Chatham Cup Tie

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 431, 13 August 1928, Page 6

Chatham Cup Tie

Y.M.C.A. DEFEATS PUKEMIRq

Surprise in Senior Championship

YM.C.A. pleased the local Soccer enthusiasts on Saturday • by eliminating Pukemiro Junction after a hard and lively game, the miners being knocked out by three goals to one after a stubborn resistance. The Young Men nonmeet Petone at Blandford Park nest Saturday to decide the North Island finalists. In the senior championship Shore gave the leaders, Ponsonby, a shock at Devonport by havingall the best of the match and winning by the odd <roal in five Xorthcote notched its first win over a short-handed Onehunga team, and Tramways beat Belmont, the score in both games being 3—l.

TN spite of a strong rival attraction at the Rugby League game, there was well over the average attendance at Blandford Park for the Chatham Cup knock-out contest, between Y.M.C.A. and Pukemiro Junction, to decide which club shall represent the Auckland Province in the North Island final on Saturday. A large contingent of mining enthusiasts motored from Pukemiro with the South Auckland charn-

defence, robbing the opposing repeatedly and sending his away with long passes. Mow at WT responsible for some robust tsrthZ and clever head work in interceJS attacking movements, but his kicks lacked precision in Hilliard from the third an eleventh hour emergency m and came through the critical with flying colours. His commS reach enabled him to save gerous shots, and he punched the Kaiclear with the coolness of a veteruN MINERS’ SOLID COMBINATION The Junction men were a splendu type of nuggety, sturdy players. did not show up to advjuJST'a, ‘ team under cup-tie conditionTand free long-swinging passes of the m! team frequently had the defenr. difficulties Ale ? Black al right caught the eye as a man, who can swing acrossTi*rfS centre while on the run. and m the centre was a clever leader lacked support from his inside had a Uvely wing to handle in Chalmers and Grant, and with a lot of effective spoiling wor The fullbacks were not too cprt*under high pressure, and Hazel fa g 0 was handicapped by his lack of faS* IX Vmany liigh driv#* which came his way. but he made mi brilliant clearances and could nSX blamed for the goals which eluded hi®. PONSONBY'S CHAMPIONSHIP CHECK

CHATHAM CUP SOCCER

TWO Y.M.C.A. WARRIORS

rl? tF itr pions, and roused Blandford Park with some lusty cheering which brought counter-cheers for Y.M. from the local fans. JUNCTION SCORES FIRST Both teams were at full available strength, and both overhead and underfoot conditions were ideal for lively football, the ground surface rolling out perfectly. The gaudy harlequin colours of the Y.M.C.A. and black shorts were a marked contrast to the sombre black jerseys and snow-white knickers of the Junction players, and the game formed a delightful picture as the play swung from end to end with swift sorties and clever combined play. The game opened quietly with exchanges of kicks between the backs, and each side was hesitant in trying to get the other’s measure. It was some minutes before the miners made the first attacking movement, when Latimer broke through the centre and passed out for Hunter on his left to send behind. The Young Men were slow to get going, and Junction carried on the attack by forcing a corner which Hilliard cleared cleverly. Then Alec Black dashed down on the right wing to centre neatly when tackled by Otter, and Latimer gathered the pass to slip through the defence and net promptly. THE YOUNG MEN WAKE UP

The senior championship games n r( w ceeded as usual, and Ponies receive a setback in their triumphant the top of the ladder when Shore <J*w prived them of two points at Dwon. P ° r , t * , was a lively game throughout and the dash of the young Shore tew * ards, with a solid defence behind them, proved too good for the leaders who were defeated on their merits after & great struggle. Shore filled in witfc two young juniors in Bush and Dob Webb; the former showing good fore, at wing-half in the first spell aud centre-forward in the second htlf. Don Webb is a midget Mount Alber; boy, who put up a sensational performance on the previous Saturday by SCOI ? n =* 16 goals in a soccer match lasting one hour. The School colt showed no trepidatita it meeting the vigorous Miles, or tht burly McCosh, and he notched two out of the three goals scored by th & winners. The Shore forwards wertall at their best, Moore and Bradshaw being fast and accurate on tb® wings, and all over the Ponsonby defence for most of the second spefl. Gilmour played, his usual finished game at centre-half, and Dan Jones kept Innes quiet on Ponsonby’s right. Orrard at fullback was as safe as ever in the last line of defence. Ponsonby again changed its rightwing formation, but Innes was not so dynamic as usual at inside-right, and shaped more effectively in the second half on resuming the wing position. Wilson and Evan Williams, too. were not as effective a left-wing as in towi games. The Ponsonby half line found it hard to hold the Shore colts, asc McCosh was worried by the pace at the game, but he is a very finished player and his goal with a hard mpshot showed fine judgment. Balloci shaped promisingly at wing-half, bu: the fullbacks were also bothered by Shore’s volatile van, and but for son* marvellous saves by Watts in goal ti* first defeat of the Ponies by Shore for many a long day would have beet much heavier.

