FOOTBALL.

Shannon News, 14 June 1921, Page 4

FOOTBALL.

SATURDAY’S RESULTS. ' —» SENIORS. Kuku 10, Shannon 3. Wanderers 6, Foxton 0. Hui Mai 17, Tokomaru 0. JUNIORS. Weraroa 8, Otauru 3. Foxton and Shannon a draw. KUKU BEATS SHANNON. The meeting of the above teams on \the Kuku ground on Saturday created a good deal of interest on account of the small margin between them in their first match, and the fact that Shannon’s win was disputed by Kuku. There was' no room for disputes of any kind about Saturday’s fixture, and allhough Shannon was the first to score, and held their own fairly well in the first half, Kuku dominated the greater part of the game, and never left victory in doubt after the commencement of the second spell.

Kuku (blue) opened strongly, and the first quarter of an hour kept Shannon (red) busy. It was soon apparent that the Red pack had met their match in the heavy Blue forwards, who were playing very solidly. T. Moynihan relieved the pressure on the Reds, and a free kick added, to the advantage. The attack was shortlived, for Be van headed a forward rush which reached the opposing twenty-five. The weight of the Blue pack enabled them to get the ball in almost every scrum, and Page and Hakaraia opened up the game. Marshall and Kelly beat off a strong attack, and Parker and R. Moynihan were in the van in a forward rush that carried play inside the Blue twenty-five. From a scrum here Shannon secured, and an excelleht nassing movement followed. Kelly sent to Marshall, who passed to Wakefield and then to T. Moyniham, who got across at the corner. The [tick at goal failed, and Shannon led 3—o. The play was soon at the Shannon end, where the Blue forwards carried the game to their opponents’ line. From a long throw in from touch, the ball was sent to Hakaraia, who transferred to Royal, who ran in unopposed and scored near the posts. Martin Winiata had no trouble in goaling. Kuku 5, Shannon 3. This ended the spell. The second session was practically one continuous attack by Kuku, and only on three or four occasions did the ball reach the Kuku side of half way. The Blue forwards were very aggressive, and led by Koro, Tafio and Bevan, gave the Reds some hard defensive work. Hiwi got within an ace of scoring, and Shannon were forced several times. R. Moynihan, Sands and Parker endeavoured to lift the pressure and* temporarily moved play to the twenty-five. Here the Blue backs came into action, Pake, Hakaraia and N. Winiata doing fine work. The Kuku forwards were frequently penalised, though the Shannon backs did not make the best use of these advantages, their line kicking suffering in comparison with that of the opposition. The Red pack made a good clearance, and broke up field, but the Blue pack brought it back again, N and a likely passing rush was spoiled by a knockon. The Reds were on the defensive again, and - fumbling among their backs nearly let Kuku over. A long kick by Marshall and smart following up by R. Moynihan, Eagle and Sand's shifted the scene of action to just outside the Blue twenty-five, where a Kuku; player-was for holding, and Shannon narrowly missed landing a goal. Another hot rally occurred on the Red line, and Koro at lenglb got across near the uprights. Page took the kick and goaled amidst great excitement among spectators. Kuku 10, Shannon 3. The game ended shortly after. Mr E. Bevan capably refereed. WANDERERS WIN FROM FOXTON. The return match was played in Levin on Saturday, and resulted in d win lor the home side by 6 to nil. The game was mostly a forward one), but the operation of the new rules caused a lot of unintentional infringement and the holding up of the play. The Foxton backs played with a lot more combination than the Wanderers, Moses, Taylor and Burgess being par- ] ticularly prominent, whilst Stratford I as wing forward was a tower of j strength. Of the Wanderers’ for-; wards, Campion and Rangi Broughton j were noticeable throughout the game, I and Armstrong showed better form, j In the first half Tleta scored from a j .scramble near the Foxton line, but no goal resulted. The Wanderers’ second snore came from a penalty kick by. McDonald. The local hacks did not get a great deal of the-ball, and even then failed to make much use of it. Mr W. Thomson refereed.