ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21020, 8 May 1930, Page 4

ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL

By Corner Kick.

_ ike second round of matches .for the i'lctcher . Challenge Cup, held last Saturday, leaves Beachlf and Technical on top ivith equal points, those ' teams being closdy followed by Maori Hill and i.M.U.A. A ext Saturday’s games, however, will probably bring about a few changes, and the game at Logan Bark between Technical and Maori Hill should attract a good attendance. For the convenience of patrons; the executive has made arrangements with the Tramways department to put on a bus in addition to the usual car .service, ■ and this will no doubt be a convenience' that will be greatly appreciated. SEACLIFF v. PORT CHALMERS. . When the Port Chalmers team was given pride of place with Seacliff on -Lopcan l ark on Saturday,.there were some who doubted whether the newly-promoted club would be sufficiently strong to make serious opposition for the Hospital side, but once the players settled down to their play the game proved quite an interesting one. At the start of the play the Port Uhaimers players displayed signs of nervousness, which, however, soon wore olf, and the team showed itself to be an .aggreesive side, whilst, its unorthodox stvle of play completely. put Seacliff off its usual game, .and the latter rarely got going properly. Had there been a good scoring forward in the Port .Chalmers ranks, there would not have been the difference of three goals.in,-the final, result, in- forcing the game, at a solid pace the players took a great deal out of themselves, and in the final 10 minutes or so of the game Seacliff definitely settled the result by netting, two more goals. Port Chalmers, however, leaves itself open to attack through the players getting .out of position, frequently two or more going to tackle the opposing' player with the ball, and an experienced team like Seacliff made good use'of the opportunities, especially when the Port Chalmers players showed signs of letting up in their dash, Although beaten, Port Chalmers has no reason to feel disgraced.. It has the makings of a really good side, and before the season is out, should show a' decided improvement in its play, as it gains experience. in future games. , • Parsons, centre-half, and Ives, left-half, are a . solid pair. Who keep in touch with their forwards. Montgomery was the most outsanding of the forwards, and it is pleasing to note that he is a product recently from the schools, Latta and lyes, the right-wing pair, also gave good displays, as did Monti, on the left-wing. The last-named player, however, spoilt much of his good work by shooting for, goal instead of varying his game by crossing to the centre more frequently. Port Chalmers’s only goal, scored. by Latta. was the result of Monti’s well-placed pass) which left the Seacliff backs standing. Both Hutchison and Evans, the latter an ex-Technieal player, at full-back, are fairly sure in their kicking, but require to break up each other’s play more. They also have a tendency to crowd in on the goalkeeper when the goal is hard pressed. This will prove disastrous before long. A goal-keeper requires to have a free and uninterrupted sight of the ball in his efforts to clear the goal. Camp, who filled the position between the sticks, played better as the "game progressed, as at first he was inclined to take the rather risky expedient of kicking the ball clear when he should have fielded it with his hands. Seacliff was' no doubt as surprised as the majority of the spectators at the showing put up by the Port players, as at one period of the game, with Port Chalmers doing most of' the attacking, the ultimate, winners had only-a lead of one goal, but the steady defence of Anderson, at fulhback, and .Jackson, in goal; enabled the team To hold- the balance and eventually increase-. its total to four goals, Anderson showed his old remarkable intuition for, anticipating the play, and returned the; Port Chalmers attacks timeand time again. The half-back line was frequently beaten by the fast-moving opposition, and with the loss of Casserley, owingto an injury to his ankle during the second half, the position ' became more acute. Following their record scoring against Northern the week before something special was looked for from the forwards, but. with the exception of M Cormack and M’Laughlan, who combined . prettily at times, the front rank -as a whole gave a, disappointing display, their shooting - particularly being very poorly directed'. It is not often that one sees,-M'-Lean Throwing- corners away by kicking over the line, but ’this he frequently did oh Saturday. MAORI HILL v. MORNINGTON. _ The Maori;Hill v. Mornington match atProspect Park proved quite, an interesting encounter, and although the home team WOII by 3—-2, the result hardly proved satisfactory to the Hill’s supporters. This was Mornmgton’s first appearance this season, and the. team, showed itself to be a fast and bustling side, though Munro’s place at centre-half is going to be a difficult one to fill. Rankine reappeared in goal.- and gave a. sound performance, though unfortunately he had to go off towards the ( end.of the game with an injured knee; The defence lacked finish; but did Well to keep the Maori Hill forwards from settling down to their game. Connolly was the best forward and. besides scoring the second goal, put in some particularly fine shots early in the game, and these Callaghan saved brilliantly. The Maroon’s defence was again its strong point, although a bad blunder gave away the first goal.. Both Taylor and Bayne hesitated in making ‘ a clearance, and when finally the .former - dfd kick, the ball cannoned off M'Grcgor into the net, giving Callaghan no chance. This was the first goal of the match, and seemed to spur on the Hill forwards, who replied with two quick goals, both by Balk, one from a corner, and the other from a hard first-time drive, which Rankine touched, but could not hold. Oliver followed with another after some good following up by Welsh. This player, however, is still prone to lie offside, and should get rid of this habit before it proves expensive to his side. Proctor did not get many opportunities, and was well watched. The Hill supporters are eagerly waiting to see his shooting boot in action again. Combination was lacking in the Hill forwards. and Carse and Oliver, on the right could not get going at all. 1 A.-Johnson, at left-half for Mornington. was mainly, responsible for this,. NORTHERN v. OTAGO HIGH SCHOOL OLD BOYS. At tiro Gardens Northern and ..High School Old Boys fought.out a strenuous game, play being fast and interesting, and was fairly evenly contested during the first half, which ended without a score. ,Iu : the second half High School was the first to assume the lead. Groves scoring a good goal; and it appeared certain of the team finishing on top, but from a sudden break-away close to time. Northern was lucky to secure the; canalising goal.- ' ' . • - . The re-arrangement of forward line, the old hands. C.- Latimer, Groves and Duncan -in the inside positions, with Hamel and ,D. Latimer right and left wings, made all the difference ip- ' the 'attack, and the form displayed was little behind that which this club has been capable of in previous years. The defence of the rearguard was- sound ; throughout, the half backs being promi- , nent. Good work was displayed by | Sutherland, who was tried out at full- j back, and he appears.to,be a capable sub- t stitule for , the loss of, Cunningham’, Sutherland is another recruit' from the school boys! and will bo remembered as having captained the Otngo School team against the Australian school boys’ team a year or -two back. Pickcrill, the other back, showed some of his old form, but was inclined .it times to take a risk by -dribbling the ball. up. He should remember that it is the play of a back to get the.ball up to bis forwards as quickly ns possible before the opposition can get into position to meet an attack. Northern also tried the experiment of re-arranging the team. Warnock. being dropped from the centre-forward position, which was filled by Coates. Wallace, late of High School, was given the full-back position; As far as the forward play was concerned, the change brought little benefit. Coates failing to make a success of the forward position. Wallace, at full-back, performed .creditably. Put Thompson, his partner, was the greater stumbling block to the opposition, His. height gave him a .big advantage when it came to. heading the ball, and lie made good nee of it. Perry, at right hall, was the best of tire intermediate line, which, however, is capable of 'a .much better .display, TECHNICAL v. Y.M.C.A. The match'at the Oval between Technical and'Y.M.C.A. provided a keen game, although there was nothing, outstanding

