THE ASSOCIATION GAME

Otago Witness, Issue 2565, 13 May 1903, Page 53

THE ASSOCIATION GAME-

NOTES. Tho Mornington-Northern raatoh furnished a very interesting and exciting game at Mornington, Northern being one goal be-

' hind and only 10 minutes' r-'-y left. They proved qui'.o cq; 1 . -1 to bhv »:m ; !0H, and ncio'icxl ihr"? »c::i-. u\mz .tii-iiiu by two gcu!=. Kci'yn rl-.o sesred •. : > : i r three goa's in the last 20 ir.ir.u:-::- n^i'r.i i V.:-v:n l--];r..d.' This would appear to si'cw a lack cf condition on tho part of the Icing Uams, hut for fa.-t s>rori:i:r :•* far behind tho fo'' 1 . owing lvc^rd in English Amateur C-p fcctball: — An extraordinary fccrlr.ll ma*ch ' w«3 re-c-ntly flayed ;* Edmonton, in Mie second round of tho Anr.vteur Cup. Kig'it minutes from the end Sfustl.sl! were kading Civil Service by 1 goa-' to nil!. Ilu-n the latter team equalised from ;i penalty. During extra time Civil Sen-ice- scored twice in five mi mites. A.x this point one of the Southall backs retiree 1 hnrt, anel Civil Service then added 5 more gc:4s in quick succession. The match Northern v. Mornington was, taking it a'l round, a very good exposition of the As-cciadoai game, the score being a fair erkerion of tfhe play. The Mornington forwards display any amount of dash, but lc;e their proper positions in the field. The ee-ntre forward s-l.ould not have, to etop to look for his wing forwards before he parses — they ought to bo in lh~ir proper place- 3 . Bou-c-h-er wag a great offender in this rc?pcct ; anybody looking on would be Q.t a los 3to know whether ho was playing wing forward cr centre. The forwards also seem inclined to hang back among the halves, wilu> in turngot among iiho 'back?. -so tliafc when the forward* broke away the halves were not behind to support them. Farqu'iF.i'ion was rully missed from, hhe back division, especially during the last ten minuit"?. as this player lairlv revels in a 'hard- f ought game. I hor>& he is better for next Saturday, is his dub will need him, and he is of more use on the field tl.uii perched up on the bank. J. Clarke played a useful game at half, although in a position new to him ; his brother was also playing a dashing game until he had tho misfortune to get hurt, but ho battled pluck ily on, although he was not in a fit condition to play. Sparrow played a much superior gam© jlian on the preceding Saturday, although ho started badly, but in the -econd spell ho was the Sparrow of last year, whicth is sufficient praise. Mornington supporters ran only account for the collapse of their team in the last ten minutes by sheer lack of training. When a light beck team like the Mornington have to play heavy forwards like some of the Northern forwards it is essential that ihey should be in first-class condition. The Mornington train on Tueselay and Thursday nights, or are supposed to do ho. Now, why do not the senior men turn out on those nights, aa well as the juniors, wiho instead of having a good example set them by their seniors, are setting the seniors the example themselves? Of the Northern vanguard, which is without doubt a splendid sot, Irvine was perhaps the bosit, and played a really fine game; but he still takes the ball tot far up the fit-Id before centring. Of the backs Kilgour was head and shoulders above his fellows, if not as regards stature at least iti 'his play, whidh was of a very Hgh order. Kemipsto-n, the Northern centre half, must try and keep more in his place : he eeems to have the wandering proclivities of Chadwick, although tho lavbter player is improv-in-g. Harrison, an e-x-Kaitartgaita player, played a v»ry safe gam© at back for Northern, his kicking beinsr ;!ean and hk tackling very effective. Haynes kicked well, but was too slow in tackling. With a few more Saturdays in his new place, however, he should ■ make a good baok. Clarke, ri<rbt half of Northern, is improving rapielly, but must try and kiok anel place the ball with more judgment. He is the hardest grafter in the team. Haynes, ait fuill back, should use his head more, as it would get him out of many a difficult position. Some of the Northern forwards are too fond of trying to beat- an opposing back to get a shot when one of their own men is near and waiting for a i>.-s?. When tackledby a back, pass or &'hoot before the back gets to you ; but better pass. In last week's notes some advice was given to a junior team in what not to dc — don't talk back to the referee, don't sacrifice combination in order to play roughly, etc. I should like to add to this: "Don't, if you must play roughly, pick out a bigger man than yourself, but always look out for a smaller one — it's eafer." Roslyn did not show very much combination against Green Island on Saturday. This is not unusual, as the Greens' backs usually upset whr.t combination there is among fche-ir opponent?. The forwards, however, did not take advantage of several opportunities. Ussher, who made his first appearance in First Grade football, missed two easy chaneas, but otherwise played a very good game. Clark mk-sed at least one almost certain goal, and on another occasion, nfler landing the ball in the net, was rightly ruled off-pide. Brown and Waters also iiai! Ro.-ne good openings, which they failed to avail themselves of. Moore, centre half, is far from being in form, but should prove himself one of the bc-st with more training. A. Dob:-on played his usual reliable gajne, and was always ready to back up his part-iif-r. Snvai'.l-bone had very little to elo. Tho gwl scored against him was a good one. The Orc-on Island goalkeeper played an pxcoedinsrly good gam-o, nnd saved really wr.ll. T. Irvine was easily the best of the bucks, and put in an immense amount of work. Mo-rhind m.s the pick of the forvards. and gave Sis opposing I>acks conf.idereble trouble. Of the rest two juniore and Grant were t.ho best. Sawyers' Bay Club, in marking 1 off their ground under r!u> new rules, out a V-shaped tienc.li, and filled i' with slacked 'lime. This is plainly visible from any part of the field. Could Wakari F.C. not manage by Gome moans to get a few load? of soil to fill in the hollow in their ground? This spot was the scene of a fi>w scrums between Wakari and the Bay team last Saturday. Is it not advisable, in appointing tihe referees for matches, to sand gentlo^men who are in no way connected with either team? At more than one match last Saturday, the referee was connected with the oluib whose team was taking part in the ma.toh in which he was officiating as referee. Ido not infer that these gentlemen did lot give satisfaction, or were in any way biassed, but young players ..re naturally inclined to tihink co. There i. one very bod fault alhieh must be remeelied eithei by ihe captains of the v?rious teams or by the referee-. It is that of talking on the field. This fault, lem sorry to say, was very much noticed in the Morninßton-Northorn match, the latter team especially offending in this respect. In the Saw-yen- Bay v. Wakari match there was a great deal too much talking, and in the

