacy from start to finish, and it was only the more incisive forward ; work of the Navy players that swayed the' balance. The early part of the game saw the Navy attacking almost continually, with Auckland showing a stern defence against the clever play of the opposing forwards and halves. Auckland staged a revival toware] the'close of the first half and aeemed likely to establish an advantage, ...but the Navy/. with forwards and halves working in unison, set up an attack which the local representatives were unable vto withstand. A feature ;■ of the game was the rapid manner in, which£the ; fortunes fluctuated, the ball sweeping.' from, end to end with neither team; able- to :> claim more than a temporary advantage. It was apparent from the start, however, 'that Navy, by reason of its fine combined p]|ay, carried a slight advantage, and thi>7 margin of two goals in its favour was fully earned. Jttflbacks Combine Well The Nayy . sida owed much ,of itev success to tfire work of the fullbacks, Wakefield and Mckenzie, who, gave an outstanding display of •• combined defensive play, j Their kicking beyond " reproach and they covered up vealed perfect as an attacking and defensive force, the Navy half line shadowed-the.-Auckland middle, flivision. lift at veentrfr. (-.Derbyshire was adimjftit en, .defence and« rer, , =veal£d gTeat initiative dh Eft" tfw' v not afraid to solicit the , help of his sup- • ports |,< M'etf'''ifac6"d' l)y <r Vn awkward situation, •y&e/wing halves were impressive,: with Bobinson;tb»- miort prominent. ."As " well- aa halt ing many 'daingerous attacks, he pushed up the jeft s-aide and connected Hp " with " his v "forwards with fine cross passes. Although he had little individual success. Cotterall was sufficiently forceful in the Navy forward line to upset the opposing backs and to- provide opportunities for his supporting - players. Lindford showed rare form,, especially in the first half, when he crossed. the ball with deadly precision, while Aslett and Chapman were important contacting links in an attack' which worked persistently. ■- - '.The New Zealand representative cricketer J. Cowie was in .-charge of Auckland's goal and she: gave {a- : - fide display- in saving a number of difficult shots. His handling was exemplary, while he frequently transferred the scene of activities with lengthy clearing kicks. Stone was not impressive at fullbacks bul-his weakness was nullified to a great-extent brilliant all-round play of < Cleal, the Auckland centrehalf. . Choosing the defensive role in preference to the orthodox style of halfback play, Cleal frequently covered errors made by the backs. Walters was very solid on defence and showed more intelligence in passing to his supports than .Sale, who failed to reach tho standafri of his - previous'display against the Navy". Neither of the wing-halves converged sufficiently to .cover the gap left owing to Cleat's penchant for the third-back game. Wing Uen Starved Dne more to the force of the opposition than lack of initiative' on the part of the halves, the Auckland forwards had little opportunity to display their talents. The wings, Mullane and Robinson, were starved, while Angus had little chance to realise on his shooting ability. Morris was much too alow in the inside position, while Farnan also failed to fasten-on to the ball with his usual speed and cleverness. The goal-scorers for the Navy were Lindford/ Brown and Cottefall,' while' Farnan netted for Auckland. Mr. J. C. Sibbin was referee. ,| - , " , . ■ SOUTH AUCKLAND GAMES j SIX-A-SIDE TOURNEY [from our ovrs correspondent]. Hamilton; Monday • Keen interest was taken in - the six-a-side tournament played under the control of the South Auckland Football Association at Seddon Park to-day. Wanderers No. 2 team was the winner in the senior section with five points, while in the junior division Rotowaro A was the winner with eight points. Following were the results:— Seniors.—Wanderers No. 2 team. 2, Rovers, 3; Wanderers No. 1. 2, Rovers, 0; Wanderers No. 2, 2, Pukemiro, 0; Wanderers No. 1, 4, Pukemiro, 3; Rovers, 2, Pukemiro. 1, Wanderers No. 2, 2, Wanderers No. 1, 0. Juniors.—Rovers, 3, Glen Massey. 1; Rotowaro A, 7, Glen Massey, 0; Rovers, 2, Rangers, 0; Rotowaro A, 1. Rotowaro B, 0; Glen Massey, 4, Rotowaro B, 0; Rotowaro A. 8, Ro/ers, 0; Rotowaro B, 1, Rangers, 0: Roverq, 5, Rotowaro B, 0; Rotowaro A. 3, Rangers. 0: Glen Massey, 2, Rangers. 0. MATCH AT WELLINGTON [BY TELEGRAPH —PRESS ASSOCIATION] WELLINGTON, Monday Under ideal conditions at the Basin Reserve to-day the Canterbury representative Soccer team played a drawn game against Wellington, each scoring three goals.