Soccer Surprises

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 703, 1 July 1929, Page 6

Soccer Surprises

TRAMS CLOSE CALL

Wins to Thistle and Belmont

A SLOPPY surface, high wind and greasy ball made eondi tions hard for Soccer players on Saturday and surprises were not unexpected. Trams had a narrow escape from defeat at Onehunga, being lucky to draw from a penalty near the end, and Belmont upset Shore by a four-to-one decision at Devonport. Thistle won comfortably from Celtic by 6—l at Blandford Park, where Ponies and \ .M. played a lively draw in the preliminary game, 2 —2.

Weather conditions affected the attendance ai; headquarters, but there was an enthusiastic band of Scots present for the Thistle-Celtie clash, and what they lacked in numbers the baxrackers made up for in volume. Some officers and men from the German cruiser Emden were interested spectators, and followed the games with a keen appreciation of the finer points. Despite the heavy going there were many clever touches and combined movements, and both games were played at a cup-tie pace, with plenty of goals and thrills. AN EVEN GAME

The game between Y.M. and Ponies started off at a good pace, which was well maintained, Ponsonby having a slight advantage in the opening spell, when a long centre by Innes dropped under the bar for Ward to add the finishing touch, but the Ponies wasted a winning chance when Otter was penalised for handling and Innes sent the spot kick past the post. There were continual a:nd lively raids from both sides, but the slippery ball and the quagmire in the goal-mouths made accurate shooting difficult, both sides missing clear openings and Ponies were happy to be leading by one to nil at half time.

When play resumed Young Men came within an ace of equalising when Lyon landed in the mud in saving and was hurt in the melee which followed before Ponies cleared. Then from a corner McAuslan centred per-

fectly for Clanachan to connect neatly and make the score even. Both teams went at it with a will when Y.M. got the lead from Humphreys’s bullocking his way past the defence, and it was a ding-dong go till the finish, 13 a v' i e Stewart breaking away for a great solo run which found the defence faltering

and a draw of two goals each resulted. Morris, Williams and Morrison were the best of the Ponies backs, and Stewart led the attack well, but Innes did not show his usual partiality for the soft going. Mowat was again a tower of strength with his pace and strong tackling in the Y.M. back division, and Riddolls, who had received a scalp wound on his way to the ground, played pluekily at left half against Ponies’ formidable right flank and kept it quiet. The rearrangement of the Y.M. front line worked better, but the shooting was not impressive when close range chances were offering. THISTLE WINS EASILY Celtic failed to reproduce its improved form against Thistle, and went down by the convincing margin of five goals, a disparity which did not quite represent the run of the play; but the old-time champions missed no chances, while the Celts wasted some great openings through weakness in the firing line. There was keen rivalry from the word go. with plenty of mud and remarks flying about. If all cautions are to be dealt with by the Judicial Committee it should be due for a late sitting of the “court” tomorrow night, but Mr. A. Parkinson kept the game free from any untoward happening and was quick to reprimand breaches. Celtic held its own fairly well in the first half, the only score coming early on from Kay, who made the best of a good opening by Hamilton, but the Celtic cross-bar and uprights carried the imprint, of the wet ball from close shooting by Kay, Cummings and Chalmers, the latter again showing a liking for the wet going.

GOALS GALORE In the second spell Thistle registered much more accurately on the target, Cumming coming to light as a crack shot with two strong drives to the net, while Kay achieved his now common hat trick and Hamilton made it an even half-dozen just on time, the Celts only reply coming from a powerful free kick by Wrignt. Ivay’s repetition of the trio trick on Saturday brings his crop of goals for the season to a total of 31, and again emphasises the suicidal, policy of the opposing side’s neglecting to “haunt him.” The strong thrust of the Thistle front line was in marked contrast to the feebleness of the Celtic forwards, none of whom was ever in the picture and the Thistle backs had an easy time. Wright and J. Grant put up a sturdy defence against their powerful opponents, but J. Grant marred his good work by “mixing it” and looking for trouble quite unnecessarily. THISTLE’S FINE FORWARDS The Thistle firing line was again at

Ls best. Hamilton proving a good i'vot on hi* return to the centre berth, while both wings snowed splendid cohesion. Chalmers was again the outstanding inside man, and his failure to catch the selector’s eye came somewhat as a surprise, as he was indefatigable in scouting for the ball, accurate in

Chalmers his passing, and unlucky not to net at times. MeCosh held his side well together, but Carter is still a bit below himself in condition. In the knock-out contests for the Chatham and Falcon Cups Thistle should give a much better account of itself than it has in the championship, but the defence is still a doubtful quantity under high pressure. TRAMS GET A SCARE

With a waterlogged ground and icy showers driving across the wind-swept ground, conditions were not too pleasant at Onehunga for the match between the home side and the unbeaten Trammies, but both teams forgot the discomfort in the 90 minutes’ stirring

! Soccer in which Trams nearly lost the unbeaten certificate so far held this season. Onehunga won the toss and had the advantage of playing with the westerly zephyrs at the back for the first spell, but Trams battled through to open the scoring when Evan Williams put the finishing touch on a nice concerted movement. Then McElligott dallied in kicking clear and the ball was judged through the goal and the score even. The homesters got in front when Moon netted a good corner from Whimster, and play became exciting when Bell evened matters again from an opening by Spong: but Onehunga led at half-time from a long drive by Gill. A CLOSE FINISH Play was hard and willing in the second spell, Onehunga battling hard against wind and rain to maintain its precarious advantage. Bell had to retire for first-aid treatment to an injured knee, and Mellor returned to fullback for the home side to strengthen the defence. Onehunga held its lead until the last few minutes, when luck came the Trammies’ way and they were awarded a penalty kick for “hands” against Peterson, which appeared to be unintentional. Spencer made no mistake with the spot kick, and a tough tussle ended with honours easy at three all . The home side again proved what a tough team it is to down on the local ground, the defence being solid and stubborn, and the attack making the best of goal openings. Weather conditions were against the transporters giving their usual finished display, but they would have been very unlucky to have lost their great record under such circumstances. SHORE CRASHES BADLY Shore fell farther back on the ladder on Saturday when Belmont sprang a surprise on its. local rival by defeating the neighbouring club in emphatic stylo by four goals to one, and Shore’s prospects of retaining its superiority appear very gloomy. The younger club well deserved its clearcut win, as it held the upper hand except for a fem minutes on the restart in the second hu-i. Belmont tried a rearrangement of the forward line, with Cleal in the centre and the two Stewarts on the right tank, which increased its offensive strength. Belmont led by a goal to nil at half-time, after missing a penalty shot, but when Mutter ran through the Belmont defence for Bush to net on resuming, there were prospects of a close finish. The Shore attacks then fizzled out, and faulting by Colebourne saw Belmont two in the* lead, Wis. i. ntwice baulked in clearing n - and combined play between Jim and Jack Stewart saw the la iter pi issue well beyond doubt before time sounded. Without Jay, the Shore forward line was weak and lifeless, being easily held by the Belmont backs. In the senior B division Newmarket gave the Navy a shock by defeating Philomel on the Bock ground by a goal to nil. Tamaki upset Northcote’s calculations by two goals to nil, and Manurewa beat Metro. 3-0, the match with Bon Accord and Rangers ending in a draw of two goals each.