AUCKLAND WINS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 919, 12 September 1910, Page 4

AUCKLAND WINS.

THE BROWN SHIELD, GOES NORTH. ■ ■: , DECISIviE DEFEAT OF ;.' /■WELLINGTON.. ;/.. /^ Auckland /;.'.-....;.......£ goals." ••:'■•' Wellington : '.';':■; Nil. ;■/./ Wellington has lost tihe Brown Shield.At the-Basin /Reserve on Saturday afternoon,, before a. largo attendance, of spectators, the Auckland representative. Association football team met and defeated the "Wellington men by a decisive majority of two ' goals to ml; after a hard and exciting game, capturing the coveted shield by the superior dash and ,<?laii ; of .their/forwards, tho solidarity ■of their rear divisions, and the magnificent .resource of their goalkeeper.' There was no doubt at. the end of the' game, as to the respective merits of'the contestants—the' better team won. '-.•;. ./..' The Contending' Teams.;' , The .personnel;.; of-, the!, .contending teams was,as follows:--';. ■ . v.- V Wellington .(Black.sand Gold).—Goalkeeper :. C. Webster; full-backs:. J. P.yer Smith; and. W. Roberts ;.'■ halves:. M. Kirschbergj.H. arid ft. Paget'; ■forwards: C. Vessey,. W-' Trevetlyick, W. Gibson, A.'Mouatt; and! W. Mouatt. . Auckland (Bluo and, White).—Goal:, keeper: F. O.ldnall; / frill-backs:.' .E. ■; YSale and SV.:'Ritchie;,halves: B/Eickerby, A. Marshall, and — Seriveii wards: H. Whittle, R. G. 'Gardner.,'. C.' H.;Webster, 'R.'Boyne, and H. Pickering. ; : , .' " ; ...;/■; .'v.:

' Attacks ; and Counter-Attacks.".] ~ ■Facing'a fairly s'tiiff southerly;-tho-de-fondeTS.kicked'oSj-.and'for-the first few ■minutes of play'"nothing of'interest happened,, tho ball hugging the line. Then' ■the game opened'out, and somo brisk play occurred in the '. Auckland ■ terrii tory, Wellington making ■a; dangerous onset on the goal...Mho. play ■became fairly fast; and Wellington, continuing to force the game, again attacked the goal;-and. nearly; scored, but Trevethick. just missed after a good try., There ensued %a* spell of .open play in midfield, individual; tactics rather than combination ; being.the' (lis-. : tinguishing;featuro of this.phase;of the game.',. A;6trong attack by the northern Vanguard was 'spoilt; by .'offside play, but .the Blues; forcing the game, managed to hold their opponents,'in their .'own. ground for a..space, and Webster was kept on the alert. '..If anything;.the Auckland • vanguard showed better combination at this stage Save'for a sharp attack on 'the; Auckland goal, smartly met'by Oldnall, the Aucklanders. continued to press for a score, and two byes in: short- succession followed, their, attacks on the Wellington defences.' Wellington' >hen counter-attacked, but Oldnall promptly' captured, the. leather andsent it out of danger. '.> .'

Combination Tells: The First Coal. And now tho excellent combination of tho \ northern; forwards' gave' 'them .the a'dvantage,' and, out-manoeuvring the Wellington.'backs, had the goal.at their' mercy-'. Whittle, the Auckland .outside-right, andono of'''.the; smartest forwards : seen .this -season, "made : '..'a brilliant rim up the- field,,.aiid passed neatly to Gardner, his inside-support, who slipped the ball over to Boyne, the centre-forward. Boyne drove for .the posts;';' Webster, on the alert, ; blocked the ball, and sent it out, but Gardner recaptured it,'and scored with a smart shot: .-•' .'■■ ; Auckland .......................; 1;;. Wellington' .....;■ :0 ,0n resuming; Wellington made a, determined attack on Blue,- but were' soon driven.back upon the defensive, and save for. some minor excursions into the enemy's _ ground, were. unable'.. ,to effectively ' pierce tho' "Blue's 'front. Webster, tho Wellington had an anxious time,.and had his namesake from the north played with'more' : deci-i sion and energy after out-manoeuvring the home back division, a second goal would have certainly been' scored against tho defenders., But "the Aucklander's shot-was weak, and the goalkeeper easily blocked tho bafL;- A hot return shot by the Blues' centre-half. . (Marshall) flew wide. Gardner, the Bues' insideright, had another drive at the' posts • shortly after, and Webster, foozling the ball, nearly let it through. He recovered himself just in time, and the defenders breathed freely once. more. ...

