ASSOCIATION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2929, 4 May 1910, Page 61

ASSOCIATION.

By Left Wing. The results of the opening senior fixtures quite confounded the prophets. In, • each case the team popularly chosen as tae v winner lost. And, singularly enough, the margin of difference- in each "ase v.-as onegoal. From the broad point of view Saturday's results must be regards-;! as satisfactory. They have dispelled the idea held- ' b\ some, that Citj was likely to have all the cream, and they have inspired teams which may have imagined themselves weak ' to look forward with some confidence to sharing the honours at the close' of the season. The race was to the swift at Culling Park. Roslyn-Wakari forwards crowded dowm upon City backs in great style, and although their formation on such occa"'sipns was scarcely ideal, they' hiistled 1 'the. •'Black . rearguard ; "tp - : -eensideriible^'■■ pto-pesey- 1 - '.thus "gaining 1 'openings"' for themselves<» aftci ' 'robbing the City forwards of'sucli'-'oppor'-'' trinities7-as 1 would''"'have <ebriie" ; -froni < safe ' 'kicking'and : "placing by Elliott. MaVhe-w, Wyness, and Co. It was quite obvious from the form shown that it was a iinsfc-of-the-sea«on game, and City forwards were the first to show signs of distress. The

Black forwards erred, too, in a r amiliar way, by holding the bail too long before transferring. Time and again one 01 them was robbed whilst engaged in this diverting operation, whilst tiis colleagues waiting in advance for a pats kicked their heels in vexation. Roslyn-Wakari forwards, on the other hand, went ahead, and if they did it less scientifically, what was to the point was that they got ahead City forwards were vtp against a strong half back line, but, that once penetrated, there wai> a weak spot which should not have presented serious difficulties to clever forwards, like Lawson and Russell. If Dow did not accomplish all that was., expected of him, it was because too much was required cf him. It is: a mistake to expect a man to be a journeyman before he has served an apprenticeship, and Dow had not even played as a member of any organised team previously. His mate, Webster, is deserving of every credit for his strong defensive display with both head and feet. A little more attention to direction and elevation with his and he will be a first-rate back. The goal-keeping on both sides was of » capital standard. Barring his ineffective dealing with a lobbing ball—the cost being a goal, and the match—Bnady fielded and cleared safely, whilst Kriowles, at the opposite end, gave a display that was practically flawless. Elliott was the- most effective back on behalf of City, in spite of his header at Brady, reminiscent of certain gifts to Northern in the Charity Banner final last season. Roslyn-Wakari's galloping forwards seemed to draw Mayhew's eyes from the ball, with the result that he was less steady and reliable than is his wont. YVyness also was something below his true value, but his supports, Harrison and Sims —the latter of whom had just arrived from the Bluff—played their customary tireless, strenuous game. There can be no doubt that City were reriously handicapped owing to the unavoidable loss of M'Clelland, who, with a bound hand, watched the game from the outline. He is expected on the field again on Saturday next. His understudy, Bailey, did not appear happy, and caused his opponents no anxiety. Ritson, too, was disappointing, his play lacking ' virility; although it is to be said for him that his comrades did not attempt to make great us© of him. On the right wing Forbes's style was in marked contrast to that of his confreres. Given the ball, he ; s off like a shot, with the result that in a fair proportion of oases he gets in effective centres.

