Association Football Notes

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17573, 25 June 1925, Page 3

Association Football Notes

B y

“ NESTOR ”

HAPPY DAY FOB MARKSMEN. The Canterbury Football Association’s senior competition games on Saturday last produced the lingo total of thirty-six goals. Of these five winners scored twenty-four, four nor? divided in a drawn game, and losers registered eight. Considering that i lie grounds were heavy and the hall greasy, such a harvest of goals represents a truly wonderful achievement.. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the day was the match at English Park, where Rangers trounced Lyttelton to the tunc of (i goals to 2. Lyttelton were expected to win and this heavy reverse came as something of a shock to the watersiders’ supporters. Five goals to two represented the relative scoring nbilitv of Sunnvsrde and Thistle on the Mental Hospital ground. The winners had three reserves on the field. Willi a weak team Western did wc’.l to hold Nomads down to a two goat win. This mutch was pi aye 1 on a. morass at Lin wood Park. Addington Workshops bad a had time at St Albans 7 > ark; where Kn.inpoi ran up a tally of eight goals. Lack of finish was Addington’s downfall, but they notched two goals. At Sprcydon Reserve a iuirvl goal gave Linwood the points at th - : expense of \ ilia. The final score was 3 goals to 2. A ding-dong battle between St Albans and Technical Old Boys produced a drawn game on the Ensor’s Road ground. At the interval Technical wore two goals to the good, but St Albans mad© up the leeway in the second half. I he senior grade eliampionship tables now stand a.s follow: SENIOR A.

Commencing next- week Association football notes will appear in Tuesday s issue of the “Star.” RANGERS BEST. Given both teams at full strength and the assistance of past performances. ib would have been a, very optimistic critic; who would have given Rangers the points in a forecast of their match against Lyttelton at English Park last Saturday. But Rangers have developed a habit of upsetting calculations and on this occasion, with three reserves doing duty, they rat* up a total of six goals against Lyttelton, who responded with hut two. And this after being ;l goal m arrears after five minutes’ play, ft was superior tactics which won Rangers the match, and their experiment oi playing Gibson at centre forward with Bar well on the right wing mot. with such success that no doubt those players will retain their positions perm a ncntly. Adopting the long passing game front Lie outset the progressive methods of Rangers stood out in sharp contrast to the short passing game of the TvnlersicWs. It was a. flay on which wing players should have been kept in constant action, and after Hangers had illustrated the profitable measures attending the open game it was surpristoA 00 K'ttehon adhere to their Hose formation methods of advance, l.imany the fault lay with the u a tersiacrs intermediate line. It "as their duty to get the hail out to the wing, but in this they failed. On he aggressive they could tackle coolly and intercept, decisivolv, but it was k Jt?tiv% r c a ?z; flight. This could be remedied by -ng'hadS' 0 " bet "' Ce “ backs In direct contrast the Rangers inter ■ method 05 f reC ,°? nised tllat the best method uf defence is attack. Their efforts were directed to a hapnvko Rn? ° f contact with their forwards. i„ Kongers exercised a prominent part Lvtteft eXChanS T' n ' ld Proportion 1-5 ttelton were roreed into a state of ■ ishes CC i :y ith ° nl >- occasional flourishes, and these had a dismal sequel a r L fi tte iT ton - Wilson ' in goal, had ; f 1 - of k He "' as caught napping on 1 himself" 510 ” 5 ’ bUt later hC adeemed -Mayo, at right back, is now in the veteran stage, and he' lacked the pace , J? satisfactorily cover his partner. On that account Taylor was obliged to shoulder most of the responsibilities Ot the defence, and consequently was overworked. O'Brien, at left half, played his best game to date, though he was inclined to allow the opposing speeds- winger .rrP'ch scope. Neither Wales nor * * Y :i P "'as seen at. his best. Greenaway, M’-Lachlan and Spencer were the pick of the forwards. The latter placed a great goal to his credit--a low shot from thirty yards and driven with tremendous impetus. For Rangers, Perry, in goal, gave of ■’ best . and was responsible for some smart saves. At left back Morlcy acquitted himself well. His defence was sound and h.s Clearing kicks were well directed. Equally efficient was Mitchell. Ills positional play was excellent. At right half Aspinall displayed ability m tackling, and his service to the wing was of the best. At centre iiowarth was a tower of strength, lie opened up the game to either wing and paved the way to victory. For his . first game Gordon gave a good display, lie was opposed to a speedv and clever w,n sr and did well to hold it in check. Of the forwards Bissett formed an excellent connecting link between Bar-, well and Gibson. The two latter players were the clinching units tu many spectacular movements engineered by Bissett. Of the six goals scored Gibson registered five, which were converted mainly from excellent!v purveyed centres by Harwell. On the other wing Renmins and Norman were progressive and forceful. The latter displayed fine footwork, and his strategy made many fine openings down the centre. Mr 11. M. Perryman controlled the game. LUN X VSIDE AGA l X. ; The first five minutes of the match between Sunnyside and Thistle, at the » Mental Hospital ground was sufficient - to indicate, which of the contestants would be the ultimate winner. Sunnv- \ side fielded three reserves in Preston, i ! Robson and Batten, who replaced Tack- ; Ison. Simpson and Mizen. but even so ' they cover looked like losing, ami , j final I \ won bv 5 goals to 2. The difference of three goals in the score

