ASSOCIATION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2949, 21 September 1910, Page 61

ASSOCIATION.

Bt Left Wing.

Southland’s representatives return home on this occasion hotter pleased with themselves than has been the ease in previous years. With a team crippled by the defaulting >f no fewer than three of the selected Nightcaps forwards, they got away with merely a two points beating, and possibly a faelinor if their full selection

lad been available they might have notched a win. The game was not by any moans a clever exhibition. In the matter of skill and the exercise of brains tha school match that preceded out it completely out of sight. It is not forgotten, of course, that what was possible for the hoys in the ideal weather conditions which attended their game, was extremely difficult for the seniors because of the strong wind which arose. *

Energy, rather than skill, was the characteristic of the Otago Southland match. The keynote was sounded by Bluff'* swarthy representative, Beaton, who, however, sot a standard of irrepressible and apparently everlasting energy which none but himself could hope to live up to. Ho is a player of the type represented in Young, of Mornington, only more so. His partner, if less ardent, was a sturdy, brainy defender, who in point of value to Southland ranked second to Goss, the goalkeeper. To the latter a warm tribute was paid by a keen judge in the person of his opposing goalkeeper, R. Jack, who, speaking at tlit dinner, ranked Goss's display- as the finest he had witnessed in New Zealand. Although unable to go all tho way. with that appreciation, it must be conceded 'jhat Goss's excellent display him a vital factor in keeping out the frequent assaults of the Otago forwards. The brightest of the Southland halves was Reid, a shining star lost to Rugby because of his dabbling in the Northern Union code. Under the circumstances he displayed remarkable aptitude for the soccer eame. He bung to Logic with rare fidelity, allied with a fair knowledge of how to spoil, and as in speed he was evenly matched with the fast winger, he may be said to have effectually crippled the Otago right. V. Middlemass has the football faculty characteristic of the family—which is equivalent to saying that bis play was consistently good and intelligent. As was anticipated the Southland forwards were weak in tactics although strong In courage and good intention. Lee, on the right wing, was best, some of his line work and 1 centres being very credit-able. Next in order of merit was Brooks, who, however, is inclined to waste himself upon fancy footwork. There was a good deal of the hard kick and rush about the gume, more especially with the Southland men. Otago's team performed rather flatly. The forwards were higledy-piggledy. There was no wellordered cohesion. They crossed each other frequently, and often, ran down the field bunched after the manner of Rugby forwards. Logie shaped well, but was too 'closely attended by Reid to do much that was effective. Baillie mostly played on the jolo Stop when he could get the ball. Hedid riot fail to score, and tho goal was a very nice one. Vinicombe's play was vigorous but untutored, Jae did not justify his inclusion. Barlow was always busy, and sometimes acrobatic, but on the whole unconvincing. He stood some iheavy impacts, and complained at the conclusion 01 not being quite right. lie was officiallyinstructed to see a doctor, but delayed doing so until after the dinner with Southland. Fortunately his injuries- have not proved serious. Evans mostly idled along the line.

The Otago hacks <lid better than the forwards. Jack was not often seriously taxed, and what ho liad to do he did with confidence and strength. Easily the pick of the backs was W. Evans. Particularly in the first spell, when defending against the wind, his tacking was massive, and his kicking excellently judged. Middleditch, who in many qtiartcrs was mistaken for Shepherd, was less reliable than on the previous Saturday. M'l'vor took pride of plaoe amongst the local half backs, much of Qiis play being refined and clover. Theusefulness of Garnet was seriously impaired by his unwillingness to part with the ball. Quite frequently ho was neatly robbed of tho leather, to the chargin of his forwards.

