FOOTBALL.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13916, 29 May 1909, Page 7

FOOTBALL.

TUUCULTNE TOPICS. (F!y C.E.11.) Mnin and .Marist schools meet at •$ p. nt. to-day. Pirates have annexed the gold medals twice in four attempts.

Temuka seniors have a live next Thursday, and will probably visit Aslttmrton.

'lwo scrum forwards and a winger appear to pay best in the seven-men game.

The postponed tournament finals will be played before the Star-Celtic matcii on Thursday. The winners at tlie IUOS tournament were Temuka (senior), Celtic (junior.), Temuka (third), Timaru (ioiirtii). Pirates 111., having forfeited three matches, are according to the rules, deemed to have withdrawn troni the ■weekly competition.

Two magnificent goals were placed in the tournament in a ' variable wind. T\ Fitzgerald (Celts) and G. Spillanc (Temuka) were the responsible parties.

Star is snli'eriug a heavy loss in the removal of Green, who I hear is leaving for Uueciislaini. The club has had won- tii.in it? share of-ill tortuiie this season.

"The rei'ere •ing on Monday was.very good indeed. "Mistakes were made, of course, but taken as a whole the uork with the whistle was I'JO per cent, better than in VMS. forwards do not always display good judgment in throwing in troni touch, but Houston's throw for Mayo's try in the scven-a-side was a fcinart piece of headwork. .Fisher, a Temuka junior, guilty of- a glaring bit of late charging on Monday, and had the referee noticed it the team would probaoly have beeu a man short in the following game.

Miliaru usually play better against Pirates than any other team, and though they have not much chance of a win, an open game should be seen on Thursday. Star and Celtic ought to provide a close timsh. A strong southerly wind gave teams playing Itoin that end h decided advantage at one stage of the toiirnameut. rortuuately it lasted but a short time, and. the senior tiual was contested in ;i comparative calm. Moffett is one of the best outside men who lias eome into local football for some time. If there was a better forward at the tournament 1 failed to notice him, tlioiigh the I'irate man s cluOuiatcs ran Jiim close.

There is a tide in the a (fairs of footballers which leads on tuc goal-line. AuUl was on the ilood of the tide agaiust Timaru-It, but failed to realise the fact and got caught in a backwash.

One-of the outstanding .features of Jlonday's play was the sterling defence of l>. Scott. In three games lie missed only one hall, ami in the final spell of the deciding contest with Pirates his deadly tackling saved four certain tries in minutes. Two very prominent players in the junior sevens wore Gillespie (Athletic) ond Hamuli (Zingari). "Each should consider himself fortunate that he is net in the senior ranks bv -compulsion. Gillespie.- was Athletics" 'best man on both, attack ami defence. and was :• bout the most consistent follower in the,' junior division. There is a deal of luck in tournament football, and the -survivors in the junior tiual had narrow shaves in the eliminating rounds. Temuka were hard pressed by Zealandia. and were almost beaten »y Albion. Celtic had » ; close call with .Southern Cross, and were extended during four spells by Athletic. Zingari might have worked through to the for going to sleep at one stage against Athletic. This Athletie-Zingari game. by the way, was productive of some confusion between .the special tournament rules and the ordinary code. • The teams and the referee "iclt the field when a five yards scrum should have been taken. The losers were apparently satisfied, and no protest was entered; I think the result would have been the same had the game lieen continued, as Zingari 'had missed their chance "hen it offered, and Athletic had just to-find touch to end the contest. <The timc-heiioured seven-a-side is the footballer's gala day. and lionday's fixture was looked forward to with as keen zest as any previous one. This year's tournament may be written .down as one of the most- successful of the series. Autuniual weather pre.vaited, the arrangements were excellent, the public rolled up in force — and the treasurer smiled. Apart from the fact that the light failed before the Jong programme was .quite concluded, -no room was left for regrets. One facetious official invoked the aid , of Joshua to stay the sun for half an hour, but- Joshua was adamant, and perhaps the keeper of the' cash-book was not ill pleased at the prospect of a further addition to the bank balance resulting from the postponement of l"U finals.

The spectators did net sec much of the fourth-graders. The preliminary games were played very early, and the semi darkness which obscured the last game rendered it impossible to distinguish individuals. Tins year's winners may weai their trophies with the knowledge that they are genuine fourth-grade players. The pres : dent s competition, which has yet to be decided l>ctwcen Celtic snd Athletic, produced some fast if not scientific play, and some of the earlier contests were remarkable for high scoring. Springburn were expected to take a deal of beatiim. but Celtic accounted for them without great difficulty, and Temuka, last year's winners, were outclassed by Athletic, who also settled the pretensions of Zingari. The "play-off promises to be closely eontested, and though the town team may win they have a hard row to lnje.

