Successful in taking advantage of every opportunity to score, and having the better of the going throughout the game, the Bethlehem soccer team jolted Providence by the score of 5 to 1, the most decisive licking the homesters ever took on home loam.
As a result of this victory Bethlehem again graduated into second place, trailing only the league-leading Fall River club. Scheduled to play at New Bedford on Saturday afternoon, this game was called off due to a heavy rain which fell throughout the day. The pitch for the Sunday game was not the best but did not mar the play of the Bethlehem team to any great extent.
The defeat was rather disastrous for Providence, which has also been one of the contending clubs, inasmuch as the game was virtually a home-coming affair, being the first one played in Providence in five weeks and a big turnout of fans was present. Bethlehem appeared at its finest and although the home clan was thumped the patrons were treated to a first-class brand of soccer.
Bethlehem took the lead early in the game and at no time was seriously threatened. Four goals were distributed among Stark, with two, and Massie and Dick each one, while the fifth was an accidental tally contributed by Bardell, the Providence right back. Alec Dick played his first game in several weeks and seemed to have lost none of his stride by the long layoff.
The first half was only four minutes old when Massie scored a soft marker as he slipped the ball into an open goal after a bit of lively milling in the home goal area in which Kenneway left his goal and Bardell and Watson got tangled, leaving Massie a gift goal.
Providence pressed and at 28 minutes Hajec snapped as pretty a liner as could be desired just out of the reach of Fraser. Dick made it 2-1 on a breakaway, an easy tally. Then Kenneway lost the ball in the sun on Reid's long lift which hit the crossbar. Stark nodded the rebound into the rigging and the Steelworkers led 3-1 at half time.
Within a couple of minutes of the resumption of pay Bardell flicked the ball past Kenneway while trying to prevent Stark from shooting. Stark counted from an acute angle midway in the half. The lineup:
Bethlehem -- Providence
Fraser -- G -- Kenneway
Finlayson -- RFB -- Bardell
McGregor -- LFB -- Miller
Reid -- RHB -- O'Hare
Carnihan -- CHB -- Watson
Pitt -- LHB -- Auld
Gillespie -- OR -- Fitzpatrick
Jaap -- IR -- W. Dick
Stark -- CF -- Paterson
Massie -- IL -- Hajec
A. Dick -- OL -- Burness
Goals, Stark 2, Massie, A. Dick, Bardell (accidental), Hajec. Substitutions, Campbell for Bardell, Simone for Burness. Referee, Whittaker, Linesmen, Ward and Votolato.