Roslyn-Wakari have unearthed two likely halves. Garnet, in the centre, showed capital judgment in a quiet way, supporting and co-operating with his forwards in a manner calculated to inspire them with confidence. The other new % half, Phillips (on the left) showed a fine command of the ball, and proved a source of trial to the opposing forwards. He was, however rather disposed to waste time over showy tactics. Gardner, Ritchie, and Bradley led the Roslyn-Wakari attack with vim and persistency, and to the last-named fell the distinction of registering the goal that defeated his old club. Ramage, on the right wing, ,vas not altogether forceful, but seemed to hold promise of better things. City halves should study the law relating to throwing in the ball. Ravensbourns are to be congratulated tpon winning their first senior fixtiire. The result will be distinctly encouraging, ■and should help to strengthen the club. Ravensbourne, as a team, played with fail combination, and will improve with a little practice together Harrison was very safe and cool in goal, Middleditch and M'lvor being sure in their defence as full backs. Of the halves Fisher was conspicuous by his solid play and cool manner. The forwards played well together. but, with the exception of Barlow, can do with more sting in theii shots. Morn ington forwards were very disappointing, but their backs had to bear the brunt of the day s play. Notman and Kelly worked like Trojans as full backs, but were in clined to wait for the bounce too frequently. The halves did their share, R Shadwell and Grenfell being conspicuous both on defence and attack. Allen saved •many good shots for Mom ington, but did aiot always clear effectively. A youngci Bankier had a. place in the front rank, but seemed to find it difficult to adapt 'himself at once to the colonial methods. "We were well beaten" was the opinion expressed by one of the Northern First J Seven after the match against. Maori Hill, and he added that if the Red for •wards had been able to shoot better there were more goals just waiting to be srot ''Aspinall was the strength of Maori Hill's defence, whilst Shepherd and Irvine were the only backs on Northern side showing particularly good form. Evans, a promoted junior, made a very promising ap pearance. The game is described as "ordinary." Northern have a new player in view 'or next Saturday. - It is anticipated also that Chadwiek will resume his place in the team, whilst in a week or two John Timlin "will be available. Young will probably be playing for Mornington on Saturday. Farquharson, the Rhodes scholar, is likely; to be seen with Roslyn-Wakairi on Saturday. Last week he was on the ground prepared to fill one of the vacancies threatened by the late coming of /several members of the teaxn. Roslyn-Wakari's four grade teams were (unbeaten on Saturday, all winning save ifche Fourth Grade eleven, which drew. It is somewhat remarkable to find Christian Brothers and Northern B Thia-d iGrade teams, which played three drawn games last season, . and were in consequence declared joint winners of the cup opening the present season with a draw. An effective ruse which is intended to mislead the defending goalkeeper when a penalty is being taken was adopted by the captain of the Wellington Diamonds recently. A penalty had been awarded, ond Taylor, the Diamonds captain, placed *he hall, . leading everyone who was iiot in the know to believe he was going to take the kick. He walked backwards as though for his run, and after placing the ball, but suddenly, as per instructions, another player (Tonge) ran •in from the group behind the ball and took the kick. The goalkeeper had naturally been keeping 9 close watch on the .'ball, and' on Taylor, so that he was Jaken at a disadvantage when the second roan took the kick. The ruse can bo varied by bringing the kicker in from any angle, and makes the difficult position of°the goalkeeper more difficult.