At the risk of inducing- that unlovely affliction, the symptom of which is " swelled head," it must bo repeated that the game butween tho Wellington and Otago school rpresanitativos was a capita! exhibition of scientific football. These boys rarely wasted a kick. Every movement had intelligence and thought behind it, and the knowledge of tactics wa.s surprising. How to field a ball, how to pass, when to pa."w, where to pas? to. how to tackle, how % avoid being tackled, how to scientifically apply this weight—these were headings on ■which every boy appeared to be well informed. Some of the footwork, ioo.—more especially on the part of tho small \>c\ iington for ware's—was very neat. It was in that important branch of work shooting, that weakness wa.s noticeable. There was not sufficient sting in most of the shooting. tThe Wellington goalkeeper played a fine game. His full backs were a tower of strength, and robbed the Otago attack of a good deal of its snap. Their left half and tho left wing forward also appealed to me as clever, heady players. The brill! iant hoy amongst the Otago eleven was undoiibtedly Alloo. lie is not. big. but his courage is boundless, and his defence remarkably forceful. His main rlcfcct —and it is an important one—is that, he kicks often without judgment as to direction and force. A big kick is a mistake when a measured one is required, and the sky kick is always a malpractice. If foe wants to correct this defect let him ■watch Mayhew and cony his style of kicking. Brai-iihwaito- was rather rural! for the position, but fortunately he had a c;ood righ i . (half in front of hint. YVa'.-Jr. Salmon, and K< tnnitz were prominent amongst the forwards. The last-named is a promising player of a solid .'tamp but should combat u tendency to practise doubtful tactics. The visiting boys and their managers spent a pleasant time in Duncdin, and the local people who so hospitably billeted thorn are deserving of the best thanks or the 0.Y.A., and tho Schools' Committee. Tlie Schools' Committee is to bo congratu.'.nted upon the excellence of it- arrangem nta ! hroughout. There was but one .'lv ir th- 1 ointment The visiting managers expressed dii?atisfaction with the referee, Mr Robinson. To have, felt di-'satU'aciion was bui to reveal tin inveterate train : n human nature: but to have expressed dissatisfaction, especially in the hearing of the boys, was surely- to &ut it mild'.v —injudicious. On the ercum! oth Mr Thomson and Mr O'Connell madr no secret of their criticism—in fact, they even went tho extraordinary length of interrupting the game to call tho referee over and remonstrate with him. At the function at which both loams were bcitig entertained Mr Thonifon. at whose elhow sat the refer--.'. Mr Robinson, addressed the boys and committee in words liko those:—"lf we had iiad as our referee the gerrtjem&n who refereod in the second match we should have been bettor satisfied." Later, Mr O'Connell discreetly endeavoured to tone down this flagrant indis-

cretion on the part or his co-manager, and th* chairman of the 0.F.A., following, risked jeopardising Otaejo's reputation fo:hospitality in the endeavour to minimise the harmful effect of such a suggestion amongst boys by recommending them to take with a grain of salt such a remark about referees, and urging them always to be loyal and charitable to referees. From the general standpoint Mr Robinson's control of the game left nothing to be dfisired. Tdie scoring by a wing forward of five goals in one match is a rarity. Playing for Inglis against Telegraph A in a Wednesday fixture Williams, of Inglis, who had not previously distinguished himself in matches, performed l this notable feat last week. The collecting of funds to send their schools' rep team to Dunedin was taken up so enthusiastically in Wellington that after paying the expenses of the team and two managers there remained sufficient in hand to send off another school team to play Blenheim this week.

The visit of the Canterbury representative team to Auckland to play for the Brown Shield on Saturday next is being looked forward to with rare interest in every centre. The hope that Canterbury will bring home the shield is backed up by the belief that they have the talent with which to do so. The task will not be an easy one. judging by Auckland's display against Wellington. Commenting on the Brown Shield match between Auckland and Wellington " Vanguard " in the Evening Post, has the following:—"Auckland gave what many competent critics agreed to bo the finest exhibition of Association football ever seen in a Brown Shield match at Wellington. Against tho team which was -selected' locally to defend the shield, the visitors well deserved to win—Wellington was simply outclassed. Whether it, was in a well-concerted passing rush, or in. prompt and effective defensive tactics, the superiority of tho Northerners was manifest at most stages of the game. It seems a hard thing to say from Wellington's point of view (which of course " Vanguard " shares), but the truth must be fairly stated. What Auckland could or would have done against a team which included Timperley among the forwards a couple of more energetic half backs and say, Patrick in goal, remains a matter of conjecture; the team which was defeated by Auckland was not the team which defeated Otago. It was not oven the best combination that Wellington could produce, and, as events have proved, to have beaten the Aucklanders would have required the very best team available in Wellington."

