ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21032, 22 May 1930, Page 4

ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL

By Corker Kick. With the first four matches of the first round for. the Fletcher Cup competition played off, there has been little evidence to show that the standard of play this season has equalled that of last year. The displays of Maori Hill, Northern, and Mosgiel have so far been disappointing, as on last year’s form these clubs were expected to be closer up in the running than they are at the present time. The season, however, is in the early stages as yet, and, although the two undefeated teams, Seacliff and Technical, have each registered a lead of three points, there is -time for the other clubs to get into their stride and give a taste of the play of which- they are capable, and thus bring the competition to .a more interesting position. A pleasing feature of the . games last week was the great fight put up by Y.M.C.A.. against Seacliff at the Oval, when .a large number of spectators enjoyed every minute of the play. Next Saturday's draw should provide keen games, the main ground at Logan Park being allocated to Port Chalmers and Y.M.C.A. • LAST WEEK’S GAMES. TECHNICAL v. NORTHERN. It was a poor display all round that the Technical and Northern teams made at Logan Park, the .football being much below the standard exepeted from these clubs. In the-past Technical has usually found the Black'and Whites hard to heat, and although the honours were even at half time. Northern went to pieces in the second spell, being seldom ip the picture, and lost by 3 goals to nil, . The. absence of Coates at full-hack upset the Northern team, and, with Faithful failing to make a success of the centreforward berth, the front line had little cohesion ip its attacking movements. Notwithstanding, the forward line should have goaled on several occasions in the. first half, as the Technical backs, Lament and Cope, were clearing badly, and frequently miskicking. Lamont was very much off his. game, and gaye Holden in goal some anxious moments. Technical’s superiority lay in its half-back line, Armishaw, at left back, .playing a very fine game, as also did Patton and Hector. Armisbaw’s swinging drives at goal were a bright feature of the play. The frequency with with be gave away a free kick for foul throw-ins was a less redeeming feature, but thin failing could easily be corrected with a little practice. The accident to Sutherland (Northern’s left-half), which, unfortunately, necessitated his being carried off the field, affected the play of the other halves. Perry and Baird, who stuck to their play well, although their opening up movements were continually coming to naught. Thompson, at half-back, was the outstanding player on-the Northern side. Meeting the' ball ; from all angles with sure kicking, he.droye the. play'back-time aad lnie attain. 'ln the first spelL MQuarrie was not sorely tested, but ho had his hands full in the latter half, when he brought off several smart saves. Against a weakened, opposition, the Technical forwards did not strike a convincing standard'bf combination. Groves, for a centre, is on the light side, and he was at a considerable disadvantage when striking Thomson, with the ball in the air. He has, however, some clever touches, and shows skill and dash in shooting for B°" a V . Witchall: is too speedy a player for his' partner Batchelor bn the right wing, and had frequently to rely, on his own efforts. Warnock and Middlemass play well together, the -latter. having, a fine crossing left, which had Northern’s defence in trouble, Holden again proved his worth : between the ; sticks, and once past the first: spell, had no difficulty in ■finishing with a clean sheet. MORNINGTON v. MOSGIEL. . The match between Morning and Mosgiel took place on the Unity Ground, which, though perhaps a - little on the small eide, was in splendid condition, having a: good covering of turf all over, 'and being ■ exceptionally level.. Mornihgton was decisively defeated to the tune of 6-1, but there was not the actual difference in play, that the score would seem to indicate. . Mosgiel’s forwards made the most of their - scoring opportunities, the inside forwards especiallv. The game was bright throughout for the spectators, and play was always fast and interesting. MospieL deserved both points, if only for the businesslike' manner of their van in front of goal. • . The winners were beet, served by the custodian, M’Dougall, M'Cloy, and Porter,in the defeiice, whilst Trevathan, the veteran, and the two wing halves also worked, hard, and did their share in staving off numerous Mornington attacks. A strong attack, however, is a team’s best defence, and Mosgiel’s forwards bore' this but on Saturday. It would be difficult to sort put'the outstanding player from, an excellent five. King, at centre, knit the line well together, whilst’Skinner. on the left was'responsible on many occasions ter rapidly transferring nlay to the opposition’s end of the field. His crosses were always well timed, Dalziell, King, and White usually being in position to take advantage of them. By Dalziell and Gorrie’s; play on Saturday, it was evidently, a case of what was Maori Hill’s loss was Mosgiel’s gain. rOn Saturday’s .- showing, Mbrnington should. not; be long in finding its proper game. Rankine,. in goal, had really no chance of saving any of the shots, which, were counted against him. ’Young was much ahead of- his partner Donaldson, at back; The. latter was slower than usual on recovery, and inclined to allow Skinner too much rope. He,.was -not gc-ltinp the assistance he should have had from liis wing half, Johnstone, who was not putting his usual vim into his woik A Saturday of two will probably make _ a ■ vast difference in his “Soccer” energies.! The captain, Kaye, was the most energetic of the three halves. It mi(.kt be ,to Mornington’s . advantage, if be were to change places with Marshall.' The latter' was not loth to have a -drive at goal, and ' deserved more luck with several of • his attempts. All five forwards showed a. big improvement from that of last season’s van. When the inside forwards develop a little more combination with their outside partners, and keep their positions better -near goal, they will be a -force to be'reckoned with. Young , and , Connolly, ■ the respective wingers, played bright football throughout; Both have speed and can cross accurately. The former is a . decided acquisition to .the Hill team’s van, and he has in addition a, good knowledge bf the art of taking corner kicks. He is inclined at i present to get out of position occasionally, but the near future should see him'remedy this defect in his play. M'GregOi’ and Fleming both worked hard; but on numerous occasions were just a second _or two slow when a scoring oppostunity presented itself. The game

