FOOTBALL.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XV, Issue 4737, 4 June 1894, Page 2

FOOTBALL.

[By Damocles] . l/lasterton uersus Red Stars, Stars Victorious, *■ Footballers in Mnstcrton were singularly fortunate in the weather on Saturday last toning out as it did, aa a better dajHroai a player's point of view, cauid not liayo been looked for, The wet leather during the week made matters - look-excess sively gloomy for a decent ground, but Saturday broke dhe, and tlie lioiu'ts of allthoonthusiaatsiigbtened.;,.. accordingly, Probity more local interest was taken m tlio mooting of the Masterton and Red Star teams than in any previous game played in ouv midst, and tlio great crowd of people who attended the . Park on ' Saturday, show to what an extent football is gaining in popularity. ■ Tim Star Club, with a keen eye to business, and'tlio object of augmenting their fiinds, 'obtained: permission' to charge at the gates, and a'good sum must hayo been' nettedjer^ roughly estimating,' therAMjfflH on six or seven hundred The befttfwfftmiraei' was displayed 3upietl a conspicuous position. fence around tlio Oval was tvith spectators, and ii strong Committee had been appointed to keep the mora excitable ones in tlioir places,-During the first portion of tlio match the spectators were -comparatively orderly, but towards tlio !att.er end, tlio excitement became intense, arid tlio cheering from" tlio :rowd could be heard miles away. The end of the second spell was particularly noisy, and after tlio referee blew his whistle,' cheer aftor cheer rent the air for the plucky Stars,and most of the mon were carried shoulder high oft the ground. The ladies were present in largo numbers, and tlio colors of their favorite toam were, in almost every ■ instance, shown. A great many ivore very pretty stars, covered with red plush, and these were conspicujus on dark dresses. The rod, black, uul amber of the Masterton team ivas also largely represented among' ilie ilthongh bcatenfMobynomcans lisgraced. The spectators behaved splendidly,. md by all keeping outside the Oval 'ence, none of the play was missed )y anyone present, and the game ,vas not interfered with in the slightst. Good play on both sides was icknowledged by thecrowd on eveiy iccasion, and ono of tlio grandest uatches ever played in Masterton vas won and lost without that dis)lay Of ill-feeling and roughness vliicli most of us expected would to tlio outcoun; of this fixture. To say the match Was interesting mild be putting it very mildly, for roin the moment thoball waskiokod iff, to when the hearty cheers ended lie conflict, excitement reigned, and f space only permitted somoexremely funny incidents could bo reorded. Both teams had;heaps of rieiuls, who made things very ncrry by goodhumouredbarraoking, nd although tlio cry of "Stars, ras sometimes deafening, tlio Mas; erton supporters confidently antici■atod it would bo their turn toaitffuT 11 the end,. £ *■ Tlio victory o(the StAi cjin only 0 put down to tWgnuffclcfenco of lieir backs,and although it is l'atliei'nvidious to montiou names whon very man deserved the utmost rcdit, I must say to Stafford and )o Joux .in particular tlio result of ho game was due. Masterton players hemselvcs' acknowledge to have lecn fairly beaten on their merits, Jthough all must admit thero is ittle choice betweon the teams, md- their next match will cr'eato [uite as much interest and excitencnt, •" Mr H, 0, Tully (captain of the, Irey town Club) acted as refereo,and 1 more fair and impartial judge :ould not have been selected, his Iccisions on every occasion being ustantly obeyed without the least lispute. At the finish of the game 10 was heartily cheered by the. irowd. Messrs Yates and Wliito, jfheiated as line umpires, D'Arcy. ind Wilsono captaining the teams. Both Clubs rolled up punctually •o time, and although Masterton tvere without the assistance of Ajitall ind Brenchley, their placer wcro luite as ably filled by Holulwbod• ,, md Cameron, The Stars were there to a man, and asjho teams took thoir places on the fIOM, each and everyone had a look of determination nbout him that meant business. D'Arcy kicked off for Mastorton, and following up quickly ■ the Yellows had the Stars penned in, but somo fine passing between Remeni, Do Joux, and Stafford soon had them out of difficulties, lie play hovered around, sometimes in the Masterton twenty-fives and then in the Stars, for a considerable time, each team showing some splendid play on tlio looso. Tlio Stars had two shots for goal, once from a mark by Emmett, and again from a free kick, but failed,in both instances to negotiate. ' D'Arcy, Mowleni, Watson and Cockroft wero playing splendidly . together; and several times came through, passing from ono to the other in fino style, The grand tackling of all the Setbacks was, hovoyer, something t<) wij-ness, and tliey brought their meif in epm. D'Arcy and Agnew s long kjeking was q'f good servioo to Masterton, and tlio former had a placcfcr goal from' a free kick, but failectin the attempt, - Tho Stars .wero passing in their usual pretty style, and to see tho ball, sent out by . Hpusen, • travelling from one back to 1 the other, was a real stin;ing sight.' Norton onco streaked towards the goal lino, and an almost certain score was saved by ( Mowleni. Soon after Stafford ob. taincd possession, and passing to Do Jpux, t]iO paiv niade off. ancl'pqssins their' opponents in splendid style, St#rd pafo|y ,do}iQ%l tl|B M over the line, amid deafening cheers from the onlookors, thus scoring first blood for the Stars,. Kmmott made n. good attempt at tho placo, but tho ball fell short. After the kick off D'Arcy got away, but Norton capsized him, and the Mastorton forwards taking the ball on to the Stars line, were awarded a free kick nearly opposite the goal, A score seemed imminent, and; the Masterton supported .were .jubilant, but D'Arcy missed his mark. Mastorton were now playing all • thoy knew, but the Star defence was admirable, and #cr 601UG fast give and take play MVas witnessed, tho i fcpoll ended with tho Stars 3 points, | Masterton til;' ■■■!■'! • 1,, T' 1 , 0 S P°]l' Pponqd with Jliq , Stars kicking off, and play Vas im- - mediatoly taken to Ifastertoh terri- . toi-y, wheio T. Welch > crofesod tho - coveted line, bi^ta disputed tiy was ■ given in favour of the Yellows. A fwt and pretty. dribble' by Norths