A Near "Squeak" for Oldriall. Gibson, the' Wellington centre-for-ward, thou led a dangerous attack on the north goal, and Oldnall inost unwisely rushed out to moot it. He lost the ball arid his goal at the same time, and only : shocr luck and a prompt rallying of his backs averted what looked like an inevitable goal. This attack was returned by a magnificent run upfield by Harold Webster, tho Auckland centre-forward, who outpaced his' opponents, and with nothing in front of him raced for tho but missed by a few. inches,, and the tide of battle was rolled back to mid-field. The Auckland men, anxious to get the fullest advantage of the first spell,! with the wind behind, played right up to tho top-of their powers, apparently with the ob-

joot of scoring a safe margin before facing tho wind. The Wellington, men did not appear to bo extending themselves, though whether this was due to their desire to reserve their powers for the second half or their inability to overpower .tho ; Auckland-'backs was not at this stage of the game very clear. I'here was certainly no sting in the Wellington forward division so far, tho general impression being that tho Bluo vanguard were playing a faster and more scientific game. The remainder of the spell was uneventful, a period of uninteresting: play following upon a .severe collision between Marshall (Auckland) and Paget (Wellington), Which, necessitated a brief suspension of hostilities.

Goal Numbßr Two. The opening of the second spell gave the spectators an opportunity of deciding whether tho Wellingtou men were up to their -opponents'.: form, but the ball had hardly been in play two minutes before tho Northerners drew blood for the. second time. A, sharp onset by .the Blues on tho -Wellington posts was met by Roberts, the Wei-, lington • left-full-back, : who miskicked. Scriven, the Auckland left-half, captured'tho ball, and made a long:drive at the posts. Webster .ran but from his goal; but Boyne, the Auckland in-side-left, intercepted tho ball,* and neatly -slipped it through. - . . ■',■[■] Auckland": .„.,....„,.. 2. Wellingtou , .'.!'..'......'...-..'.'.-... '. 0-. ; Fired up by this second reverse, tho Wellington men played strenuously for an advantage, but were . manifestly fighting against heavy odds. -.By'-'tnis time it was clear that, the forwards were outclassed in combination' nhu head work, and .the halves were : sluggish. - By sheer hard work, however, the defenders' -.vanguard and the halves managed to keep the ball'in'the Auckland ground for a-while,Kirschbergbe-' ing easily. the mainstay- of:the Wellington attack. But'he could not do much on a. lone hand. As for the Wellington ■centre-half,;. Bradbury, the ..'least- said the better. After >some : up and downplay, ■:'. Kirschbcrg made!, a ■;':'beautiful' dropping-shot. at_ the Auckland, posts, and Oldnill, - leaping up: to it, saved it beautifully by just tipping-it over the .bar. It was a fine piece of, work for both 'men;. deservedly applauded.'.'

v . .'■ Goal-keepars, on Their Mettle. Within the .next; quarter of an hour, the .press of" battle', swept up and down the field, arid both of the goal-keepers earned/the plaudits of- the. crowd by their.. readiness "and . resource. -.' Oldnall, the/Auckland goal-keeper, . played., a magnificent game, a'ndtwjco during this, phaso of tho ..match saved his side\froin what looked like.:a certain. score.. ■• Obviously ;lame, ho fisted the,leather .out or oyer the bar—.whichever strategy offered the-/best \ advantage—time :.after time'.' '-. Towards the ; close, of;- the game, he/ was' badly, thrown, colliding, with a/post: during,. 1 a , desperate, ericouhljer with the .Wellington .'men., in front of the posts; but ,WM able. 16..'g0 on again. Wellington ,af this -stage,'adoptedl forcing tactics, and 'played' a ■'. desperate;'. game in the, -enemy.s .ground./ Corner.' after, "corner was given- against'. the .' Blues, and time', after .'.time the., alertness of the defence", and'.the' mediocrity of tho shooting,/ saved.; the -situation.' The last .quarter;' of an hour's-play was ''exciting enough". The play ; ,was' fast and furious; and\ Wellington './desperately strove::to score; 'but'the'.'odds .were 'against.'them; / The. final/score,'was: a diehard, struggle ,:fof:'a. goal,: but. Vessey's: game, attempt '.to : . score missed, by an inch or two,,and a'-few seconds later the; referee's''iy.histle ended : the the "most/desperate and exciting,:contest,of the Brown /Shield tournament of. 1910. Wellington wi11.,-have, to go north, next.year if ..it. desires ' ; to:bring back, the'shield./ v :.;/"/.; /,/ Mi'./.Yeoinaris was; the .'referee. ;■',,' .. NOTES ON THE CAME. ' : "'Air..things ■'conSidered,/the:.'defeat.',qf the Wellingtpji''|'.representatives' '■ furnished the d6easioh: l of. the J.best display of' : tllo.'fiher ':pb'ints'' ;; b'f. the' .Assbciation. game/yet/seen 711;. Wellirigtori. , The ■ de-fenders'::''-were'^'''completely', outclassed. Au'okl'and's. vanguard .was fast, well:disciplined,', alerti'. and' : braih'y.' ; ■■;'The \bnly. thing-that cb'uldVbe'.said: against'them -.was' that'f6r.'. representative '.players,: they infringed: :tlie: 'off-side: rule tod frequently'. ./:It>..would' really be difficult dividiia'l/whd ::was'/ : more;r .cprispibuous than : his : fellowsy/the wliole:- variguar'd played-as'-orie. man.'"'' .' : .' •'•"•'=■.■: .. The' Wellington' forward division was distinctly/ poor: '-.-; 1 Gibson'.-..'displayed.-'. 116 gerieralship whatever, and his '.'supports-played-wildly. /Passing '.was .inaccurate, ill-judged; the, shooting %as atrocious. As: for combination ..there was; so little of' it—and that so ';;it went, for nothing at. all.' Tlicv ' were boaten for' the, ball again' and/again,if net -'by -the Blue., vanguards inevitably .'by the; halves.. ' Was'-'-the '■'■ ball thrown- in—an/-''Auckland ■man got/it nine times; out of ten. ■" ■ v : '•'.'■,'•,'.;; -./:,' Now .welcomei'.-to the halves. -Auckland had three -hjilfrbacks,of -the first rank. Wellington' ;had'.'one—the other two didn't: count;' ■^MarshslLj: the Anckland- centre-half,, was . the most brilliant'man oft'the field: when Wellington beat Aucklarid/las.t'.year., He, was at the top of his-forrn'oh'-'Saiurday; Kirschberg. right-half .for 5 'Wellington, : was'. absolutely the ; only; live man onjhis; side. Paget,: the/ : left-half, i; \yas"'. indifferent. Bradbury,■'thevcorit're-half, '.was. the weakest man in thetearh. .:.. :..'..',';/.

