ASSOCIATION.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19133, 28 July 1930, Page 15

ASSOCIATION.

RANGERS DEFEATED IN STRENUOUS GAME.

The results of Saturday’s matches in the Canterbury Football Association’s j Hurley Shield competition have virtually given Thistle the championship with seventeen points. There is an interesting position among the next four teams, Rangers having fourteen points and Nomads, Western and New Brighton twelve each. The match between Rangers and Thistle, like that in which Thistle were engaged with Western in the Chatham Cup final, developed into a very strenuous one. English Park, in its extremely mushy condition, was an unfortunate place on which to play for four points, and Rangers intend to carry a protest to the final authority if necessary. These two teams did not meet in the first round and until Saturday Rangers were leading. There was little to choose between St Albans and Technical Old Boys, neither team showing much finish: Nomads went to pieces against a strong New Brighton attack; and Western had little difficulty in disposing of Sumner. ST ALBANS BEAT TECHNICAL \ OLD BOYS Only one goal was scored in the match between Technical Old Boys and St Albans, St Albans being about that much the better in a ragged display. It was interesting and very bright in patches, but neither set of attackers showed much ability in finish-; ing off a movement and the shooting \ was very poor. Hulme, on the wing for St Albans, • was watched with interest in view of ; his selection as a Canterbury representative. Play did not come his way j much, but when it did he performed! satisfactorily, showing a good turn of j speed and a useful control of the ball. 1 W. Cook and G. Cullen went well. H. i Shaw, centre, played promisingly until i he got within striking distance, and I then seemed to lose confidence. L. Gordon showed decided possibilities, i Dorie, in goal, was never very sure. The only two Technical forwards to catch the eye were O’Loughlin, outside left, who went well throughout, and C. Watson, on the other wing, who began badly, but improved a great deal and would be a valuable man with a good centre to carry on his efforts. Thistle beat Rangers. The game between Thistle and Ran- ! gers at English Park resulted in a win for Thistle by two goals to one, and i that just about represents the differ-1 ence in the teams. The ecftitrolling ; body had decided that the winner should receive four points instead of the usual two, whereupon, before j the game, Rangers announced that a j protest would be lodged, and that if ■ nothing was done the matter would be taken to the New Zealand Football Association. Play began at a fast rate, considering the heavy ground, but went off in the middle stages. When Rangers made the scores 1 all half-way through the second spell, proceedings livened up, and minor injuries were frequent. The brightest spots were provided by the work of the full-backs and goalkeepers. The Thistle forward line functioned very smoothly in the early stages, but its standard fell off. Shortly after the start, Speirs put over a perfect centre for Trotter to open the Scots’ account with a header, but the Thistle pivot went off badly later, shooting wide and over the bar time after time. Although the Rangers’ van did not possess a great deal of combination, individuals they worked solidly. Rangers’ only goal came when Windley bundled Gwillam and the ball into the Thistle goal. A very valuable game was that played by Lorimer, full-back for Rangers. He had a good deal to do, and did it well. E. Barnes, in goal, was a safe custodian, some of his saves being very fine. J. Wilson, centre half, fed his forwards consistently, and was conspicuous for the manner in which he robbed Trotter of most of his sting. Robb performed well at right half, though he was over-vigorous at times. The Rangers’ forwards were in and out. Windley put in some hard shots, and A. Wilson was going well until he was injured and had to retire. Like Lorimer, H. Johnston was a stout defender, and Thistle owed a lot to him. Gwillam was worked hard in goal, and, apart from being caught off his balance when Rangers scored, he made no serious mistakes. M’Leod and A. Sutherland toiled manfully in the half-back line, tricking the attackers and feeding their forwards well. In the van, D. Sutherland displayed some pretty footwork, and scored with a beautiful shot. Speirs gave a good exhibition on the right wing, but Trotter, usually brilliant at centre, did not play as well as usual, missing a lot of shots. Western Win Easily. For the first half-hour of the SumnerWestern match at St Leonard’s Square, Sumner, it looked as if the home side might have a chance. They scored l shortly after kick-off, when Stoneman, at inside left, wheeled suddenly and sent home a beautiful grounder. Colville, Western and Canterbury ’keeper, had no chance with such a shot coming through the ru*k. Encouraged, Sumner kept up a spirited if not brilliant attack, but could not improve their tally. Then, with thirty minutes gone, the town side scored a brace of goals in quick time, one headed in by centre forward Falloon from a free kick, and the other netted by Wick, right back, from the penalty spot. S. Ellis, inside right, snapped anothef through at close quarters and made the half-time score read:—Western 3, Sumner 1. It was Western all the way in the second spell, and they were easing up long before the end. A nice goal from Roberts’s toe made the final count 4 to I in their favour. It was a very disappointing displa}*, especially after the cross-over, when the play straggled badly. The losers showed no conception of positional -play, and the best that could be said of them on the day was that they were a keen lot of triers. R. Neville, at right half, played a dogged, useful game on defence. Inside right Brcfwne was the best of the front-liners. He bustled into everything, never letting up, and showed flashes of good control. Stoneman, at inside left, showed up on occasions. There was nothing very bright in the winners’ display, either, although, of course, they were clearly not pushing themselves over the closing stages. i\c one was outstanding—even Roberts, wily centre half, lapsed into mediocrity. Both the backs, Wick and E. Colville, made too many mistakes, and their covering left a lot of room for improvement. Whittington worked as hard as ever at right half, but, as usual, roamed too much. A. Ellis, the other wing half, was the pick of the intermediate trio. The forwards were about on a par.

NEW BRIGHTON v. NOMADS. Nomads were given a lesson in football on Saturday, when, at Rawhiti .Domain, New Brighton defeated them by six goals to nil. Crisp, accurate passing and good positional play were Brighton’s methods, and Nomads could serve up nothing but uncontrolled kicking. True, the ground was in a disgraceful state; the centre of the field was nothing more than a swamp, but this cannot be blamed for all the bad shooting that occurred. Nomads were without the services of Peterson in the forwards, and this seemed to upset the whole team. The Nomads halves were weak. Time and again P. Knight was un'marked when the ball came his way, and the fact that two goals came from this wing shows a tighter grip should have been kept on him. Mitchell, in goal for Brighton, gave an impressive display. Some of his clearances were brilliant. The full-backs, Anstey and Cruickshanks, both gave sound displays. Anstey scored a great goal from about twenty yards out. Though the Brighton halves all worked well, their play lacked brilliance. Waddell appeared the best. A feature of the game, was the splendid combination of the forwards, F. Smith, Allen and Knight. They all scored goals. Cockle and Gordon put in plenty of good work. Nomads were unable to settle down, and when they were three goals down they were done for At the finish not a. man in the team could do anything right, and, with the inside forwards falling back to help the week halves, the forward line did not exist. Muscroft was the best of the Nomads backs, but his partner, Streeter, was poor. Clasper was the pick of the forwards. The others seemed to be afraid to shoot. Bad positional play and weak finishing, rather than lack of football ability, accounted for Nomads’ sorry display.

IN OTHER PLACES

Per Press Association. WELLINGTON, July 27. . Waterside 3, Diamonds 1; Hospital 4. Seatoun 3. DUNEDIN, Julv 26. Northern 3, Seacliff 2; Maori Hill 3. Technical Old Boys 0; Mosgicl 4, Mo-rn-i-ngton 2; High School Old Boys 3, Port Chalmers 2. WANGANUI. July 27. In a representative match, Taranaki beat Wanganui by 7 to 5. WELLINGTON, Julv 27. Chatham Cup provincial final—Petone 6, Wanganui 0.