EXCITING SOCCER CONTESTS

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 51, 23 May 1927, Page 11

EXCITING SOCCER CONTESTS

THISTLE TOPS THE TABLE SHORE’S FIRST DEFEAT rE growing popularity of Soccer was evidenced at Blandford Park on Saturday when a record crowd for club matches assembled to witness the unbeaten Shore and Thistle Clubs meet in the championship contest. The game was fast and exciting throughout and the Scots scored a well-deserved win by two goals to one. In the preliminary match Navy defeated Onehunga after an even game. Northcote provided the surprise of the day by defeating Ponsonby at Devonport, while on the Domain Y.M.C.A. were unlucky to lose to Tramways by the odd goal in five. A noticeable feature this season is that after five rounds play not a single drawn match has resulted.

POSITION OF THE CLUBS With five games played and no matches drawn, the position of the clubs is as under: POSITION OF THE CLUBS SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP TABLE O CX) O K « rt 5 © O ° O Thistle 5 0 17 6 10 Shore 4 1 34 5 8 Ponsonby .... 3 2 14 9 6 Navy 2 3 17 15 4 Tramways .... 2 3 11 10 4 Y.M.C.A ..... 2 3 9 16 4 Onehunga .... 1 4 10 18 2 Northcote .... 1 4 11 23 2 Royal Navy v. Onehunga Onehunga made their debut as a senior club at headquarters and gave :t good display against the promoted Navy team, holding their own in an even contest until five minutes from The final whistle when blunders by VVhowell at full-back gave Navy a two goal lead and victory by four goals to two. Onehunga took the lead at the outset through fast following-up by Mellor, but a speedy run by Miles and a well-placed free from Meynell gave Navy the odd goal lead at half-time. In the second half another good run by Mellor ended in Cox equalising and the rest of the game was a dour struggle for the winning point. A draw looked probable when Navy made a big rally and a long shot glanced o<X Whowell’s foot, which McPhee fielded cleverly, but Horton ran in and rushed the ball through. Right on the call of time Miles made no mistake with a penalty to give his side a clear win. Onehunga impressed favourably on their first appearance, McPhee giving a fine display in goal and Mays defended well at back. The half line was a weak spot and Brittain in the centre, felt the pressure of the Naval thrust. Mellor showed plenty of dash on the left wing, while Bentley on the right extreme got in some good centres. Cox at centre-forward, was nippy, and fed his wings with good judgment. For the Winners Horton continues to show Improved form, and was on the spot for the finishing touch to two goals. Miles was again the outstanding figure in the Navy van with his electric dashes and stinging centres. Meynell gave a finished display at centre-halt, and Lawrence was staunch in the back line. Thistle v. North Shore With the curtain-raiser over a big crowd had lined the Stadium for the eagerly-anticipated meeting of Thistle and Shore, who were both unbeaten clubs and turned out at full strength after solid training. The pace was a cracker and the game full of incident from start to finish, the ball travelling with lightning speed from goal to goal as attack was met with counter-attack. Thistle held the advantage in the first spell and had earned their two-goal lead when they turned round. The Scots had wasted no time in patternweaving or jazzing with the ball, but had played their younger opponents at their own go-ahead game and got the better of it. The Shore forwards were at fault in laying too far back and giving Ferguson and Reid a big tally of free kicks, while the wing halves blundered In wandering infield and giving Kay and Cumming far too much freedom. On the change over the Shore altered their tactics, and for the first half of the second spell ran all over the Thistle defence but none of the forwards was able to provide the final touch, and the Thistle citadel enjoyed a charmed life until Baxter banged in a beauty from well out. Thistle replied with occasional raids until in a scramble in front of the stand Woolley slipped to the ground and became entangled in Christie’s feet. The Thistle player appeared to attempt to “put in the boot” in freeing himself, and the referee, who had just previously issued a caution for dangerous play, ordered Christie off the field amidst an uproar of cheers and groans. Jones, the Shore captain, urged reconsideration, but the referee declined to change his decision and the Scots were a man short till the finish. The occurrence seemed to sober up the players, and the game was a bit quieter towards the end. Thistle played for safety and kicked out freely, while the Shore forwards missed a couple of “sitters" and three corners went begging. A great struggle ended in a well-deserved win for the black-and-white brigade who were loudly cheered when time was called. For the winners Zoull defended brilliantly in goal, getting the ball cleanly and clearing smartly. Ferguson and Reid