This early reverse roused the Y.M. to action and play became very lively. Twice Humphreys was within an ace of equalising, but the miners smothered up effectively and tested Hilliard at the opposite end. Chalmers was closely haunted by Alf Black, but this gave Grant more freedom and he worked through cleverly to drive a hard shot to the bar. McAuslan followed in smartly to trap the rebound and slam the ball to the net. Junction made a strong appeal for off-side, but McAuslan had come through from behind the ball and the protest failed. A ding-dong battle followed. Otter being prominent with some long freebooting, and Dick gathered a clearance to send Grant away again. The Scot in-passed to Humphreys, who seemed well guarded, but the Y.M. skipper made a clever reverse movement, and swung completely round to pop in a left-foot snapshot which surprised Hazel completely. It was smart strategy and perfectly executed. Halftime arrived with Junction battling hard to equalise and Y.M. still one up. TYPICAL CUP-TIE TACTICS

TRAMS STILL RUNNING STRONG Belmont was optimistic about to ability to avenge the Falcon Cup defeat by Trams, but was disappointed in ha\ing to take the field without Hamilton, the crack forward, aw changing Lithgow from centre-half to centre-forward greatly weakened the defence without improving the attacfc In spite of this the Belmont colts puup a game battle, and thanks * Chesney in goal the Trammies nsc to go all out to win. At half-tno-the Trams led by the solitary s°®* scored, and Belmont raised its sopporters* hopes by equalising early 12 the second spell, but the Corporation men got the upper hand again, Spencer slipped a clever pass - Chesney to have no hope of savutf from Davis. Then Christie drove Ln terrific long-range shot, which dummied adroitly, leaving cbe J®N baulked by the movement. Trams CO**’ tinuing the sequence of wins by * victory. NORTHCOTE AT LAST The men from the strawberry have been very unfortunate in to« attempts to keep the team up to 1 old standard this season, and OP Saturday fortune had not smiled them with a championship win. hunga was the unlucky club on‘ , day in journeying across the two men short, and finding themeei^

Refreshed by the breather both teams went at it hammer-and-tongs on resuming, and play was of a typical knock-out cup-tie match. No time was wasted in weaving carpet patterns on the green sward, and it was thrust and counter-thrust with some thrilling times as both goals were threatened in turn, the crossbar being prominent as the narrow target for the over-eager marksmen, and both goalies defended gallantly. The Junction goal had a marvellous escape when Whaley cleverly tapped the ball from Hazel’s waiting hands and gave Humphreys a sitter with an open goal. The centre was so surprised that he sent past the post. Then McAuslan slipped out to the line and dribbled down smartly with a pass for Whaley to carry on and centre neatly. Humphreys made no mistake this time and put his side on velvet with two goals up. The miners began to show signs of falling off, and Chalmers came into the picture with some splendid runs and great centres, but no further goals came, and the miners went down after a great struggle by three goals to one. Y.M.’s FINE FRONT LINE The outstanding feature of the game was the clever and dashing play of the Y.M. forwards. Humphreys led his side in splendid style and when they warmed up both wings responded loyally. Chalmers was too closely shadowed by his old team mates to do much in the first half, but got in some beautiful dashes in the later stages when his “shadow” faded a bit. Grant grafted in great style and was in Vie thick of it throughout. He reminded one of Ces Dacre with his übiquitous manner of combining halfback and in-side-forward play. He dropped back and foraged for the ball successfully, and his long drives to goal were always a worry to Hazel. McAuslan’s goal was a smart piece of following-up and ball control, and young Whaley was a tricky wing man with some deft centres. EFFECTIVE DEFENCE Dick played a solid game at half and stuck doggedly to his wing, while Malcolm was very effective in nursing the opposite one. Riddolls worked hard in the centre, but faulted at times under pressure and did not shine in the attacking phases. Otter at fullback was the mainstay of the Y.M.