Bethlehem Steel F. C. left no doubt in the minds of the soccer spectators gathered on the Steel Field, on Saturday afternoon, as to their superiority over the New York Giants, defeating the Gotham dribblers by the score of 5 to 2. Concentrated aggressiveness, once the Steelmen assumed the upper hand, could not be denied and with startling rapidity the locals put the game on ice in the first half.
Outstanding in the play of the home clan was Archie Stark, center forward. He was everywhere on the field, but also was in his position, and when opportunity afforded, Archie made no mistake with his shots.
The first three goals notched by the Steel clan came from the toe or head of Stark, and then with a lead well established, Goldie and Jaap, outside wingmen, contributed the other two goals.
Overhead, the weather was ideal for the game, the sun breaking through the clouds. An army of men employed in the morning had cleared the snow from the field, butt the turf was left hard and slippery, with treacherous footing resulting. In spite of this condition, the players adapted themselves with unusual skill.
Word that the Indiana Flooring game scheduled for New York, on Sunday afternoon, was postponed, caused a last minute shift in the linemen of the Steelmen. Bill Carnihan, the big center half and captain, was laid up for a much needed rest and Tom Raeside took his position. The proposed change in the backs did not materialize and Berryman and Allen were at their regular positions. On the forward line, Johnny Granger made his return after several weeks of absence because of an injury, and in Forest's place, at outside right, little Johnny Jaap was pressed into service. Carson was given preference over Hill, the later a newcomer, in goal.
The club the visitors fielded was somewhat disappointing to local fans. Absent from the front line was Davy Brown, center forward, and one of the best in the east, who almost single-handedly, Sunday, a week ago, defeated Providence after the latter was conquered by Bethlehem the day previous.
As a result, the Gotham forwards seldom threatened and on the few occasions on which they beat the Bethlehem backs, their shots, with the exception of those registered by Moorehouse, were easily handled by Carson. After the restart, Moorehouse, starting at left fullback, was shifted to the center forward position, and it was he that saved the Giants from a shutout.
The visitors seemed weak defensively or else Stark and his coworkers on the forward line were exceptionally good. Jaap, at outside right, was almost always tricking the backs, while Stark had little difficulty in beating them when on the ball and goalward bound.
The Giants did the pressing in the first minutes of play, apparently better able to cope with the ground conditions. In this period, the Steel Workers were forced to concede three corners, two of which were wasted with kicks behind the net, and the other readily cleared by the Bethlehem defense.
Finally, Bethlehem found its stride and from then on with only occasional breakaways by the Giants, who seldom advanced further than the fullbacks, Bethlehem was the attacking team. After twenty minutes of play, Jaap sent over a cross to Stark and the latter started goalward. Moorehouse was in his patch, but Archie cleverly evaded him and then, with no one to beat but Geudert, crashed the ball well out of the reach of the visitors' goalie.
This success was shortly followed by another, equally brilliant, and more or less the result of a solo effort on the part of the Bethlehem center forward. Raeside shoved the ball up center, where Stark took it close to midfield. From there he advanced towards the Gotham goal. Moorehouse and Kelley, the opposing backs, closed in on him, but again Stark was successful in tricking them. Geudert left his goal to intercept, but Stark was on the ball and easily shoved it past Geudert into the net.
Bethlehem was not yet done and before half time was reached, two more goals were counted. Bethlehem's third was a header by Stark after a pretty piece of combination in which Goldie and Rollo were contributing factors. Rollo cleverly manipulated the ball in taking it down the field and passed perfectly to Goldie, the latter getting his boot to the ball for a terrific drive. The shot had Geudert beaten, but struck underneath the cross bar. Stark was waiting for the rebound and touched it into the net with his head.
Just before the half ended, Jaap and Goldie figured in the play that game Bethlehem its fourth goal. Jaap tricked through the Gotham defense and when near touch, set across a perfect pass to Goldie. The Bethlehem outside left made no mistake with a terrific shot.
Bethlehem then relaxed in their efforts and wisely so under the existing conditions, and the Giants took advantage and in less than three minutes had notched their first goal. Moorehouse, who as a back was badly beaten on almost every breakaway, was shifted to center forward, where he seemed to fit in to better advantage. His first goal came when in scrimmage in front of the Bethlehem net, on a shot from close range that could not be handled. Ten minutes later the Giants had another breakaway and again Moorehouse slipped through to crash the ball into the net well out of the reach of Carson. Bethlehem woke up to the situation and again became the aggressor, Geudert making several good saves before Jaap finally drove one past him for Bethlehem's fifth and the final goal. The lineup:
Bethlehem -- Giants
Carson -- G -- Geudert
Berryman -- RFB -- Kelly
Allen --LFBB -- Moorehouse
McDonald -- RHB -- Durny
Raeside -- CHB -- Parks
MacGregor -- LHB -- McKinney
Jaap -- OR -- Topping
Granger -- IR -- Duggan
Stark -- CF -- Bremer
Rollo -- IL -- Stradan
Goldie -- OL -- Esson
Goals: Stark 3; Goldie, Jaap; Moorehouse 2. Referee: John Gray. Linesmen: Fred Smart and James Walder. Time of halves: 45 minutes.