was cleanly contested and occasioned Mr F. Smith, who had charge of the whistle, no difficulty in controlling. HIGH SCHOOL v. PORT CHALMERS At the Gardens the High School-Port Chalmers match provided a keen and interesting game, play being very fast and travelling from end to end of the field. The result, 2 goals to 1 in favour of High School, was a fair indication of the run of the game. The Port Chalmers team displays little combination, relying on its kicking and speed in keeping up with the , ball to break through the defence, but the attacks frequently came to nothing through bad finishing. Camp, in goal, gave a fine display, saving some great shots, in the first half, when Old Boys were shooting at cpal in quick succession. Holden, on the left-wing, and Ives, the left-half, played well, but appeared anxious to get rid of the ball. The team as a whole would do well to try and trap the ball with a view to passing on to an uncovered player, even to a half-back should this player be in the best position to receive .the pass. Port’s great fault on Saturday was the kicking of the ball into the opposing halves and full-backs, and a little ball practice in the training rooms would give these young players more confidence in controlling the ball and directing the pass to the best advantage. Old Boys played well, but with Chapman missing from the centre-half position, the front line was thrown out of gear through Duncan having to take his place. The vacancy in . the forward line was filled by Caskie, who is best remembered as the club’s goalkeeper in past seasons. Of the half-backs all played well, whilst Sutherland is a .coming full-back, being able to meet the ball with either foot, and with some coaching from his partner, should show up better as the season progresses. C. Latimer and Groves were the best of the forwards, the former playing a hard game, Y.M.C.A. v. SEACLIFF. The Y.M.C.A.-S'e&cliff game was one of the best club games that has been seen for some time on the Oval. Except for a few unfortunate decisions which had their effect on the players, the gam-a was evenly contested, Seacliff being up to its usual standard, and the Y.M.C.A. excelling itself. The latter team waa unlucky to lose by two goals and every man acquitted himself well. Wills, in goal, was a tower of strength, bringing off many good saves. Farquharsop. whom Y.M.C.A. has had in view for a few seasons, and who has. at last decided to play, showed how brainy a, player he is. by many timely clearances. Walkinshaw, the other back, is a coming player, although lacking experience at present. The veteran- Haldane played his usual useful game.' R. M'Pherson, the centre-half, was easily the best on the field, breaking, up the Seacliff attacks time after time. E. MacPherson was not so sound as usual, but nevertheless did • good ' work. Of -the forwards Bridges played well at times, but at other times was just the opposite. Warnock, the hew man in the Y.M.C.A.’e fold, and lately of Northern, was quite a surprise packet, making. a- considerable difference in the attack. Watson, at centre, was the same old bustler, and upset the Seacliff defence frequently. Moore played a useful game for the Whites, and if he could be prevailed upon to turn out regularly he would help his club along considerably, Couper played a workmanlike game on the v wing, and as he will not be available, for the next two games, the team will miss his presence. Of the Seacliff team, Jackson was shaky at times, hut on the whole played a good game between the sticks. Anderson again proved his wortli in the defence, getting Seacliff out of many awkward- corners. Simmonds, in the halfback line, played .constructive football, but Munsie appeared to tire as the game wore on. M’Laughlan and M'Cormack were the best wings on the field, and Seacliff’s scoring chances came as a result Of their play. Hooper did a lot of, bustling, but failed to make much use of his opportunities, except for hie one goal. M'Lean was fairly good, but on the whole he was well held by Farquharson. > COMMON FAULTS. Dr Tinsley Lindley, a famous centreforward of the Corinthians and Nottingham Forest Clubs, and on 13 occasions an international player, has recently drawn attention to several more common faults, among first grade footballers ,at Home. Presumably a few of ’those faults will also be found among New Zealand players in all grades. - It is often said, he wrote, that the man with the ball should make the opening, but it is just, as much the duty, of the other forwards to get into position so that they can play up to him. Dr Lindley maintains that ball control generally is poor and shooting is as faulty at it could be. He 1 mentioned that on two occasions, both in first grade matches, he took the bah through from the kick-off and goaled, without an opposing player having touched it. He considered that that should he done more frequently than it is. “Ball control nowadays is bad, and shooting as faulty as it can be. Forwards won’t get their knees over the ball. They shoot off the toe-cap instead of off the instep. “Players should be taught the principle of tangents and angles. With a moving ball the players oh the wings should have their feet at a certain angle, which requires working out, "tap, it when they receive it, and they would see it go back to the player who is dashing through. “ From my point of view,” he continued, “ the changes that have been made in the ’game have brought about deterioration. The result of playing what is called the W formation is that at least -one or two-players are often offside. The forwards .should help each other, and go ahead together. •. ’“ Another reason for the decline is that, for some reason or other, the backs and half-backs, play the wrong game. In my opinion it is the' duty of the half-back to watch the. outside forward” and for the back to take the inside man. The reverse action is often seen, and it is a mistaken policy. ■ “ Old players, in my opinion, make the best referees, because they do their work in,the spirit of the game. No amount of theory can create that splendid breath for football that comes from actual practice. Another, point upon which I feel strongly is that referees should base their decisions on the intention of the act and not on the mere consequences of it. “ Then, again, ■ I consider that there should be two referees—one for each half of the field. I also hold that the penalty line should be abolished, for. players should not be allowed to know where they can or cannot trip with impunity. I do not consider it right that a player should be able to say to himself: ' Inside that line I must not be unfair; outside it I can be so if I like.’ I would, therefore, do away with the lines and gjve powers to referees to award penalty kicks for foul play over a much larger area than at present.”