Tlio weekly meeting’ of the Otago Football Association was hold on Monday evening. Mr W. R. Sinclair presided. In response to a request from the N./.F.A. it was decided to recommend that the Otago district include from Clutha County on the south to Waibaki on the north. A handsome banner, beautifully worked by the Dominican nuns, was presented by the president (Mr S. S. Myers) as a trophy for the Schools’ Third Grade competition.—lt was unanimously resolved to thanks the donor and to compliment the Dominican nuns upon the excellence of the workmanship. The first winners of the trophy wore Christian Brothers C. FOURTH GRADE CHAMPIONSHIP. The following table shows the positions of the teams engaged in the Fourth Grade contest

THE BROWN SHIELD. AUCKLAND, September 15. A special meeting of the Auckland Football Association was bold this evening to consider Oanterbny's challenge for the Brown Shield. It was decided to accept the challenge, and the match will be played on the date suggested—name)v, September 24. WELLINGTON v MAN \WATU. PALMERSTON N.. September 14. A match between Wellington and Manawatu was played to-day, and was won by the former by 2 goais to 1. OTAGO v. SOUTHLAND. At the last moment throe of (ho Nigbtoajxi forwards chosen to represent Southland against Otago intimated their intention not to travel to Dunedin, so that the southern team which faced Otago at Culling Park on Saturday was weaker than the original c!e\*a chosen, although at. the same time it was considerably stronger than any Southland team which has visited Otago during the past few years. With a few exceptions, Otago’s team was chosen fl-om players who qualify for trial matches, but have hitherto not. attained representative honours. Unfortunately the ideal weather conditions broke just as the match was commenced, a brief shower heralding iho rising of a cold wind, which increased during the afternoon and hindered skilful play. Mr J. R. Baillie officiated as referee. The leant, were as follow: — Southland. —Goal, Goss: -backs, Beal on and M'Kenzie ; halves—M’Eachran, Middlemass. and Reid; forwards —Lee, Mitchell, Brooks, Watson, Willoughby. Otago. —Goal, .Tack; backs, Middleditch and W. Evans: halves —Garnett, Simpson, and MTvor; forwards —Logie, Pailiie, Barlow, Vinicombe, V. Evans. Southland won the loss, and played towards the school end. From Otago’s kickoff the game opened merrily. Southland rushed Otago’s defences, but wore pushed back with interest. Goss having to stop a shot from the right. Strong kicking by Beaton shifted play, and W. Evans had to concede a corner. Baillie cleared, and the Otago forwards got oft' again, Evans lifting over the bar. A corner to Otago proved fruitless, and Southland (Rods! dashed oft’. Jack saved comfortably, but lee secured, and cros ed splendidly before goal, where both Watson and Mitchell missed an excellent opportunity. A nice run by Evans cloned with a weak shot, which Goss easily fielded. Logic followed with a fine effort, which was a!-o crushed. Middle-mass was making fine openings for Southland, but the defence of Evans in particular was exceptionally sound Combined work byOtago’s quintet brought danger to the. visitors. Successive well-directed shota by