were very safe in the first spell when they were not bustled much, but showed signs of cracking under the Shore “shock" tactics in the second half. Carter stood out in the half line with his clever play, while Dickson was difficult to get past. Kay and Cumming on the wings were the mainsprings of the Thistle attack, the perfectly placed centres of Cumming being always dangerous. Hislop took a big risk early in the game by deliberately kicking the ball away after the referee had spotted it for a free kick to Shore. The Thistle youth was inviting a free ticket to the bank, and most referees would have awarded him one for such conduct, which was either an insult to the official or a deliberate waste of time to enable the defence to drop back.

For the losers Lipscombe, in goal, defended splendidly, clearing a penalty with swift decision and anticipating several dangerous approaches with effective clearances. Gerrard and Colebourne were very solid in the Shore defence, and although the opposing forwards were on top of them throughout they rarely faulted in driving them back. Baxter at centre-half played a great game and got through an immense amount of work in both defence and attack, while his goal was one out of the box. The Shore forward line was seen at its best in the second spell, but missed some glorious chances through faltering in front of goal for the finishing tap. They are a speedy lot of youngsters who take a power of stopping when they get busy hustling the defence. Cleal was conspicuous for some beautiful dropping centres from the line to the goal area, but his corner kicks were perhaps less accurate than usual. A touch of stage fright was perhaps natural in the front line at the start, and the experience should give the colts more confidence in future struggles. Northcote v. Ponsonby These teams journeyed to Devonport where the ground was in perfect order for first-class soccer, but the game was far from a finished exhibition of the code, Northcote scrambling home the winners by two goals to one after Ponsonby had held most of the territorial advantage in play. The Northcote defence was greatly strengthened by Hie welcome reappeaarnce of Woodall in the half-back line, and he was a distinct stumbling block in the path of Innes and Mooney on the Ponies’ left flank, while Lithgow, at centre-half, was very effective in assisting to break up the blue-and-black line. Ponsonby were in the running for the championship with only one loss, but no. one will grudge Northcote their win after the difficulties they have experienced in building up a team. Lyon, in the Blue goal, gave another sound display and made a great attempt to save the only shot which beat him, while Hibbert defended solidly at full-back. The Northcote forwards showed improved form, Hall keeping his line well together. On the Ponsonby side the defence was as sound as usual though the absence of Williams was felt, but the Ponies’ front rank failed to get going and seemed unable to settle down against the “irritation tactics" of the Northcote halves. The attempt to remedy this by frequent changes of positions did not improve the attack, and it was weakness in a scoring capacity which caused defeat. Tramways v. Y.M.C.A. The Young Men are without doubt the unlucky club in the senior series this season. On Saturday they lost the services of their best goal scorer, Hoban, early in the game, but struggled gamely against their powerful opponents to lead them by a goal to nil in the first spell. The second half was a ding-dong struggle with the issue always in doubt until just on the call of time, when Lewis notched the winning goal and the Trams ran out winners by three goals to two. Batty had a busy time of it in the Corporation goal and cleared some hot attacks in free style, while Simpson defended solidly in front of him. McElligott was missed in the defence, and Tinkler is not happy at centre-half. The “Taffies” (Lewis and Dan Davies) on the Trammies’ left were more dangerous than the right-wing, but Spencer was too carefully watched to get many openings. Paton, in the Y.M. goal, put up a great defence with some clever saves, and Otter was a tower of strength at back. Dick was a good pivot for the team, but the most improved play was seen in the depleted forward line, where all four played a great game and harassed the Trams' defence from start to finish. It was a gallant struggle from which the Y.M. deserved at least a point—but no draws are being awarded so far this season.