ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL

Waikato Times, Volume 96, Issue 15028, 28 August 1922, Page 7

ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL

AUCKLAND Y.M. v. HAMILTON Y.M

At Seddon Park on Saturday last the Auckland eleven were quite a youthful side in comparison with the home team, but were obviously in' a much better condition. .

Elsby beat Allen in the choice of ends for the first forty-five minutes' spell, and set Hie Hamilton side to face a strong sun. Bird kicked off, and for the first ten minutes of the game the Auckland .side made the pace a cracker, and they were continually in the locals' half, giving the Hamilton defence quite a sultry time, a little more finish on the part of the visiting inside forwards being necessary to effect a score. Hamilton, however, began to got more settled, and the visitors' opening outburst had lost some of its sting, Bird and Dodds being prominent in shots at the Auckland end, these either missing their objective, or being saved in first-class style by Saunders, and play for some time was of give-and-take character, any advantage there was in these exchanges being with the visitors. Thirty minutes after opening, mainly as a result of some excellent work on' the right wing by Tighe, Elsby accepted a pass in a handy position to the Hamilton oval, and made no mistake. Magnall had no chance in saving. Aroused by the reverse, Hamilton were for some lime distinctly on the aggressive, Dodd3 always being in the limelight in nice forceful bursts, the necessary support at the critical moment being lacking from his colleagues in tlie van-

guard; however, for an infringement in the prohibited area, Hamilton were awarded a penally kick, Bird being entrusted with the opportunity of evening the scores, and though taking the fullest advantage of this by safely piloting the ball through the Auckland goal, an infringement by a Hamilton player caused the kick to be retaken, Saunders saving, and eventually clearing the ball well down the field. Five minutes afterwards Waller completely missed the acceptance of a pass from Spiro, with only the goalkeeper to beat, and soon after the whlsllo blew for the usual refresher.

At the re-start, the. Ilamiltonians. with the advantage of King Sol in their favour, did all the pressing. Auckland for the first fifteen minutes never succeeding in getting in the home half, and defensive work by Saunders, Williams,' and Otter, being decidedly noticeable features during this period, and (to these players combined with a tendency on the part of one or two of the home forwards to get offside alone prevented Hamilton from scoring. Hereabouts, Mcy, the visiting outside left, came into collision with Cook, and was practically hors-do-cOmbat for the remainder of the game. Spiro, who at times did really well, twenty-five minutes after the opening, secured

possession, and after some pretty work with Dodds, passed the ball on to Bird, who, with a really clever first-time shot, beat the Auckland goalie, the position now being interesting. Hamilton still continued to press, Waller doing a lot of vigorous work on the extreme left, though his finishing was poor, once, after taking the ball to within five yards of the Auckland goal, missing a score by weak shooting, though now and again the Auckland forwards would got going, Ashton and Allen capably de-

fending. Play was in the visiting hall' when the final whistle blew, the scores being one ail. Mr G. Meiklc refereed. In summing the game up, Hamilton were no doubt the superior side, ihe fault being in the main a lack of cohesion in the forward line. On the Auckland side the honours of the day must go to Saunders, the visiting goalkeeper, Otter and Williams also doing noticeable defensive work. Pearco was the better of a moderate half-back line, and of the visiting forwards, Tighe was a shade above his colleagues, although Elsby,

the Auckland skipper, made several individual efforts of quite good class. Of the Hamiltonians, Magnall' did what he had to do in his usual capable style, Allen and Asliton being a fairly safe pair of backs. Gurnoy was the pick of a moderate middle line, Dodds being the, star of the frontal attack, Bird and Spiro also sharing in the honours in this regard. SMOKE CONCERT* In the evening the Hamilton Y.M.C.A. Football Club tendered a very enjoyable smoke concert to the visiting Auckland team in the Toorak Chambers. Toasts suitable to the occasion were proposed and responded to and interspersed with enjoyable concert items, helped to pass a very pleasant .evening. Mr P. E. Phillips presided. Amongst the toasts honoured were the following: "Auckland

Y.M.C.A.," Mr C. L. MacDiarmld—Mr Christian; "Kindred Sports," Mr T. Wilkes —Mr R. H. Wood; "The Press"; "The South Auckland Football Association," Mr J. MacKenzie—Mr J. McKinnon; and "The Chairman," Mr Reg. Cooke —Mr Phillips. Songs were contributed by Messrs Wheeler, Bird, P. Maddock, Smith, and T, Wilkes. Mr Reg. Cooke contributel several at-the-piano monologues, Mr Bruce Gibson obliged witli recitations, and Mr J. McJCinnon witli stories. AUCKLAND RESULTS. North Shore 1, v. Philomel 1.