Evans and M'lvor threatening, both being strongly dealt with by M'Kehzie. Quiet play followed for five minutes. The wind was rising in Southland's favour. With a vigorous run Southland's left closed upon Otago, and Lee sent in a magnificent shot which Jack mot with an equally fine effort, but the ball came out to Brooke, who rapped smartly in again, Middleditch this time clearing. The final incident of note in the spell was a breakaway run by Barlow, which Gross met by running out and smothering. Half-time ended with no sore. A Southland invasion opened the second half. A weak shot by Watson closed the effort. Then V. Evans passed in to Barlow, who raced off attended by Vinioombe, the latter badly missing when close in to goal. Brooks next brightened play with a nice run, from which the ball came swinging across to Watson, who, when tackled, missed the goal from a likeiy position. Persisting, Southland drew Jack away out of goal, but still defending safely, and play was removed to Southland's citadel, where an exciting melee ensued, man after man going over in the effort to play the ball. From the centre of the field Baillie mad* a tricky advance, transferring to Logic, who drove in a splendid shot. Goss fisted straight out, and Baillio, securing again, shot smartly for the corner of goal, and got through. Otago 1 goal. Southland Nil. Resuming. Southland's right wing made a skilful forward movement, and Lee centring, Willoughby closed in upon Jack, who. however, saved the- situation. Otago kept up the pressure, and Vinioombe had two unsuccessful attempts, whilst a fine long shot by M'lvor was tardily cleared by Gees, who was limping as a result of injury to his leg. A flash on the visitors left wing let Willoughby away, but his shot went wide, and Otago immediately changed the scene, a capita! shot by Vinicombr.being brilliantly fisted by Goss. A incment later Garnett manoeuvred into position, and from 20 yards out drove suddenly with great velocity, giving the Southland keeper no chance. Otago 2 goals. Southland Nil. Playing still with courage. Southland forced their way through the Otago backs', Lee, Brooks, and Mitchell going strongly. Jack ran out, and confusion between him and Middleditch threatened danger, until Evans came to the rescue with a time'ly kick. A foul by M'Eachran gave a penalty kick to Otago. BarloNv took the kick, and drove hard, but Goss saved brilliantly. Another dangerous shot .by Barlow was saved by Goss just on tho call of time, the game thus ending: Otago 2 goals. Southland Nil. In the evening the teams dined together. and spent a social hour at the Waraitah Ton Rooms. Sine* 1905 the interprovincial matches between Otago and Southland have resulted' as follows: 1906, at Invercargill—Otago won, 5 goals to nil. 1907, at Dunedin—Otago won, 5 goals to nil. 1908, at Invercargill—Otago won, 3 goals to nil. 19-09, at Invercargill—Otago won, 9 goals to nil. ISC9, at Dunedin—Otago won, 4 goats ■to 1. 1910, at Invercargill—Drawn, 1 goal each (Otago Wednesday representatives). 1910, at Dunedin—Otago won, 2 goals to nil. OTAGO v. WELLINGTON SCHOOLS. Prio'r to the senior match representative teams from the Wellington and Otago schools played on Culling Park. The visiting team had the advantage of weight in the aggregate, the .preponderance being amongst the backs, for the Well in/ton forwards, with one tall exception, were smaller than the local boys, although in point of skill the forwards were evenly matched. Wellington's powerful brace of backs proved an important factor, their strong kicking and solid tackling i-j------peateo'ly crushing the Otago attacks. Tho style of play on both sidrs was eminently attractive, being marker! by excellent combination and weii-judged passing, and altogether devoid of tho indiscriminate, over-zealous rushing about usually characteristic of youthful sports. Otago held the advantage of play throughout the first spell. Opening with fine dash, within seven minutes the Otago forwards had notched twoi smart goals. th» scorers being Farquharson and' Walsh. Fifteen minutes later a fino rush on Wellington's right ended in Bowden neatly scoring, and the spell ended thus: Otago 2 goals. Wellington 1. YVcllkiigton played to better advantage for the first 20 minutes of ihe second half, and within live minutes_ of commencing had made even, a free kick; splendidly placed in, being headed throug'i by a defending Otago back. The locai boys then roa.-jserte.d themselves, and five minutes before the call of time a determined attack ended in Walsh scoring the whining goaJ. Th" managers of the teami and the, boys were entertained by thu Otago Schools' Association executive _on Saturday evening. They leave for Wellington by the first express this morning.

d u o •a to d Ti s c o 1 d O "d O O "3 0 U "c '3 cu Christian "Bros 12 9 0 3 45 10 21 Northern O' 11 9 0 2 43 5 20 Morning ton A... ■11 7 2 2 29 15 16 Southern 12 6 3 3 20 13 15 O.B.I 10 5 5 0 6 10 10 Rcelyn-Wakari 12 3 6 3 14 23 9 Maori Hill 11 3 6 2 13 25 8 (>ld Boys 12 1 8 3 10 28 5 Northern 13 10 1 8 1 9 34 3 Mornington B... 9 1 7 1 9 36 3