FIRST GRADE. Roslyx-Wakari v. City. City started favourites in their mater against Rcslyn-Wakari at Culling Park. Sims and W, Harrison filled positions oi wing ha'ves, and Bailey replaced M'Ciel land on the left wing for City The weather conditions were favourable to both sides, and the ground was dry, but tttsaocky in parts. Roslyn-Wakari, who took the field 15 minutes late, chose to defend thfBowling Green end. City opened cai v> the right wing, Forbes's centre being disposed of by Dow, who transferred tc Phillips, from whose pass Ritchie shot, Brady saving. Roslyn-Wakari returned, and a weak clearance by Brady of a high shot found the White forwards closing in, and Bradley placing through the goal when Brady had been drawn out of position. Roslyn-Wakari 1, City nil, after five minutes' play./ City replied with a spirited rally, from which Forbes, swinging in from the right, banged hard from the angle, Knowles gaining applause for a brilliant save. City found their way back to their opponents' area several times, Bailey, Lawson, and Wyness making unsuccessful attempts at goal ; whilst a corner forced by Ritson was likewise resultness. A iniskick by Dow let Forbes away again, his shot going wide. The Whites then took a hand, Bradley taking advantage of confusion between Harrison and May hew, and narrowly missing the upright. The attack was sustained, and Roslyn-Wakari looked very like scoring, when Ramage was ruled offside. City backs relieved and opened the way for Russell, who shot outside. The spell closed with a resultless corner against City. Aggressive tactics by Blacks opened the second spell. Phillips relieved, beating an opponent and slipping . the ball on to Rito'bie, whose shot was securely held by Brady, and the play swung back to RoslynWakari's goal, offside by Ritson spoiling a chance. Play was slow, City forwards in particular appearing fagged. Their opponents worried the backs, and got to close quarters, Ritchie missing the goal by a narrow margin, and Ramage kicking over the line. City made a spirited retort, and for a time looked like equalising, but the effort was not sustained, and the more virile Roslyn-Wakari vanguard again made the pace. Sound defence was made by Elliott, save when he tested his own goalkeeper with a misdirected header. Brady responding to the challenge. A beautiful centre by Forbes brought Knowle3 out to save by a timely punch, and later Forbes had the chance of the day to score, but lifted the ball over the bar from a splendid position before goal. Without further incident of note the game, controlled bv Mr W. R. Sinclair, ended: Roslyn-Wakari I goal. I City Nil. Maori Hill v. Northern. I Northern and Maori Hill met at the Gardens. The ground was in gcod order but, a trifle hard. Maori Hill's team was much the same as last season's, while Northern's team included four juniors. A fair number of spectators, including ladies, witnessed the game, which proved fast, willing, and open. Northern had a new custodian in the person of Michelle, who proved of considerable assistance. The Hill forwards showed the better combination, and .kept Northern's " back division bu,y defending. Irvine and Simpson did valuable work at half-back for Northern, while Walker was the choice of the Hill's halves. __ R. Shepherd, Northern's left full back, displayed rare form, as also did his colleague, W. Evans, who played in Third Grade last season. Northern attacked first, and the Hill custodian was called upon to stop an awkward cross shot from mixed play near the goal line. Maori Hill removed play towards their opponents' goal line, but W. Evans cleared well. A gcod centre from Dunne to Jas. Timlin almost resulted in a goal, the ball bouncing off Lambert's leg just clear of the posts. V. Evans got clear away, and finished his run with a. bad centre, the ball going over the line. Northern forced a 00-uple of corners, which were cleared bv the Hill's solid defence. Play was shifted to Northern's goal, and the Hill forwards got over the goalkeeper, but had , bad luck in not scoring. W. Evans again saved when two of the Hill's forwards had the game at their mercy. At this stage j V. Evans had to retire temporarily owing i to an injury to hia leg. A gcod rush by : Donald was checked by Aspinall conceding a corner, a goal-kiok resulting. Immediately afterwards Lambert saved a leftwing rush by cornering, and the Hill custodian cleared well from, the resulting corner kick. Evans appeared again, in the field, and had a good but resultless shot at goal. The Hill forwards showed the better combination all. through the spell, which ended with no score. On resuming, Northern seemed to lack determination, whilst Maori Hill opened brightly, again losing a gcal by sheer bad luok, the ball striking the goalkeeper's leg after beating him. Almost directly Northern, ; had to concede a ooi-ner. Shepherd clear- ! ing beautifully. Maori Hill likewise yielded a corner from a fast right-wing j forward rush by Northern. Maori HTII j had another shot at gcal. The ball struck ! the bar and rebounded into the field, i Shepherd again saving. A left-wing rush. [ in which Irvine wes prominent, resulted I in V. Evans shooting over the bar. A ; pretty centre from Donald to Robertson followed, the latter sending in a rea.l stinger, which was well saved by Beeby. in goal. A good rush from the Hill's forwards carried the ball past W. Evans, resulting in a goal five minutes from time. This was the only score. Spurred on by their .supporters, Northern forward® . attacked repeatedly, but H. Aspina-U's defence was too sound. Mr R. M. Jack ( capably handled the game, which ended—j Maori Hill lgcal Northern nil Ravensbourne v. Mornington. Ravensbourne justified their promotton to Senior Grade by winning their first fixture against Mornington. The match was played on the Asylum Ground, which, although hard, was in very p- C od playing order. Ravensbourne won the toss, and decided to defend the hill goal. Mornington kicked off, and immediately took the ball into Ravensbourne's territory. Ravensbourne returned promptly, and after a few minutes' of solid play by their for wards Morninsfton conceded a corner, which proved fruitless, Barlow just missing the post*. Then followed some good play on both sides, the ball travelling rapidly up and down the field. Ravensbourne began to force play, and made several unsuccessful attempts at goal. Mornington full backs and custodian were playing a solid game, and proved too; strong (for the attackers. Twico the

