SOCCER SIDELIGHTS

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 115, 5 August 1927, Page 10

SOCCER SIDELIGHTS

PASSING NOTES

(By

Perseus)

Now that the excitement of the Canadians’ great victories has died down, the next item to command the interest of Soccer enthusiasts is the English Trophy competition between the four major provinces, and the first of the series will be played on Saturday next, when Wellington journey here to meet the local representatives. Last year Auckland became the first possessors of this handsome mass of the silversmiths’ art, by defeating all Southern opposition in a hollow fashion. Wellington were defeated in the windy city by four goals to nil, while at Blandford Park Otago were outed by four goals to one, and Canterbury by nine goals to two. What About Wellington? But what we saw of Auckland last Saturday did not impress us with the same confidence as we had in last . season’s eleven. Not that the local reps, were four goals worse than Canada. On the contrary, the first 15 minutes was worth a couple of goals in nine games out

of ten, and with Kay and Dacre in the firing line N they woLild have produced the goods. The return of Kay and Hislop should prove a big factor . in increasing Auckland’s scoring capacity, although Miles’s misfortune gave him no opportunity of doing himself justice.

Last Saturday’s half-line were good in their attacking movements, but weak in defence, and this was largely due to errors in positional play. The wing halves crowed too much into the centre, and the Canadian wing men

were given too much liberty in their line runs. The Canadians remarked that Dan Jones had impressed them as one of the finest halves they had met, and he may reappear in Auckland’s line again. The Dunedin may have brought us some new recruits who could strength-

en this division. but one of the noticeable features of this season’s play has been the scarcity of good halfbacks. ❖ # * Wellington Will Be Hard According to the Canadians the game with Wellington was one of the hardest they struck, and Auckland will have its work cut out to defeat them tomorrow week. Next month the local reps, are booked to travel South and will meet Canterbury and Otago on their home grounds. Canterbury has the right to draw on Westland and

Buller for this competition. Soccer is now very strong on the West Coast, and. if Canterbury used its privilege to the fullest extent the team would be a hard one to defeat. * * * THE SECOND DIVISION The Second Division championship has been closed down at a very early date after the contending teams meeting each other but once, and the knock-out contests for the Dacre Memorial Cup will start to-morrow. It has not been made clear what is to happen to the victims who fail to survive the eliminating round to-morrow, and with no championship games continuing it will be difficult to arrange matches for the junior players. This appears to be a blunder, as some of the senior clubs

have made a feature of building up their junior teams for future seniors, and if these players are to stand on the bank and admire the old hands for the rest of the .season it is more than likely they will drift to other codes, or turn the game up in disgust. International and inter-provincial games are of great value, but the club spirit is the one element which must be encouraged if future representatives are to be produced here, instead of relying wholly on overseas players. SECOND CHAMPIONS Onehunga Champions The Onehunga second division team is to be warmly congratulated on having won the championship in an emphatic manner by going through the series without a single loss. The West Coasters scored 24 points in the games played, and as the seniors passed up to first grade rank at the start of the season, taking with them several good colts, the performance of the colts from the Manukau side is all the more meritorious. It shows what local enthusiasm and encouragement will do in the way of team-building. Manurewa and Birkenhead must also be complimented .on being bracketed as runners-up with 20 points each. The final points in the junior championship, which closed so prematurely, are:—Onehunga. 24; Manure wa. 20; Birkenhead, 20: Glen Eden, 16; Tamaki. 15; Metropolitan, 14; Takanini, 11; North Shore, 10; Kiwi, 10: Xorthcote, 9; Thistle, 9; Ponsonby, 9; Newmarket, 3.

ANOTHER “RECORD”! Here’s another freak “record.” Miss Helen Jordan, of San Francisco, recently set up a new record by memorising a 51-words news clipping in three minutes under water.