City, Western Final In Chatham Cup Soccer

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31094, 24 June 1966, Page 13

City, Western Final In Chatham Cup Soccer

For the second time this season Christchurch City and Western meet in a soccer cup final. The first ocassion was the Rangers floodlit tournament when Western played magnificently to win 3-1: the second will be the local Chatham Cup final at English Park tomorrow.

In between, the two clubs have also played a Hurley Shield match when City avenged its floodlit defeat with a 1-0 victory.

The current run of cup final meetings goes back to last season when the clubs also appeared in the deciding round of the Chatham Cup, City winning with two goals in the last 20 minutes. If tomorrow’s match measures up to the same high stan-

dard of the floodlit tournament final everyone will be well satisfied. Then, both teams were in top form, building attacks in mid-field and finishing them in front of goal. Last Saturday, at least for 45 minutes, City played masterly uncomplicated football to beat Technical, 4-2, and gain a useful lead in the finishing run to the Hurley Shield. On the same day, however, any last Hurley Shield hope that Western had disappeared with its surprising defeat by Rang•lers.

Speed, enthusiasm and aggression by the young Rangers forwards revealed unexpected weaknesses in the Western defence—gaps to the extent that no other side this season has been able to prise open. And with the break-down in defence came a break-down too, in temperament and the troubles were not sorted out until the last 10 minutes when Western was stung to reduce a 0-4 deficit to a more respectable 2-4.

On the basis of these two matches, City will be heavily favoured to win tomorrow, and to go on as Canterbury’s representative to the zone semi-final at Nelson. But if Western can shake off last Saturday’s game, and its effect on team spirit and morale, the club will meet City on level terms. Goal Either Way When both are in top form there is little more than a goal between them. Western’s potential strength in the forward line has been greater, game from game, than City’s which has more often shaped to do something fantastic and then just as suddenly bogged itself down by holding the ball too long and making one step too many.

In contrast, City has the greater strength in mid-field and deeper in defence, even though Western has fine players in these departments. But City’s defence, constructed around G. Evans, makes fewer mistakes and builds up play quicker and more dangerously in the mid-field. This should be a match of sharply contrasting styles which is likely to go the full distance before one side gains a commanding role. And that couM go either way.