was tlio next conspicuous picco of play, D'Avcy saving his side, by neatly picking up, and darting away towards tlio Star lino, only to bo laid low by Do Joxix, wlioso faultless cAllnving ■ was highly commonted upon, Another rash by Masterton forwards and R, Oookroft dropped over tlio lino; offside play, however, gave tho Stars a free kick, and a

score was saved.. Stafford obtained possession from a long kick by Agnow, and along the line, Fowler proving his stumbling block. Tlio Star forwards then got the lcathor between them, and the outcome was a try awarded to Hansen. Emmett again failed to get tlio ball between tlio posts, and the score stood Stars C points Masterton nil. From this out tho play was in favor of Masterton, ovcry man making valiant ciforts to score. When the play was on the Star lino and a try seemed inevitable, H. Wriglcy picked np the ball from a dangerous rush of tho Masterton forwards, and ran

right through his opponents, nltiiuatoly being stopped by Agnew. This the prettiest play and. the tine little quite an .not be and Cockat their feet lino, where made the only mistake of and instead of dropping on ball, speculated a rolling kick, mjsscd it, and Cockioft, quick' as lightning, scored , for Masterton, amid cheers. 1 Thompson took the kick, but np advance was made. Stars 6 points, Masterton 3. The timo was now getting short, and tlio play very exciting, the defence of the Star backs being taxed to the utmost, 1 but they proved equal to the occaflion, and although Masterton had them penned in till the cnll of time, they failed to cross the coveted line, and the game ended in a wellearned and popular win for the Stars by. six points to three,

Where every one pkyeil so well it is perhaps, lmi'il to individualise, but several have faults, and remedy wonldbe aiieasyniatter if tliey could " see themselves as others sea them." In the Star backs there is little to

find fault with. The splendid form ofWrigley as full, Do Jonx and „—«. —....Stafford rts three-quarters and Hansen as • a quartette of players good enough for any club team in the Colony, Norton is a little weak in defence work although his great speed makes him valuable to the Stars. He did good work on Saturday, although lie was well watched and unable to get his usual pace up. In running, if he were to fend more, ho would prove a very hard .man to collar. I have seen Rcmeni piny a better game, and at the opening beseemed frightened of getting hurt, but towards the end he livened up a bit and gave his opponents a lot of trouble. Ho would also bo more useful if he used his weight and pace to more advantage. ThctwoStarwingsEimnett and Wrigloy were the right men in the right place, and probably had the hardest work to do in the team, facing such . opponents as Mowlem and Watson, and protecting Hansen from the opposing halves, All the forwards worked well, Welch, Wilsono and Coehrano being grand on the loose, whilo the heavier men their work well in the scrums, a tendency for off side sometimes spoils his ■n^BßtttCillop ■HHHflHiis bad arm preventing BHHWTie Masterton team, Agnew's H|HKomcss and pluck saved them from ■Fmany dangers. The main stay of the backs is undoubtedly D'Arcy, whoso faultless play on Saturday was ft treat to witness. He had most of the work to do and did it woll, His great pace and good head work were seen to advantage. It. Thompson also played the best game I have seeuliim play for some years,

