ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22366, 13 September 1934, Page 4

ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL

By Corner Kick. The knock-out competition has reached the stage of the semi-finals, and these games will take place on Saturday at the Caledonian Ground, the draw resulting in Northern meeting Mosgitl at 1.30 p.m., and Technical Old Boys playing RoslynWakari at 3 p.m. Both these games should give spectators interesting play. HIGH SCHOOL v. ROSLYNWAKARI. Wet, muddy conditions prevailed for the second round of matches played Let Saturday, and the play-off between High School Old Boys and Roslyn-Wakari did not reach tile high standard of play which was on view when these teams met in the last round of the Fletcher Cup competition. There was uot a great deal between the teams, and a draw at the close of play was a very satisfactory ending. Through High School defaulting to play extra time, Roslyn enter the semifinals with every confidence, having some good games to its credit in the final stages of the premiership competition, when it defeated High School, Maori Hill, and Northern.

For Old Boys, Smith in goal played soundly, and had no chance with the bail that beat him. Pickerill and Chapman as full-backs in the first spell were reliable, and the latter, when he took up bis usual position later on, was the mainstay of the half-back line. The winghalves were shaky at times, finding the greasy ball and ground against them. Romeril was the best of the rearguard; his play as a full-back was outstanding, and he held the opposing wing well in hand. Of the forwards Duncan was the pick, being'always up with the play ami lending a hand with the defence when occasion arose. Groves did some clever footwork, but was poor in front of goal, missing an easy chance in the first spell. C. Latimer, who scored his side’s only goal, was consistent, and his shot was a very fine effort. The wing men, P. Latimer and Grant, though not brilliant, were solid throughout. In goal for Roslyn, Harborne fielded the greasy ball with judgment and, like his vis-a-vis. had no chance with the goal that counted. Both backs, Ramage and Copland, displayed good defence, clearing well when Old Boys were dangerous. The halves all played well, with M'Callion slightly better than Scott and Welham. This trio have shown great improvement in recent games. The veteran, Munsie, to whom much of the success of this, young team is due, was the outstanding player of the vanguard, his sound generalship and judgment in placing being in evidence through all the play. Oliver, who has also been a great asset to the team this season, kept the opposition busy, and his partner, Lennon, on the wing, was plentifully supplied with passes. The winger had some fine crosses to his credit, and when he exchanged positions with Cop-, land in the second spell did good_ work as a full-back. Rutherford and Chisholm were not so good as usual. The latter is a junior, however, and should do better with more experience in senior ranks.

NORTHERN v. MAORI HILL. By the time Northern and Maori Hill came to take the field a good deal of rain bad fallen, making the conditions even worse than obtained for the earlier game, but, notwithstanding, the play was full of interest. _On the day. Northern were the better side, and fully deserved its win by four goals to two. Northern have now defeated Hill in three of the four matches played this season, and should stand a good chance of annexing the knock-out cup, judging from its form on Saturday, which' was greatly ahead of that shown in the Chatham Cup match against the Thistle Club recently. The rearrangement of the Black and White forward line, with M'Hugh at inside-right and Henderson in the centre, made a considerable difference in the combination, as these two players displayed a thrustfulness in attack which had the opposition troubled. Henderson’s opening goal was well played for. Receiving a pass from Connolly following, a throw-in in Northern’s area,.. Henderson showed good ball control and judgment in evading Brown and Taylor in turn, which he capped by screwing the ball past Holden as the latter came out .to block the shot. M'Hugh, who has played exceptionally well in the halves this season, filled the inside berth with credit,, and although he frequently dropped back throughout the play, his intuition paved the way for at least two of the goals. Northern had the advantage in half-back play, both Sutherland and Perry,, the latter making a reappearance after a few weeks’ spell, putting in sound work in the wing positions, whilst Cdats!s break-ing-up tactics at centre-half upset Hill’s forward line. Altogether the Northern defence was too solid, and on rare occasions allowed the opposition any opportunities to bring off combined work. G. Anderson, a junior, performed creditably at right-back, and along with the sure work of Wallace, matters were made easy for Jones in goal, who in stopping some hard drives from Davidson was up to his best form. On the whole, Maori Hill’s display was below its usual standard, the dash and nippy play of the'opposition giving the team few opportunities to be really dangerous. Gordon on the right-wing shaped exceptionally well in that position, and in beating his man showed some fine touches. He was concerned in both goals scored by his side, the goals by Baird and Davidson following his crosses to the centre. He was practically the only forward seriously to trouble the opposition, and he should have received more of the play than he did in the second spell. Baird, who made his reappearance after a spell, was .not in form. His footwork at centreforward was too slow, and the fast tackling of the Northern defenders gave him few chances to test Jones. With the forwards’ attacks being well held, the Hill defence did not have the same chance of settling down to its usua| steady game. Brown and Taylor were not at their best, and Holden in goal was in consequence given more work to do, but apart from the first goal, when he came out too soon to intercept Henderson, he had no chance of saving the others. In view of the misunderstanding which arose following the draw between High School and Roslyn. it is as well to state that the rules of the knock-out competition provide that in the event of a draw at the end of the first 90 minutes’ play, the captains must again toss up for choice of ends for the extra period of 10 minutes each way. Provision is also made to count corners during the extended time.

THE MARISTS" VISIT

It is hoped by local supporters of the code that the proposed visit of the Marist Club of Wellington will eventuate, as tjic game is in need of some outsisde interest to offset the staleness of the present.season. This nlub is entirely composed of Now Zealand-born players, and has the reputation of playing the style of football that appeals to spectators. Its request for a match against our local premiers, Technical Old Boys, was favourably received at last Monday’s meeting of the'Management Committee, and it is hoped the terms offered will prove acceptable. The date suggested for the match is October 6, September 29 being out of the question on account of the Rugby counter-attraction, the North v. South match being played on that date. The Technical Club is keen (o play, and, like Marist, most of its members have worked up from the schools, and the match should be all the more interesting on this account.