SOCCER REVIEWED.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20328, 11 June 1934, Page 11

SOCCER REVIEWED.

Thistle Have Close Call Against St Albans. TECHNICAL’S POOR SHOWING.

Thistle's close call against St Albans was the surprise among Saturday’s senior Soccer matches. Thistle, playing with a substitute in place of G. Sutherland, opened too confidently, and, faced with a bustling opposition, they failed to settle down. St Albans, playing one short and without Dryden and Harrison, were beaten only 3-2, and one of Thistle’s goals was scored by a St Albans defender.

In a drab game at English Park, Western beat Technical Old Boys, 6-1. Western were not five goals superior, but Technical did not seem to like the heavy going, and they put very little effort into their game. In a keenlyfought game. Rangers, playing one short, held Nomads to a 2-0 win. •.* 55 55 TECHNICAL DISAPPOINT.

The heavy going was certainly against the light Technical Old Boys’ team, but they gave a very weak display. The forwards were particularly disappointing. Aimless kicking was a frequent fault on both sides, but the Technical forwards were consistent offenders. Smith was the only one who looked at all dangerous. Graggs, who had an attack of influenza recently, put no vim into his game until the final stages, when it was too late. The score flattered Western. Kirk should have saved at least two of the shots that beat him. In a mixed display, he saved several much more difficult ones. Teichert, was a rock in the Technical defence. He repeatedly broke up Western attacks. Gordon, at centre-half, was the most useful of the others. He was usually safe, and he always made ground with the ball.

The Technical attacks laid a very light burden on the winners’ backs and ’keeper and they were quite equal to the task. With a little more to do, the Western halves worked solidly. Henderson just shaded his fellow-halves. He consistently harried the oposition. G. Ellis and Ives, the two inside men, were most dangerous among the forwards. Ellis showed deft control, and an eye for openings. Ives, and to a lesser degree, Falloon, worried the opposition with their aggressive tactics. THISTLE S* OFF DAY. The clash between Thistle anrl St Albans, leading- and bottom teams respectively in the Hurly Shield competition. was notable for the poor form displaved bv Thistle and the spirited resistance offered by St Albans. Thistle, in fact, were lucky to emerge winners by the odd score in five, for one of the St Albans backs put the ball through his own goal. G. Sutherland was absent from the Thistle backs owing to a touch of ’flu, but his place was capably filled by J. Simpson, who was a member of the old Sunnyside eleven. The probable explanation of Thistle’s lapse was that they took their opponents too cheaply and later, becoming rattled by the worrying tactics adopted by St Albans, they were unable to tighten up. The shooting was atrocious for Thistle, none of the forwards getting on to the target. Considering the fact that St Alban-s were without three of their regular tfca-m, notably J. Di'yden and N. Harrison, and played one man short throughout, their performance was all the more meritorious. They lost many chances, lipwever, by slow following-up, nearly always letting the other man get his kick in. N. Bileliff, on the right wing, on many occasions used his speed to good advantage and scored one good goal. H. Stoddart and C. Cook, too, always were prominent in the halves, worrying like a pair of fox terriers. They tackled solidly irrespective of size or weight, and were responsible, for the break-up of many Thistle RANGERS EXTEND NOMADS. Nomads defeated Rangers 2-0 at Richmond Park in a game that was full of incidents. Despite their well combined forward line, Nomads were fully extended to score twice. Their main stumbling block was T. Jackson, the Rangers ’keteper, who gave a brilliant display. He was always on guard to some of the finest shooting seen this season, and it took a close-in header and a hook shot from a corner to pass him. The Nomads forward line, D. Douglas, C. Pickup, A. Trotter, W. Wilson and C. Sharr, worked like a machine and left little to be desired. The halves also maintained the attack, and wer*e rarely troubled on defence. The backs and goal-keeper did just enough to stop them from freezing. Rangers were mostly on the defensive and except for a few bright turns by F. Robb, on the right wing, the forwards were rarely in the picture. Playing with ten men was rather a handicap, but with seven mten on defence they managed to keep their goal reasonably safe. A. Wilson (centrehalf) and D. Miller (right-half) were the shining lights of the defence. Had they the co-operation of a forward line Nomads would have had something to cope with. E. Barnes and W. Barnes had olenty of scop*?, but W. Barnes’s reckless tackling proved to be rather a handicap than an asset. With the exception of two weak forwards. Rangers presented. a stiff opposition tfrat was highly commendable.