SOCCER GAME

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23726, 5 August 1940, Page 12

SOCCER GAME

CHATHAM CUP FINAL NORTH ISLAND CONTENDERS WATERSIDE DEFEATS COMRADES The North Island final for tho Chatham Cup was won by tho Waterside team, of Wellington, which defeated Comrades (Auckland), by tho odd goal in three at .Blandford Park 011 Saturday. The contest provided a fast and excitinp; display in which tho result was in doubt until the final whistle. I n the championship game at Fowlds Park, Mount Albert Grammar Old Boys, the competition leaders, easily defeated Abels. Thistle took the points from North Shore at Devonport, while at St.'Heliers, Ponsonby accounted for Suburbs by three clear goals. Following were the results: — . CHATHAM CUP Waterside, '2; Comrades, 1. CHAMPIONSHIP Ponsonby, Suburbs, 2. Thistle, 1; North Shore, 0. Old Boys, -1; Abels, 0. The points gained lo date by tho teams are as follows: —Old Boys. 20; Comrades, I'onsonbv, lii; Abels. 13; Thistle, 12; North Shore 11; Suburbs, Y.M.C.A., 7; Onehunga, (i; Air.Force, <l. STRONG DEFENCES EVENLY-MATCHED TEAMS Playing Soccer of a type which thrilled a good attendance at Blandford Park on Saturday, Waterside, of Wellington, defeated Comrades, of Auckland, by the odd goal in tlireo in the North Island final for tho Chatham Cup. The contest was one of the finest witnessed this season, both teams revelling in the perfect conditions and displaying allround tactics. Evenly matched, the teams fought for supremacy from start to finish and it 'was only the more incisive work of the Waterside forwards that swayed the balance. The early part of the contest saw the visitors attacking almost continually, with' Comrades showing a stern defence against the clever play of the opposing forwards and halves. It was apparent from the start, however, that Waterside, by reason of its combined play, carried a slight advantage and the margin of one goal in its favour was fuliv earned. Ward gave an excellent exhibition in goal for the visitors and received good support from Harris and Bolton. Their kicking was beyond reproach and their covering up revealed perfect understanding. Both as an attacking and defensive force the middle-line under Hazel's direction shaded tho Comrades half-line. Tho centre received good support from the wing-halves, who repeatedly broke un attacks and" sent their forwards away. Ward ably led the front line and, with Longbottom and Walker as supports, kept the wingmcn moving with well-placed passes. Yearbur.v was brilliant in Comrades goal, saving his team repeatedly. Riggans was more reliable than McKenna. but both combined to make a solid defence. Finchain worked hard in the pivot position and was not afraid to solicit the help of his forwards when faced by an awkward situation. The wing-Halves were impressive, with Matthews the most prominent. As well as halting many dangerous he pushed up the left side determinedly and connected up with his forwards with fine cross passes. M. Francis was the pick of the vanguard, working desperately to penetrate the defence. Walters showed a nice turn of speed in the centre, but developed a bad habit of wandering out of position. Ward scored both goals for Waterside, whjle Walters netted for Comrades. Mr. R. C Brighton was referee. WIN FOR OLD BOYS Mount Albert Grammar Old Boys defeated Abels at Fowlds Park by 4—o, a score which was flattering to the winners. Abels had only nine players most of the game. Yeomans showed out with clever clearing in Old Boys' goal, and, vwith Speed and Sims, repulsed many Abels raids. Ward, in tho pivot position, distributed the ball nicely and cooperated with Hutchinson and Woodhall. Hopkinson was allowed little scope at centreforward, and most of the play was made by Fyfie and Cherry, who fed their respective wings, Needham arid Clark, F. Cameron hall a hard time in Abels' goal, but performed well under pressure. L. Cameron and C. Ekman comprised a solid back line. Blake, in the centro of the middle line, worked hard throughout, but had a lot of extra ground to cover. Davis and Bowmar worked hard lo maintain contact with tho disorganised front line, where Eraser and E. Ekman' showed out with clever play, but Robinson and Adams had too much territory to cover to be really effective. Needham, Hutchinson, Clark and Hopkinson scored for Old Boys. Mr. A. Firth was referee. FAST ENCOUNTER Ponsonby and Eastern Suburbs staged a fast >?ame at St. Heliers Bay. and. although Ponsonby had only nino players, it managed to win by a margin of three goals. With the score at 2—2, solid defence by the Ponsonby backs upset the Suburbs, attack. Counter-