: and showed a little of his old form. a Fowler does nofcuse his head enough, nover kicks, and seldom passes. He is a strong runner, but has a ton-1 dcncy to make for the centre of his opponents instead of the outside. Williams is the only passing man of the team, and the play of the yellows was consequently altered a lot from' that in their previous matches. 11. Perry did extremely well, and is as good as ever, but he played a good deal off sideon Saturday, Holmwood stops rashes, and that is about all, Tlirco ' halves against one of the Stars (who ill ] mora work than the trio put ' together) is a mistake, and they are constantly in each other's way, In the forward div'ikjon, however, Masterton excel, the weighty and fast men having a very telling effect, Mowlem is a great acquisition to the • team, and plays real football from start to finish, In Watson and Cockroft they have tlio dashing element, and for solid work in the scrums and on tlio loose Macdonald, Malcolm and Cameron aropur milkn"A. A finer set of forwards it would bo hard to lind, and if only ': the back team were equally efficient, % Masterton would have little or notli* v ing to fear in futuro matches,

In connection with Saturday's match between the Red Stars and Miwterton teams, it was a noticeable fact that not one force down in defence on cither side throughout the whole of the game. The place

■;. / ' kiekjng for goal iVas, of course', ex- ; • peptcd. Nor was there ope opening .p. . fqi'py player to pat atgpal. This rspeaks volumes for the splendid !;• '• tackling of the'forwards, aiul the ] y fine defence of both'teams of backs, i The cup match between ' Carterton and Te Ore Ore played on ' tlio Worksop Road ground on Saturday, mnlteiin a win for Carter- , ton by seven jwnts to love,

'Featlierstoji teat. Kotahitangi on Saturday by. three points to nil, and nro therefore leading for tho junior cup. . , Tito junior cup match between the second teums. of Grey town and Stars, played in Grey town on Saturday, resulted in a draw, neither team scoring. It will be interesting to.noto how many junior players of the Groytown Club are included in senior fixtures this season. The match was a tough one, and the Stars did very well to make a draw against such a team. Brunton, Buchanan, Smith, Hornblow, Rusen, and Dockery vero the best for Greytown; ' while Alb. Hoar played by far the best back game fortlie Stars. Jeffries, Mieson, and Wellington were the most conspicuous in tho forwards.;' Mr acted as referee,, and McsSs Nicol and Udy «.s iimpir,es.

Hext Saturday tiio senior championship matches are as follows; Groytown play tho To Ore Ore on the Park Oval, and the Red Stars mget Carterton at Carterton. The Mastertiin,team has no match for that date/ ■' ■' r : v/ 1

On Saturday last, tho Masterton fifteen included four members of tho Now Zealand team that visited Australia last year, and three additional representatives of tlio Wairnrapa Union. Six of last season's " reps" played in the Star team,

The following team will represent | the Stars in theirniatch against Carterton : —Backs—Wn'gley, Norton, Do Joux, Stafford, Romoni, Hansen; forwards—Wilsone, Morris, Welch, Wrigley, Emmett, MeKillop, Pearso, Cochrane, Kumnicr. Emergencies, Barlow, White.

. The junior fixtures for next Saturday arc as follows:—Masterton v. Te Ore Ore at To Ore Ore; Star B. tcamv Fcatherston at Groytown; Star A, tenm v Kotahitangi on Masterton Ground, Grey town a bye.

Star A; team to play Kotahitanga, on the Masterton Ground on Saturday next:—Backs-D'Arcy, Galloway, Green, Thompson, Hoar, Jackson ; forwards, Wellington, Stone, Butcmont, Westbrookc, Dorset, Russell, Jeffries, Emmett, Robiesoii. Emergencies, Webb, White, Rcardon.

The ranks of the Masterton Club will bis considerably strengthened by tlio inclusion of McGovern, a West Coaster, and Ishcrwood, from Palmerston, Both players are said to lie dangerous men in the football field.

Tliocnp match between thePoneke and Athletic teams was played in a sea of water on Saturday afternoon, and resulted in a win for tho Athletics by one try to nil. The game is described as an" aquaticcai nival," and was very funny throughout,

I'ctoiie beat Melrose by six points to love. Melrose had the best of the game in the first spell, but went olf in the second. King scored both tries forl'etonc,

The following will represent the Masterton second fifteen in their match against Te Ore Ore: Backs, liroad, Kcmblc, McGoveru, Jackson, Thompson, Stewart, Johuston; forwards, Cameron, Astall, Holmwood, Talcs, Anketcll, Lilley, Banganui, Kara, Darroeh.