MATCHES DESCRIBED

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 133, 7 June 1937, Page 15

MATCHES DESCRIBED

FRIGHT FOR ATHLETIC

Playing conditions at Athletic Park ior the ,match' between Athletic and Johnsonville, and the style of game adopted and pursued by Johnsonville throughout fitted in to the picture presented by the old school song, On the Ball." It was a wintry afternoon, and the rain and the sleet—with some flakes of snow—which fell during the first spell made it essentially a" day ioi action. That.action was supplied, much of it by Johnsonville, who harried Athletic to such purpose that they did not have the points to give them a win until the last minute or two of tne game. Even then Athletic only won by' three points. It was a ding-dong struggle, with Johnsonville making a spirited and surprisingly-.- good challenge. The . rain which fell, early in the afternoon no doubt kept many away, the attendance not being large, but those who saw the game were treated to a vigorous tussle and an entertaining one, too, for Johnsonville seemed to have a happy knack of doing things a little differently. These departures from orthodoxy or convention added to Athletics troubles and served to make the contest the more interesting. The policy adopted by Johnsonville, and never departed from one iota, was to stick together and keep on the ball. They were after the ball like terriers all the time, and when the ball became greasy and the ground heavy, with thick patches of mud on the grandstand side, this plan of action stood them in still greater stead, and the early confusion in the Athletic ranks became more confounded. Mollier gave Athletic a big share of the ball in the set scrums and the early indications, before the heavy rain showers, were that the Athletic basks would probably give Johnsonville plenty to do. But when conditions became worse the change suited Johnsonville better, and Athletic, try as they might, could accomplish nothing. Having been successful in the role of defenders, Johnsonville grew more confident and launched out on attack themselves. It was a very keen first half, in which there was no scoring. The pace slowed up a little in the second spell, but the quest for points was as keen as ever. Mclntyre kicked a good penalty goal for Athletic ten minutes after the start of the spell, and some twenty minutes later M. Kenny goaled for Johnsonville. A hectic final fifteen minutes followed, and just when it appeared that a draw would be the result, Cooper's fast following up was rewarded with a rather lucky try, Cooper getting to the ball just before it rolled over the dead-ball line. It was a bad blow to Johnsonville right at the end of a game in which they had held their own. Mclntyre was unable to convert, the final score being Athletic 6, Johnsonville 3. The referee was Mr. B. Matthews.