attacks found the Suburbs defence paying more attention lo the player thnn the ball, with tiio resultant free kicks which enabled Ponsonby to score two goals in quick succession. Oavnn cleared well in Ponsonby's poal and, with Haggett and Zeibell playing well, the defence- was hard to pass. Cical dominated the play with his .sound defent'c and quick recoveries. He drove attacks per medium of the wings, where Blackic and Hou>e worked hard. Grice kept his position nl centre-for-ward, and, with Dowler and Cullaghan >winging the ball abonl. these three forwards troubled the Suburbs defence. Twinamo could jiot be blamed for the Ronls whicli beat him, being crowded by his defence, Cowie. in particular, played too deep. Caldwell led the middle line, which made contact with the forwards. Welch distributed the r>l;)y nicely, and McKellar and Norris, on the right, combined well. Collins? and Gilhert made ground, but in the latter stages of the game they saw littlo of the ball. Grice (3), Cical and Callaghan scored for Ponsonby, while Welch and Collings netted for Eastern Suburbs. Mr. F. Marino was referee. THISTLE SUCCESSFUL A rousing game resulted at Devonport between Thistle and North Shore in which the latter was unlucky to suffer defeat by an early penalty. Cocker gave a sound exhibition in the Thistle goal, clearing to advantage, while Allsop and Dnvies stemmed many dangerous North Shore attacks and generally placed iheir clearances judiciously. Orr. Wise"mnn and Constable comprised a forceful middle line which tackled hard and sent the ball through to their forwards. Kennedy, in the centre, distributed the play along the line, and with Wood and L'Amin the wings swinging the hall about, the North Shore defence was well tested. Thompson, at inside-left, showed out with clever play and was always dangerous in possession. Pratt earned applause for some clever saves in the North Shore citadel, and. with Booth And Hodgson playing a stout game, the trio made a strong defence. Potts, at centre-half, endeavoured to keep his forwards moving with sound passing, while Chambers and Danby tackled well and broke up many dangerous Thistle attacks. James, ih the centre of the front line, was not allowed much scope, and most of the play was made by Flemwell and Price, the former being aggressive throughout. Several nice centres by C. Blackie and Cooper should have been turned to account. Kennedy scored for Thistle. Mr. F. Green was referee. LOWER GRADE MATCHES Second Division.—Abels, 4, Eastern Suburbs 3; Metro-College, , r >, Training College, 0. Fifth Grade.—Kastern Suburbs, 3, Y.M.C.A., 0. Sixth Grade. —Thistle, 2, North Shore, 0; Metro-College, 2, Y.M.C.A. Rivals, 0; Comrades, 4, Onehunga, 0; Y.M.CjA. Rovers, 3, Eastern Suburbs. 1. . Seventh Grade.—North Shore, 8, Y.M.C.A. Kivals 0; Y.M.C.A. Rovers, 2, Comrades, 2. Eighth Grade. —Y.M.C.A. Rovers, 0, Comrades, 0. _ , ■ Secondary Schools. —Senior grade: Takapuna Grammar, 4, Technical, 0. REPRESENTATIVE TEAMS The following Auckland representative Soccer teams have been chosen for forthcoming fixtures: — B Team. —To play South Auckland at Blandford Park next Saturday: Cocker (Thistle), Ekman, captain (Abels), Ziebell (Ponsonby), Kerr (Onehunga), Fincham (Comrades), Hutchinson (Mount Albert). Blackie (North Shore), Caisley (Thistle). Bennett (Y.M.C.A.), A. Francis (Comrades), Callaghan (Ponsonby). Reserves: Matthews (Comrades), Dowler (Ponsonby). Third Grade Team.—To meet Glen Afton ot Blandford Park in the curtain-raiser next Saturday: Brennen (Y.M.C.A.), Stuhlman (W.Y.M.1.), Kendal (North Shore), Dacre (North Shore), Bodley (Y.M.C.A.), Curly (Comrades), Douglas (Onehunga). Phillips (Onehunga), Laird (Comrades), Liversidge, Marvin (W.Y.M.1.). Reserve: Rutledge. WINS FOR WANDERERS [from our own correspondent] HAMILTON, Sunday Two seni.or "Wanderers teams won matches against Rovers teams at Hamilton yesterday. In the first game, they won by 1) goals to 5, and in tho second by 5 goals to 1. MATCHES IN» THE SOUTH [BY TELEGRAPH —press association] Dunedin. —Roslyn-Wakari, 2, Seacliffe, 1; High School Old Boys, 4, Morninsrton. 2: Northern, 9, Maori Hill. 2; Mosgiel. 0, Cavcrsham, 1. Chrlatchurch. —Thistle, 5, Celtic, 1; Rangers,' 5, Nomads, 3: Air Force, 4. St. Albans, 3." Wellington.—Marist, 2, Hospital. 0: Petonc, 3, Swifts, 2.