f Ro'lyn IT v. Rangers II match the captain and d- ■•nuy of the former te-s-rn were the chi-f d ■■inqui.'-nts, a-lthoug-li one of r.b& full back:- c'id more th?n was ncce-jsary. Player* should bear in ir : nd that it is play, and not talk, tint is required; also, that jf they are talking they cannot be paying much attention to th-? j.imc. 1 learn with pleasure that Mr J. Braithwaite has presented a tropl 1 ;- to be* competed for annuully in tho senior fivc-a-sids tournament. Mr Braithwaite lias taken an interest in Association football for 'some time, and i now showing his interest in a practical manner. He. is frequently to be seLii at important matches, and appears to have a good knowledge of the game. Association footballers will no doubt appreciate this trophy, and it will certainly add mora interest to this popular tournament. " The Wellington F.A. are desirous of fostering the game among junior .players by arranging a junior representative match, ta bo played at Christchurch. Personally 1 fail to see how it fosters tihe game. The people in Christchurch do not appreciate tin soeker game, and sending a team a-way cer\ tainly does lot create any local interest wlioh 'is the most etesirable thing in ttu present stato of the game in. Dunedin. « fc Kaitangata Fcoreel & very comfortable wn over Wakari, and 4 to 1 was a fair indica tion of Hie state of the game. Wakari ha< several junior men in their ranks. ■ Middle, mas, Ferguson, and Paterson played a grea^ game for~tihe country team, effectually stopping the quick ruilhes of the visitors. Morrison, Webitcr, and Ryan wore for ;th« first 45 minutes prominent for Wafeari, while Armit (2) and J. M'Millan showed to actvantage near the close of the play. Gaga controlled' the game in a most capable manner. He is very severe on off-side play, penalising Kaitangata no fewer than, five times for this offence. Kaitanga.ta should cover with * tan an asphaJt cricket pitch in (Ihe eenfcro of tiie'ir ground, otherwise a serious accident may occur. In the juniors, the Mornington obtained! a good win over Ohe Unity. The latter team is considerably weakened by the loss of a number of last year's players, particularly Allen and the Mathieson Bros. They, ar* replaced, however, by a number of young players, some of whom are making speedy improvement. The Mornington Juniors are a very even lot, and can be depended upon to g"ive a good account of themselves during the season. Ip their forward ranks Patterson, oa the left wing, was prominent, showing a good turn of speed, and some pretty foot work. Gardiner, at centre, also put in a lot of work. Henderson, I should fancy, has not had muoh experience of the Association game, and seems to be under tlie impression that it is made up of bumping into the other fellow. The halves played a sound game, backing up tlheir forwards well, and kicking judicioualy. Young and Sparrow at back axe both very sure kicks, and play well to each other.;: but they are also both alow at- recovering themselves, and once or twice let the opposing forwards right away. Young showed a tendency to block unnecessarily. Thig does not conduce to a pleasant game. Of the Unity team, Shaw at back, Lomaa at centre half, and GJaister at centre forward put in a good deal of work. Shaw's improvement since la3t season is most noticoaiblo, and wherever he is placed he givea a _ gooel account of himself. Loma<s played! [ his fire-t ma.teh on Saturday, and if he ' continues as he has begun ho wiM not disI grace any clufb. Glaiater showed up well at times, jbuti could do with a good deal of training. Fairbairn also is a promising young player, but is inclined to dribble too muoh. He should go in for psss'ing more, instead of attempting to beat hia man. M'Nicol does not seem yet to have recovered from a recent illness. He showed ?ign3 of fatigue, but will no doubt be rigtht again in n week or two. Kippenberger kept goal well, but t"nould strike tihe ball with eloaeJl fists, not with the open hand?. Both teams accepted the referee's ruling without demur. This is as it should be. The semi-final tie in the Football Association Cup Competition between A9ton Villa and Bury attracted 50,000 people, to thfl Everton ground on March 21. The jrame was a disappointment, owing to Aston Villa giving an unexpecteelly moelerate display, Bury beating them by three goals to "love. The receipts amounted to £1824, while the pressure of tho crowd caused barriers t< be broken down. At Birmingham on Saturday. March 21. Derby County secured the right to take part in tho filial tie of the Football Association Challenge Cup by cosily defeating Millwall by three goals to none. Millwall hod the worst of the g-amo throughout. Thet attendance wijs rotu.rne-d at 40,500, the amount taken at the gates being £1495 7s 6d.