ASSOCIATION.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1783, 23 June 1913, Page 6

ASSOCIATION.

THE BROWN SHIELD. OTAGO & WELLINGTON DRAW. AN EXCITING STRUGGLE, A crowd of about 2800 people the. match for the Brown Shield between Otago (challengers) and Wellington (hold, or?) on the Basin Reserve on Saturday afternoon. It was one of the most exciting games playod in Wellington for many years past, the. result being a draw-two goals each. On the day's play Otago should hrfvo won. During the second half they had all the best of the play, and looked like .scoring on half a dozen occasions, but excellent chances were lost bv over-eagerness. When Otago at last drew level 'with Wellington they were given an ovation, tin? like, of which "has seldom been heard at a "soccer" match in New Zealand before. Wellington retains the shield but Otago took away with them the honours of the day. Following were the teams:— Otago (black and white).—Goal, Bailliebacks, Young (left), Taylor (right); halves, Frazer (left), Jibid (centre), Stephens (right); forwards, Thompson (outside left), Campbell (inside left), Thorn (centre), Timlin (insido right), Forbes (outside right). Wellington (yellow and black).—Goal, Belliamie; backs, Cross (right), Parsons (left); halves, Rickerby (right), Roots (centre), Shaw (left); forwards! Roberts (outside right), Gibson (inside right), Hughes (centre), Skinner (inside left), Barnett (outside left).

A SLOW FIRST' SPELL. For the first few minutes Otago' pressed the home team, Timlin and Forbes, the visitors' two outside right men, doing some good work. Taylor, Otago's right back, was playing a. steady game, and Gibson and Roots did well in defending Wellington's goal. Thi local forwards worked play slowly, but surely, towards their opponents' goal, where Shaw took a free-kick, and landed the ball into the goal mouth. Baillie was responsible for a good save. Wellington continued to press and Parsons secured and passed beautifully to Hughes, who shot. Baillio made an attempt to save, and in doing so he fell. The ball rfilled past him into the net. Wellington had drawn first blood. AYellington, 1; Otago, 0.

Considering that Otago were playing against the wind they had, in spite of the score, tho best of the gamo so far. Reid, centre half, was very conspicuous. He was playing the best game on the field. At this stage of the game Wellington's passing was not as good as it might have been, and one or two chances were lost on this account. After somo give-and-tako play,.Roberts (Wellington) took tlie ball towards the Otago goal-line, where Taylor relieved the situation with a powerful kick. Wellington's second chance now came. From a good position Parsons put tho ball into goal. Barnett was in his place to rcceivc the pass, and catching thef ball nicely on his foot, he landed a beautiful goal, which gave Baillie no chance. Wellington, 2; Otago, 0. Subsequently tho local team gave Otago an anxious few moments, Hughes being prominent in front of goal. Taylor again saved the situation by conceding a "corner." From the resulting kick, Hughes gave a foul, and the pressure against Otago was temporarily relieved. Tho visitors worked play down tho right wing, and a good attempt by Raid was stopped by Parsons. Wellington quickly transferred the scone of operations to the opposite end, where Baillie brought off a capital save in tho face of strong opposition. Once again Otago came to tho attack. Their forwards managed to,get the ball well over the halfway line, and Forb?* had a good chance to score, but he was checked by R'cke.rby. Otago's outside right got away nicely on the wing, and he looked dangerous. Cross camo to Wellington's assistance, however, and Wellington then pressed hard. The local forwards were evidently having a day off. They were not combining, and thoir passing was erratic. They appeared to bo too slow, and did not keep up with tho play, and the result was' lost ihances. Again the Otago forwards got away together, and for the first time in the match Belhamie was compelled to savo, after 40 minutes' play. Parsons assisted him, and thi;*' ball was taken away down towards Otago's goal. After a little give-and-take play, Hughes got clear away for Wellington. He ran through the Otago team, but was stopped by Young, and the ball continued its career over the lino to tlie right of tho posts. Half-time came with tho scoreWellington 2 Otago 0 THE SECOND SPELL EXCITING. ■ At the outset. Otago pressed hard. Thompson, on tho visitor? left, centred nicely into goal, and Roots headed out. Gibson got the Wellington forwards going, and Barnett secured. The little outside left put in a beautiful shot from a difficult angle, the ball just clearing the top of tlie cross-bat'. Wellington remained in Otago territory for a few mimites, until a free-kick for a foul throw relieved the I pressure.' It was shortly after this that a mull by R.ickerby let Timlin (Otago) away. The latter took tho ball right down the field, but was successfully stopped by Parsons. Timlin again secured, and sent a nico'pass to Thorn, who shot hard. Belhamie saved, and play was transferred to tho centre of the field. Amidst shouts from the crowd, Roberts commenced a .clear run through. He was going strong when lid was ably tackled by Campbell, and Baillie was enabled to clear tlie goalmouth. Otago were now going strong, and away they went at a gallop, their forwards combining well. Timlin was tho last of the forwards to gain possession, and he finished up a fine run by shooting hard. Tlie ball struck the net and rebounded into the field of play, Belhamio brought off an excellent save with tlireo Otago men on top of him. Otago continued to press, and Wellington, playing the open game, were successful in kei-ping the visitors out. It was an anxious time for.tho home team,-as it was evident that Otago were bent on scoring. Timlin shot 'hard on one occasion, and the ball landed in tho net. Ho was ruled off-side, howover, and the goal was not allowed. Shortly after this Thompson had a shot. Tho ball hit the post, and Belhamio was called upon to savo a serious situation. Again Otago had a chance, and Campbell placed tho ball over the bar, and gave a welcome spell to the home team. As scon as the game stalled again, Forbes took a shot, and this was quickly followed by one from Taylor at long range. Belhamio had a lot of work to do at this juncture, and did it well. Wellington at length broke through tlio determined attack, and for a'spare invaded Otago's territory. Here Taylor (Otago's right back) was responsible for saving what looked like a certain scoro from the boot of Skinner. Shortly after this Barnett secured on the left, and took the ball down the line in fine style. He beat several opponents bv tricky footwork, and. centred to Hughes". The . latter player put tho ball over the bar. Otago now commenced to play a fine attacking game, and their forwards indulged in some very pretty passing. As a result Wellington's defence was completely broken down, and Otago scored amidst excitement.. Frjm a corner kick by Thompson, tho ball was put through from a meleo in front of tho goal. Wellington, 2; Otago, 1. Before the crowd had realised what had actually happened, Otago were in again, and within a minute of tho kick-off tho ball was dancing about in the net. Forbes had secured from a rush. Ho sent a beautiful pass on to Thompson, who shot hard ; and true, and the crowd roared its approval. Otago, 2; Wellington, 2. Now tho gamo became really exciting. ' Both teams made desperate attempts to ; score the winning goal. Up and down the field the ball went at a rapid rate, and at times the pace was so fast that i it was difficult to follow the play. Taylor, ' the visitors' right tack, was playing a ! great game, and both he and Cross and i Parsons, Wellington's backs,-wero defend-' 1 ing well. Otago forwards were playing i well together) and got "all over' Wei- i lington on many occasions. Away tho ' visitors went again, and Thorn landed I the ball in the net, but off-side was given, I and the strenumis pressure against Weliington was relieved for a while. Otago ( fought hard to take the shield back with them, but over-eagerness spoilt their chances of scoring the winning goal, | which was well within their grasp on ono i or fuii occasions. Just before the call i of time Campbell took a_lojg sh,(jt, which ] •

