To-Morrow’s Soccer

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 636, 12 April 1929, Page 6

To-Morrow’s Soccer

FINAL TRIAL GAMES

Thistle Meets Celtic

WITH the competitions proper starting to-morrow week, the final try-outs in the friendly matches arranged for to-morrow will attract more than usual interest. The players are now in training in real earnest, and keen rivalry for selection in the first eleven among many promising juniors is urging the “possibles” and “probables” in the various clubs to prove their fitness to catch the selector’s eyes.

A LL the senior A and B clubs will be engaged in their “winding-up” gallops” to-morrow, though some will have an opportunity of a final pipeopener at the seven-a-side night tourney under artificial light at Blandfo.rd Park on Wednesday evening next, when this novelty will be introduced for the first time in Auckland. AT BLANDFORD PARK The principal friendly matches tomorrow will be at Blandford Park, and much interest will be centred on the debut of two newcomers to the Auckland Pootball Association’s competitions, the Celtic and Bon Accord Clubs. Bon Accord will appear in the curtainraiser in a trial match with Manurewa, and as these clubs are considered about the strongest contenders for full senior ranking in the newly-formed senior B

division, their standard of play and comparative merits will be watched with critical eyes. The main attraction at headquarters will be the first appearance of Celtic on tbe Blandford Park arena in a trial of strength with the rival Scottish combination. Thistle. Thistle has retained the stars of its last season’s front line, and its attack will be as dashing and dangerous as ever, but the defence does not appear as solid on paper as it was of old. when it was composed of mostly Auckland representatives. Kay and Cumming showed last Saturday that their outside wing play is as brilliant"as ever, and with clever inside men like Hislop and Hamilton in support the thrust will be as hard to counter as ever. Celtic has gathered together a very strong combination of proved players from the principal senior clubs, all of whom will be keen to justify the clubs admission to full senior status. Wliuwell and Wright should make a solid and dashing pair of fullbacks, Wright’s display in this position last Saturday indicating that he is better placed there than in his old position at centre-half, where he was inclined to wander at times. In the front line Grant and Chalmers, of last year’s Y.M., are a dangerous pair which should worry the Thistle defenders, and with players like Mooney. Scandle. Rimmer and Cotton to complete the team it should give the “Spiders” a thorough try-out in the friendly bout. To defray ground charges a small admission fee is payable, but ladies and schoolboys may enter free. OUTSIDE GAMES Other friendly matches of interest will be the meeting of Trams and Philomel on the Bock Ground, while all grades of the Shore and Y.M.C.A. clubs will meet in friendly rivalry on the Devonport Domain. At Victoria Park, Ponsonby and Belmont are set

down for a final practice trial, and Metropolitan meet Rangers on the same ground. The other clubs have arranged for home practice games at Onehunga, Northcote and St. Heliers, while Thistle’s second eleven and Newmarket will meet on the Bomain.

TO-MORROW’S PRACTICES

The teams for Association football practice matches to be held to-morrow are as follow: Senior Grade Celtic—Hall, Whowell, Rimmer, Curran. Mooney, Kay. W. Grant. Wright, Jenkins, Tocher, Scandle, Sharpies, J. Grant, Davison. Metropolitan—Flashman, Massam, Robinson, Tetro, J. College, Waldron, Blackie, Holmes, Nicholson, Fryett, Pollard, T. College, McLaren. Y.M.C.A.—Hilliard, Clanachan. Otter, Wallace, Malcolm, Shenkin, Gale, Woods, Humphreys, McAuslan, Whaley. North Shore—Wise, Colebourne, Gerrard, Tipton, Itenshaw, Bush. Dow, Webb, Haycock, Woolley, Bradshaw, Blackie. Second Grade i Y.M.C.A. —Harper, McComish, Young, Thompson, Rushem, Cross, AVhite, Kemp, Thornes, Whelan, Cole. North Shore—Lipscombe, Hart, H. Smith, Craig, Ross, Pine, Huttor, H. Wynne, J. Bartley, W'hiteley, T. Smith. Third Grade North Shore—Sowden, Morris, Chubb, McCluskey, Hill, Goldsworthy, Trevithick, Healey, Horsley, Kerr, Reed, Saxon. Y.M.C.A.—Mitchell, McKinven, Buckley, Sutherland, Thornes. McKinven, Otter, Pedley, Cole, Wright, Pollard. Third Grade Intermediate Burnley— Boughtwood, Bruce, Milton, Armstrong, Bowater, Butte, Youngs, Spry, Coulthurst, Jones, Blair, Ward. Fourth Grade Burnley—Reid, Boughtwood. King, McCord, McDougall, Mullane, Kelly, Roiall, Campbell, Donaldson. Clarke, Oliver, Mills, William, Sorenson. North Shore—deal, V. Smith, Ormiston, Mills, Cowie, Lillicra*p, G. King, Bartley, McCluskey, Shand, A. N. Other.