hardly represents the winners' superiority, for they outplayed the Scots almost in every department. Thistle have tactical faults. They were brought into sharp relief by the superlative merits of Sunnyside. From the outset the play of the winners sng gested a perfect synchronism of brain and bod}-, and, there was little of that haphazard play which was such a marked feature in the Thistle ranks. The Scots’ tremendous anxiety to give the ball momentum with small regard to the position of friend and foe was entirely satisfactory to the Sunnyside intermediate and full-backs, who, by a judicious application of wit, repeatedly repulsed the spasmodic onslaughts of their opponents and paved the way to victory. But aimless kicking was only a contributing factor in Thistle’s downfall. On more than one occasion had the inside forwards possessed a grain oi intuition they could have so placed themselves that an avenue to the net would have lain open to them. Instead of so doing they preferred hustling after the ball without any sense of positional play, or givi. lg a moment’s thought to what the opposing defender might or might not do. On Saturday’s game it would appear that Thistle have yet much to learn of the strategic points of play and they cannot expect to make progress until this trait is mofe thoroughly developed. For Sunnyside, Callaghan, in goal, was not overworked. 11 is gathering of the ball was not faultless, but his clearing was good. The full-backs, Preston and Batten, tackled well, though their kicking was somewhat erratic and wild. Sunnyside’s main strength lay in their intermediate line. Thompson made a welcome reappearance on the right, and none excelled him. N’eat footwork and low, well placed transfers made his play distinctive. Purdie was robust and energetic, lie always had an eye for the unmarked, man. Bond shone more particularly in defence. Of the forwards. Trotter again distinguished himself by scoring four goals. He opened the game out to the wings, and was always on the spot ready for the centre. Sutherland, Browning. M'Lachlan and Robson arc in order of merit. Falconer, in goal for Thistle, was responsible for some fine saves. lie had little chance with the shots that beat him. Aitkcn and Flaherty defended well, The latter is a little on the light side, but he is afraid of nothing. Walker was the outstanding half back, with Mulcahv closely following, R. Dick was too zealous. lie was inclined to edge to the centre in search of work when his attention should have been directed towards his opposing wing. Of the forwards, Patterson, Thomas and Ellis were the most prominent. Goodall, at centre, was- often out of position when the ball was placed over from the wing. Otherwise his play passed muster. W. Dick spoilt his play by attempting to dribble through from the wing when a first time centre was the obvious thing to do. Mr Robinson refereed a fast game excellently. lie was always on the spot when a ruling was required.

MUD-LARK IXO. The game. Nomads v. Western, at Linwood Park, was not one which presented many oportunitics for spectacular play, on account of the shocking state of the ground, which was quite unfit for football. As regards the play. Nomads were a long way the superior team. There were one or two changes in the usual playing positions on Saturday, noticeably Muscraft playing left half, while Jack M Dougail went centre half. Nomads have a very good second line, with Scragge, a keen and difficult player. on the right. In the forward department, the play was not so good as usual. Smythe docs not appear to work well with Purvis on the right wing. What has become of the Purvis- Abbott combination that did so well in the matches against Rangers and Lyttelton? As it was. the left wing did most of Saturday's work. Time after time the halves would put the ball down that wing to Chapman, and the speedy winger would carry it with him to within a few yards of the goal-line, then would put in a good centre. Whittington and Nurric were the prominent players in the Western attack. Whittington has a good head for football, and takes stopping. Norrie is a lively player, quick to seize every opportunity. Towards the close of the game he made an electrifying dash that caught the Nomads defence napping, and he nearly scored. A little more of that sort of play would brighten up the game. Sproston and Chappie, the full backs, were good, though the former did not always seem at home. Chappie plays a steady game, and is hard to get past. Andrews, the Western custodian, saved some hard shots, especially in the second half, when Nomads were rattling them in. He seems to be better on the high-shots than low ones. Jimmie M Dougall, Nomads cen-tre-forward, was not altogether on his game. He showed hesitancy when in receipt of the ball from the wings, and lost several good opportunities. Colin M' Dougall played a solid, clever game. lie is perhaps the ‘brainiest’' member of the Nomads forward line Chapman was excellent. He is lively, keen and confident and has a useful turn of speed. Of the full-backs. Graham and Flood, nothing could be said that has not been said before. They arc a great Jackson was as good in goal as ever. < oolness is his motto, and it is rarely indeed that the sphere gets past him. RAPID FIRING. kaiapoi nave a very convincing display at St Albans against Addington \\ orkshops. d he game was very onesided and but for the fine play ofSharr .in goal the score would have been greater. • For the winners. Hirst in goal, was never really extended. (i. Ilirst, right back, gave his usual sound display. T. Taylor made his debut at left full back and played a fair game. Of the intermediates .Drurie and Payne were outstanding both in defence and attack. Cowan at outside right gave a very pleasing display, but was inclined to dally too long with the ball. Bruce, at inside, worked hard and made some good openings for his partners, but his shooting was right off Phelps, at centre, had four goals to his credit, but is still weak in distribut ing the ball. Ilowarth placed well at inside left, but is seen to better advantage on the outside berth. L-lcs at outside left was in great form, He gave the inside forwards every oppor-

1 unity to score with his well-timed ecu- J Ires. her Addington Sharr in goal played well and had no chance with the shots that beat him. Morris was the better of the backs. The half-backs were decidedly weak, both in attack and defence. Tombling played well at centre and was ablv backed up bv Lamunt and Gibson. '

Matches. Goals, P- W. L. 1). For. A?sl. Pts Sunnrpidc . G G — — 21 n 12 Nomads . r, i — 11 t in Ra ntrcrs . . f, -2 3 __ i-» jj j Lyttelton . 5 2 3 — 7 12 4 AY rs tern . . 5 — — 1. 3 12 1 Thistle . — 1 3 IS 1 SKXIOR B. Lin wood . . G 1 — 1 Hi 8 0 Kaiapoi . . 5 4 1 — 18 .7 3 St Albans . .71 i 3 ll 1 j 5 Villa . . 3 1 ‘2 2 8 12 4 Tech. Old Boys 3 1 3 1 10 It 3 Add. Workshops 5—41 G -20 1