| failed, <uid within two minutes of the finish Wellington were compelled to conccdo three corners in succession. The resulting kicks were not successful, and the game ended in a draw, the totals being: Otago 2 Wellington 2 Air. B. L. Salmon was referee, and Messrs. Cameron (Otago) and luce (Wellington) were linesmen. VISITORS ENTERTAINED. The Wellington Association gave a dinner at. the New Zealander Hotel in honour of the Otago visitors on Saturday evening. The gathering was presided over by Mr. J. B. Paton. The chairman proposed the toast of the visitors, and remarked that the game he had witnessed in the afternoon was one of the best he had yet seen in Wellington. The play of both beams was good, although the Otago forwards played a for superior game to that, of the Wellington men. Keid, especially, deserved great credit for the line game lie played. The speaker concluded by inviting Otago to come again, saying that only by such inlsrprovincial visits could the "soccer"- game . become more popular. Mr. Roberts also congratulated the team upon being the finest that had yet visited Wellington. Ho stated, jokingly, that he was inclined to have a grudge against Otago. He had had the pleasure of being a member of the Selection Committee, which had picked 14 teams. Of theso 13 sccured wins—the losing team being defeated by Otago. Air. Cameron, the manager of the southern men, in responding, said that the return visit lay in the hands of the players themselves. After such a fine exhibition as had been given that day, they should have no qualms about returning" to have another try for the shield. In referring to the match, ho expressed himself pleasantly surprised at the fine game some played, and disappointed with the play of others. This team was the first team that had left Otago with the originallypicked men, not one man having dropped out since tho.selection was made known. He agreed that the only way to popularise the game was by interprovincial visits. The health of the referee, Mr. B. L. Salmon, was proposed by Jlr. Keowon. The speaker stated thut there was no bickering, and far less whistle than usual throughout the game, and consequently a' far better game was played. Mr. Salmon, in reply, referred to a remark passed earlier in the evening re a visit from an Australian team. Ho stated that the cost would bo about .£7oo—an expense which at present could not lie borne by the Association. He was, however, at the present time, in communication with the Australian Council re receiving a team from New Zealand. The dinner was brought to a close with cheers from both teams.

SCHOOL MATCH. Karori and Technical School played a drawn game—each side scoring two goal's. Russell and Raine scored for Karori. IN OTHER CENTRES. (By Tel«graph—Pr««B Aasoci&tion.) Auckland, Juno 22. The Association results were: Evertou 3, Carlton nil; Brotherhood 5, Corinthians 3; North Shore 2, Thistle 1; Hotspur 1, Ponsenby 1; Adult School C, Otahuhu 1.