FOOTBALL.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 12861, 20 May 1905, Page 4

FOOTBALL.

TilE STAIi-TUKAPA JUIUI

NOTES OX TIIF. GAM!-:

The high wind at linn"« anioiinl'i.i. to a gale that prevailed spoilt what would have been tin inten^ting game on a calm day. The winH bl.-w ri»4it down the ground from s-outh to nortJj. With the wiud in their favor in the first half the Star could olily manage to s.'ore three, an uticmivi'i Ited try. which was notched hy Abbott after a bit of pa^iir? 'It ■twmn the backs, the only neat uit. o* v ork that the backs executed diiriin>- tillhalf. Tukapa played to tie the up a»d iind the line as often as possible to counteract the wind. and in these tactics they wire very nil. lv tho second half Tivkapa uuulo the game a^ open as .possible, cm trcing whenever they got a clianfe, and this enabled them lio ke(«{) a fair amoXTnt of comwiaurl «ver tho ball despite the strong wind. A'boul fifteen miuules aft or the spell t. farted Tukapa were awarded a free 'kick in the. centre of the lieVd, at a-wcwit halfway. Ilardgroaves was ontrustfd with the* shot, aiW footed an. imiimfistakable goal. IT'alf-way thrrfug-h ihe Star forwards ami backs when pressed on their line threw tlu» liall about too boldly, and Abbott mis^ino-. Morcj;, who was on hand. siitU[jpt?<-l the leather on tlfe, bounce, a'n-d ran across the line scoring Tukapa's iirst try. iHardgrcaves was givtn the shot, aitd ho kicked another goal, the 'ball striking the upright and then siiiooting across the bar. Just before call of time Fifczhcrbert snaftpcid the ball from a pass, and making a s-hort strong nun scored Tukapa's siK-ond try. QardgTeaves ag-aln showed hi*? goal- kicking prowess by 'fooling another goal, making the score 13 lo 3.

Kidland. for the winner*, 'had little to ■do even in the first spell, liut what he had to e.voeiito he "did well:. O\\ the tlirecquarter I'ine Walt. IMoroy. at :witrc. was the pick. He displayed great aptitude for the game, n>ceiving a«d passing neatly, and rtuwiing strongly. On tJic attack he is a pUycr who will always shine. Fit/sherbort is a strong, determmed player, aud i-tfiotukl improve. At times In- seenusd to be a trifle slow in his {Aa\ . Eardgreaves. whose first appearance it was after his discptialilicatiou. made quite a name for himself in the caducity of goal-kicker. 110 |)l"ayctl a ■sound game on the win-g Ihree-tijuur-■ter, but at times was o\ver anxious to take a pass. 'Mynott /jjlayed a Otto game at five-eight lis. and did a lot of neat work for his team, especially in the first half when limy were on the defence. Frew in played a ftisrful game at half, and when th«;ball oamu out to him ho always iplucyd it well. W. i3lcLean, a new man ou tlu- wimr, played a godd gam*', and followed up well. Sid. Smith, on tilic otllier vriag, also did useful wofk. The ■forwards as a pack grafted <h'ai^l, tifliil in the second half they hooked thu ball frequently. Dyne, Flatt (who was hurt and had to leave tlve iielk.fi j|u<t before call of time), Love-rw^gv. an'cl Seamark were conspiouou>% but all worked well.

For the losers Richards .bad little to do at £ull-baok. Like Uirlland. ho found the ball, even on the defence base, was too elusive* for it was kicked any way 4iai«d it wi«nt down to the boundary fence atul became dead. A'l*bott, at cenU'c three - Quarter, hatl a lot to <'o, 1-ut was well watched. His try in th.- lir-st spell was a goad bit of worfi. T. Smith played well on the idefnnce, one run he made along tlie line being very serviceable to his sidy. Pyccroft slhaped well, but was a 'bit wea'c on the defence. McGee, at five-eig t ht4is, played a good game, especially in the second half, when he had to p?it in a lot of defensive graft. Ladner 'did well behind the pack. an|>i .^lo^bd that he was so'im-d on defence. McAlpine arid Pulforkl on the wing had plenty to do. The referee .penalised the latter a gooxl deal for ofi'-yilde play. ilcALpine showed good foitn. Among the forwards Ryan, /Kivell, Allan, Strowd, # and Stakes were j>rominent.

Mr Spoirdle, the referee, gave a large number of penalty kicks during tie game, the majority being against the Star- team.

The terraced feats erected by tihe Star Football Club on tho Eacccourse ground were well patroni-st^cl on Thursday afternoon. Jt is the iiitcaition of the Club to extenid tJro present .seating on the west side, and also similar scats on Uie oast side of the ground in -c&ie course.

3Cr C. Yowng, the selector for the Taranaki representative team, was a spectator at the Star-Tuka'pa match on Thursday.