•'■. Auckland .was-strong .in the full-back division; Wellingtonwas'only fairly so. The Auckland-backs,-in short,.were always there, one; or; the other of thpm. The one backed .up.the other, and each 'knew exactly-- where'' to ..send the: ball when the attack was foiled. The Wei-. : lington': backs'were not. always : there when they were wanted;:; Their kicking was weak, and'ill-judged. ; „'.

■''■Turning-'to'-the-goalkeepers;'.one', must: award each a Ayovd of praise.! Oldnall was great. ITp : 'till 'the .present season he was a member of -the . Wellington Rovers,'-and our. best goalkeeper'. Auck- : land secured a prize 1 when he ; ; went;'; tolive in the northom city. Oldnall's superiority lies. in his marvellous; readiness with his fists when meeting-point-, blank drives, his nimble dodging when in possession; of the ball and running out into the field, slipping through the pack like an eel. It is not too.much to 'Say! that Oldnall won the match for his side; for with any other mail between; the posts two, if not three, goals would have gone to the credit of Wellington. Webster, the Wellington goalkeeper, did his best. With a-/stodgy, full-back lino in front, and.an indifferent: half-back line,, ho had a difficult job,' and.his anxiety no doubt was responsible for certain reckless sallies he mado from the posts at critical momerits. . ' ■ ■'

DINNER AT THE Y.M.C.A

After the match, both teams were entertained at dinner byHho Auckland delegates to the New Zealand Football Association, Messrs. Mayer-and.Wind-' ley. Mr. H. N. Holmes was in the cliair, the Hon. Geo. Fowlds and Messrs. A. Glover and C. H. Poole, M.IVs, also being in attendance. During the course of the evening many toasts were honoured, special mention being made of the spirit in which the match was played.' Several of the Speakers bri Wellington's side, although rogrotting the loss of the shield, admitted that the best -team _ had won', and won well after an exciting game. It was mentioned that the men from tho northern city will have to play the wearers of the Yellow and Black shirts next season for the coveted trophy. The Auckland team return home by to-day's Main Trunk express. THE CURTAIN-RAISER. By way of a curtain-raiser the boys' representative team chosen to- playOtago played an interesting gam©: with

a" boys' representative B team, each side scoring one goal.. Fitzgerald,, of the former, scored for his side, while Swonson scored for the B team. '■ . BOY SCOUT MATCHES. The Petono Boy. Scouts defeated the Roseneath Scouts by 2 goals to 1. '.'■" . The Institute Scouts beat' the. St. Peter's team .by, 9 "goals to nil: •, Anderson scored' three goals' for the winners, Donaldson two goals, and Bachelor, Kelly, M'Cabe, and Cant ono goal each.' WEDNESDAY LEAGUE. ': The following will represent the Wed-' nosday Football Association's ; B team in the match against a team from H.M.S. Encounter on Wednesday after.-' noon next, at the Newtown Park:— Patrick,; J. Taylor, W.' Kuch, Austin, Bradbury, Gibson, Mawby, Q'revithick, F. Gregory, A. Mouat, and AY; Mouat. Reserves: Gillespie, Hunter, Hey, and Ryan. ... OTAGO SCHOOLS "REPS." The Otago Schools' , representative team, which : will play the Wellington boys'-representative team shortly, beat Southland by 7:goals to.nil. -.-■'■'.,,