The Bethlehem Steel soccer team will journey to Philadelphia [...] next Saturday afternoon to meet Newark F. C. in the replay [...] semi-final round of the National Cup competition. Bethlehem's efforts to eliminate Newark on the same field last Saturday afternoon, in a bitter-fought game, counted for naught and instead came frightfully close of themselves being eliminated. The game ended in a draw, Bethlehem scoring one goal after forty minutes of play in the opening half on a penalty which was kicked by Alec Johnson. Newark equalized after fifteen minutes of play in the second half when Green headed into the net.
A terrific wind sweeping across the field with biting coldness, together with a hard frozen turf played havoc with the style of play adopted by the Steel Workers and the machine-like smoothness so predominant in the combination work, passing and dribbling of the Bethlehem clan was conspicuously in its absence. It was simply impossible to handle the ball, or exact range in passing. However, the Bethlehem eleven seemed to resort exclusively to this style of play with the result that the Newark players, resorting to the rush and kick style, found these tactics more suitable for the conditions of the day and the field and caused the Steel Workers no end of concern, especially in the second half of the tilt.
While Bethlehem had much the better of the play in the opening half but failed to realize on the many opportunities to shoot for goal, Newark came back in vengeance deeply stung by the award of a penalty kick to Bethlehem in the opening period and more than once did it look as though the Steel Workers would be eliminated. To see Bethlehem more or less exclusively on the defense with even this strong bulwark seemingly demoralized for any length of time was something new to followers of the Bethlehem campaigning thus far this season. Nevertheless, such was the case, and more than once the citadel of the up-staters was jeopardized by the aggressive and vicious attacks of the Newark crowd.
It was not until after Newark equalized, when Green headed into the net about fifteen minutes after the restart, that the local contenders for the National Cup honors seemed to find themselves, but even then with their aggressive tactics the brilliant defense of Bleich, Sam Fletcher and Tommy Murray, and the poor finishing of the Bethlehem forwards prevented them from scoring. At the end of the regulation ninety minutes of play the score stood at one all, and two extra periods of fifteen minutes each were played. It was in this half hour of play that Bethlehem seemed more at home, apparently having successfully diagnosed the conditions of the field, but even through most of the play was in the vicinity of the visitors' goal, the locals failed to chalk up the counter that would have brought victory.
Bethlehem was decidedly weak on the outside wings, particularly in the position played by Goldie. The little speed merchant had possibly the worst day since joining the Bethlehem team and in e very department did he seem to lack. His corners, and there were quite a few of them, were poorly placed, his tackling far beyond his usual par, and more than once he lacked judgment when handling the ball. On the other wing Turner, who is handicapped by drawn muscles as the result of a previous injury, was equally as ineffective. The contributions of these two wingmen in the opportunities to score were decidedly limited.
With the exception of the Jacksons, the defensive work of McGregor and the reliability of that veteran Jock Ferguson, the work of every other member of the Bethlehem clan seemed far below their usual par. Even Capt. Carnihan, who played such a sensational game in the replay of the fourth round against New York, and Davy Ferguson, were miscuing badly, while Robertson's tip-tap style of play was pretty to look at but seemed meat for the rushing, aggressive Newark crowd. It was not until the latter part of the game that Bethlehem got working and then it was too late to erase the equalizer count by Newark or to increase their own total of one goal accomplished by the dreaded penalty.
While possibly the Newark forwards were not as adept in handling the ball as Bethlehem, they, nevertheless, made a strong impression with their aggressive tactics. This was particularly true of Brown and Green. On the defensive it was the brilliant work of Bleich, Murray and Fletcher, the latter two former Bethlehem players, who seemed thoroughly familiar with the Bethlehem style of play and had developed a strong and impregnable defense.
Throughout the first half Newark seemed content to remain on the defense and combined its efforts in thwarting the Bethlehem attack. The Bethlehem forwards, especially Walter Jackson, were kept well spotted.
About two thousand fans turned out to witness the game. This number included close to five hundred who came over from Newark to see the contest. In spite of the frigid temperatures, the fans weathered the elements. The lineup:
Bethlehem -- Newark
Highfield -- G -- Douglas
D. Ferguson -- RFB -- Fletcher
J. Ferguson -- LFB -- Neil
McGregor -- R HB -- Murray
Carnihan -- CHB -- Bleich
Robertson -- LHB -- Kirby
Turner -- OR -- MacArthur
A. Jackson -- IR -- Lewther
W. Jackson -- CF -- Milner
Granger -- IL -- Green
Goldie -- OL -- Brown
Final score: Bethlehem 1, Newark 1. Half time score: Bethlehem 1, Newark 0. Goal for Bethlehem, A. Jackson, penalty; for Newark, Green. Referee, A. Courage. Linesmen, Donohue and Crawford, Penna. Referees' Association. Time of game: 45 minute periods and 2 extra periods of 15 minutes.