leather was put through the posts by Ravensbcurne forwards, in, the one case a foul being given and in the other case the ball striking a spectator's foct as it went through. Mornington livened up, and shifted operations into Ravensbournc territory, but time after time their rushes were cleared by Ravensbourne backs, or well stopped by Harriscm (goalkeeper). Half-time was called with r.o eoore and; play in neutral ground. From the kiok-off Ravensbourne began to press hard. Mornington soon turned the play, however, and Ravensbourne backs were kept busy for a while, but Mornington forwards had practically no combination, so were unable to. register a score. Again Ravensbourne returned to the attack, and the forwards, dribbling up with good combination, were rewarded, for Barlow, drawing the goalkeeper, passed to James Connor, the latter scoring the only goal of the match. Succeeding play went in favour of Ravensbourne. Mornington occasionally returned to the attack, but were unable to pierce Ravensbourne's defence. The game was ably controlled by Mr M'Kenzie. Ravensbourne 1 goal Mornington • ... • n " SECOND GRADE. Christian Brothers defeated Alliance at the Oval by 4 goals to 3. For the winners Latfev, Church, Smith, and Higgins scored. The losers showed remarkably good form all round, but the superior dash of the Christian Brothers won the game. The Thorn Brothers and Alcorn were prominent on the losers' side, T. Thorn (2) and Stubbs being the goal scorers. Roslyn-Wakari defeated Battalion on the Oval by 4 goals to 1. For the winners, Partridge (2), Duff, and Carey scored, and a mis-kick by a Roslyn-Wakari back gave the losers their goal. The match Maori Hill v. Southern was played on Corinthian Park, and resulted in a win for the Hill team by 4 goals to 2. The game proved exceedingly fast at times, and good form was shown on both sides. The scores were 2 /all at half time, the winners gaining two additional goals in the last 15 minutes. M'Faull kicked both goals for the losers. THIRD GRADE. Roslyn-Wakari defeated Maori Hill on the Clear by 2 goals to nil. For the winners, Watson and Crimp scored. Northern A and High School Old Boys played a drawn game at Montecillo, each team scoring 1 goal. Gibbs (in goal) and Valentine played well for the Northern. Christian. Brothers and Northern B played a drawn game at the Gardens, each side scoring 1 goal. Spiers, M'Cormack, and Cameron played will for Christian Brothers, whilst Galland, Kennedy Brothers, and Charteris were the pick of Northern's Eleven. FOURTH GRADE. Southern (2 goals) beat 0.8.1, (nil). Leith and Langley played a fins defensive game as full backs for the winners, whose forwards played well together. Parker and Dawson scored. The match between Roslyn-Wakari and' Mornington, played on the Asylum Ground, resulted in a draw—l goal each. Northern C defeated Maori Hill by 9 goals to nil after a one-sided game, during the course of which the Northern goalkeeper was not required to touch the ball once. For Northern the following- showed prominently: —A. M'Lauchlan, Singleton, Dyson, Restieaux, all these players scoring, besides D. M'Lauchlan, who scored 2 goals. A Maori Hill player added a couple of goals to the total. Christian Brothers defeated High School at the Oval by 2 goals to 1. Holland and J. Salmon scored for .the winners. ASSOCIATION CUP WINNERS. LONDON, April 29. One hundred and fifty thousand people welcomed the returning cup winners at Newcastle. They were given an official welcome. AUSTRALIAN RULES. The committee appointed to further the interests of football under Australian, rules met on Thursday evening and reported that satisfactory progress had bean made. It had been successful in securing two grounds—one on the Southern Oval and the other on the Harbour Boards' reclaimed ground. This will be welcome news to those who have been awaiting the result of the committee's endeavours. Judging by the number who have signified their in° tention of taking part in the project th® game should become firmly established before very long, Those interested will find notices of % meeting duly advertised. OTAGO FOOTBAL ASSOCIATION. The weekly meeting of the 0.F.A., held on Monday evening, was presided over by Mr W. R. Sinclair. The Secretary of St. Dominic's Ladies' Hockey Club wrote in reference to its occupation, of the Tramsheds Ground, intimating that it had been granted the uise of the ground by the City Corporation, but required it only on two afternoons weekly.—The secretary was instructed to write to the club with a view to arranging for sharing the ground on Saturdays. The Secretary of the Northern Club reported that the club had agreed to accept half the arrears for 1907 due by a player now a member of the City Club. The secretary reported that the sum mentioned, together with a subscription due by another member to Southern, had been receive.di from the secretary of the City Club.— Players' nam.es to be removed' from the list of defaulters. A member raised the question as to whether the payment by one club of the arrears.due to another club by a defaulter did not constitute a case of professionalism. In the course of discussion it was made clear that a club doing so rendered itself liable to penalty, but in the case cited there was no evidence to prove that the secretary of the club paying the arrears- had not received the money from the disqualified players. The Referee in the Senior match, City v. Rosilyn-Wak-ari, reported that the latter team had been 15 minutes' late in talcing the field; also that the penalty area at one end' of Culling Park had not been mar'ked. out. —The secretary was instructed to write to all clubs insisting upon their teams being ready to commence matches at the appointed hour. It was reported that the marking out of the penalty area would be completed before next Saturday. The matter of unmarked penalty areas on Corinthian Park and Montecillo was referred to the clubs concerned, with instructions that the ma.rking be done before nextSaturday.

Northern Clubs entry of a second louiLli Grade team was accepted.

Mt J. Emslie wrote expressing appreciation at his election as a life member of th© O.F. A. —Received. Applications for footballs were received from Milton, North-East Harbour, Romahapa, and Earnscleugh Schools.—Granted at reduced rates. It was decided to forward a formal challenge for the Brown Shield competition. Attention was called to the fact that homes were being grazed on Corinthian Park, and that one of the goal posts had been knocked down. —Owner of the horses to be communicated with. Considerable time was devoted to the consideration of amendments to the rules, to be submitted' to a general meeting of the O.F.A. The Maori Hill Club having been unrepresented at the executive meetings for three successive weeks, it was decided to ask the club to appoint another delegate in terms of the by-law.