• in the play. Technical, Ou tlie run of the game, had the better of the play, and deserved its win, by 4 goals to 2. For Y.M.C.A. Wills gave 'a very solid display in goal, showing nippiness and cleverness in clearing several hard shots. In the half line, the Macphersoh brothers took some beating, and frequently broke up .the forward movements of Technical. White and the centre-forward of the front line, were the outstanding players, “and for a period in the game gave Holden a busy time. Fortunately for Technical, Holden was in good form; and his judgment in deflecting .several "shots over the bar., was very sound;' Lament, at full: back,for Technical, is rapidly gaining conlidenec, but the credit of the win is mainly due to the solid work of the halfline, Hector, Patton, and Armishaw, who again proved their strength both in attack ,and defence. Middlemass. on the left-wing, performed creditably, but the forward lino ns a whole has not yet reached- the standard of previous years. Witchall again proved his versatility in the forward line by taking up the centreforward position when Groves received an •injury, and in .this position he showed that he was equally' gt home as on the right-wing. ", REFEREES* CLUB. Mr M‘Lennan,' the energetic secretary of the Referees’ Club, reports that interest in • the club is on; the increase, .several new members having' joined •up since the beginning of the season. Next week’s • meeting, which will be held on Tuesday, will take the form of a social, and as there are a few vacancies to . fill, especially for the junior games, old players desirous of giving their services will be heartily welcomed. . " An item of interest to the Third Grade players is, that . the cup offered to the association by Mr Palmer, of. the referees, has been allocated for .the most improved, player in. the winning Third Grade team for the season. •