Tilt" junior competition attracted 17. entries, including Springburn and Southern Cross (Ashburton). and Albion (Christchurch). Naturally a large number of games had to be played, and the ultimate victors will have worked hard for their prizes. Star. Pirates. Oeraldine. Point, Fairlie Bj and Athletic B were soon disposed of. Hiwiroa. the Waimate team, were not strongly represented, and failed to get past the. first round. They have one fine defensive player in Henry. The other Waimate seveni Zealandia. ran Teinuka into five sim-lls before losing by- !1 f«>rcc. K-intherii Cross were kept stretched out for a long time by Timaru ,11.. and the Ashburton men's stock depreciated considerably. They were seen to better advantage against Celtic, and in a sprint for the ball a Cross man lost the necessary try by inches. The second round saw the battle begin in earnest. Springburn by reason of their previous year's showing were expected to nearlv win. OrreiK their star of 1008. was off colour, and Temuka put them out of the running. Fairlie and AI bury, two popular teams with the spectators, wr-re not vouchsafed long lives, each beinii unfortunate enough to he drawn against Albion, a crack team from ('hristcluircli. Kach put up a great battle, however, and had reason to lie satisfied with a good performance. Fairlie as a matter of fact' had the northern men in sore straits at one time, .and Albury also gave them a deal of - trouble. Zingari went down hefore Athletics, who were defeated in turn by Celtic. Temuka met Albion in .th«- semfrfinal. .The- visitors were a smart looking lot who save the impressions that they would do some-

thing if given the opportunity, but tin: last following of tin.* Tcuiuka men upset their game, and after Albion had secured a converted try as tlie fruits of obstruction. Larcoiiibc put in the run of the day fur Temuka and equalised the scores. In a third, .spell good following beat the tiring Albionitcs ami left the issue to he decided by local clubs. This filial, like the third-grade, is likely to be a lively one. Celtic are perhaps .the bettor scvi-n in combination, but the kicking and following of Temuka are forces ti: be reckoned with at this game. The big event of the day drew seven entries. J'irates and Timuru each [Hitting in a second team. Neither *of the B's gave much trouble. Temuka against I'iratcs B effectually kept the ball away I'rom the speedy Hardingham, and a dash after a cross kick earned W. Spillano a try which G. Spillanc enhanced by a spectacular kick. Fast work by Grant and Sullivan increased Temuka's scon-, and D. Scott prevented J'irates from making inroads in Temuka\s territory. Timarii 15 played' an emergency, and were not good enough tor Star, the hitter's forwards —Budd and Green especially—being too many for them. J'irates A. the favourites, showed too much pace for Celtic both back and forward, and the result was never in doubt. J)arcy put in some solid work for the Celts, his marking and stopping being particularly useful. Timaru A drew the bye in the first round, and encountered Temuka in the scini-linal. A close contest was anticipated, but the Blues played as though more intent on preventing Temuka from scoring than on registering iwints for themselves. They had the wind in their favour in the first half, but made no use of it, Priest persistently kicking across the Hind instead ot with it. and the spell Has dominated by lemuka. Timaru made a better show when playing against the wind, but the tackling and kicking of Scott and Spillanc was too sound, and the country team won comfortably. The Blue backs did nothing startling, and their forwards were raced oft their legs. J'irates got first use of the wind against Star, but had the worst of the early play! though Bradley kept their line intact. 'J nc brightest incident in the spell was a passing rush between Hradley, Moft'ctt. Smith and Rodgers. J'irates changed their tactics on crossing over, and started the term with a line dash b\ Smith. Rodgers and Coles. Jtradley got over but was brought back, and more good work by Smith and .Moll'ett ended in a final score. leavihg the Blacks winners by six points after the lust game of the (lay up to that point. Star played a plucky game though overmatched, their tackling -being very good, at times. The final between Temuka and Pirates provided an exhilarating ten minutes. It was a sustained attack by the winners against splendid defence by Temuka. Smart work by Wall, Bradley and Coles was nullified by Scott, . and G. Spillanc cheeked a succeeding rush. .Moll'ett and Coles put in a big run. and a heady centre by the latter let Smith over the line. A fast spell aroused the enthusiasm ol the. onlookers.' Better was to follow, however. I'irates went oIF with great vim, and Davey ran' in before being called back. Spillaue put in .a. .prt tty run till pulled down by Coles. and-tile latter was tackled by Scott after an electric piei e of play by the Jilacks. Smith set Coles away a second time, but Scott was impassable, and further attacks by Pirates \wix: staved oil. A rousing game ended amid great enthusiasm. J*ew faster contests have been witnessed in South Canterbury tournaments, and though the better team undoubtedly won, Temuka put up a grand defence.

Pirates had a very fine team, and few better lt»ts have taken part in our seven-a-sides. Teams capable of playing more spectacular back games have been seen, but it is doubtful-whether a liner trio of forwards has been turned out in one seven, and taken all round the Blacks would hold their own with most'combinations that have figured in these contests. As a fifteen, Pirates at full strength are tlie toughest proposition set to local clubs since tiie Ttnuika team of lyo;-i or ihereabouts. A couple of seasons back Pirates were a forward tciim pure ami simple: now they have a line set of backs and a power!ill vanguard. The weakness in the rear division is. at full, but.'with Coles and Jiradley in their present form, the goalkeeper's billet promises to be something of a Oavey is a greatly improved man. Wall has lots of dash, and Coles, juniv. bids fair to develop into a smart half. With this lot behind a good pack, spectators should get something: of the .kind they long for. but -too seldom see. THURSDAY'S. FIXTURES. Senior.—Tiniaru v. I'irates, Caledonian Ground. 3.1-3: Celtic v. Star. Athletic Xo. 1. 3.1.5. Junior.—Tournament final. Celtic v. Temuka. Athletic Xo. 1, "2.30: Athletic v. Tiniaru, Temuka, 3 p.m.; Zingari v. Point, .Rectory Ground, 3 p.m. President's. —Tournament final. Athletic v. Celtic, Athletic Xo. 1. '2.30; Zingari v. High School. Caledonian Ground, 2 p.m.: Geraldiue v. Temuka, at Geraldiue. 3 p.m. Fourth Grade.—Celtic v. Tiniaru, Athletic Xo. 2.2 o'clock; Zingari v. High School, Athletic Xo. 2. 3.i0.