When Golders Green played Barking at Claremont Road on Saturday, they allowed the visitors to take away with them two valuable Athenian League points through sheer inconsistent play.

The game opened in excellent style and for the first twenty minutes or half-an-hour Golders Green looked like winning, but suddenly, and for no apparent reason, they went to pieces, showing that they had not mastered the art of playing as a team in the forward line.

The right wing was a complete change from the one last used on the home ground. Chaventre, of the reserves, was on the outside position, partnered by Hill, also from the junior team. Together and separately these two players gave a good display, and contributed largely to the two goals scored by the Green. Soden, when he found that team work had again gone to the wall, provided some more brilliant flashes, but failed to make sufficient headway to increase the score, although he contributed one goal in the early stages.

The new back, A.C. Huggins, paired off well with W. Boston, and did some very sound defence work, but the weight of the opposing forwards was, at times, too great, especially combined with the fact that the halves seldom managed to get back in time to help. They put up a good fight, however, and Kimber certainly did all he could to stave off a worse defeat.

Bloxham did well, too, and gave a better account of himself than might have been expected with the ground in the condition it was.

In the Barking team the centre-forward, Budd, was impressive as a pushing style of player, and Hillman, on the right wing, had a surprising turn of speed. Butterworth, at inside-right, and Brown and Rust on the left wing, completed an efficient forward line.

When the game commenced play swung with pendulum-like regularity from end to end of the field, Golders Green combining together as they have not done for a long time. Barking had won the toss, and Budd took the ball right away and made for the Golders Green goal. He evaded Soden and Broadis and before W. Boston or Huggins could get to him he kicked hard and straight. Kimber saved and put the ball up to Soden, who performed a similar manoeuvre. He slipped as he was evading Godwin and missed a chance.

Next came a try on the Golders Green goal by Butterworth, but it only resulted in a piece of pretty play in the corner of the field. Ten minutes after play began Bucci passed the ball neatly up to J. Hill, who gathered it and went like an arrow for goal. Godwin tried hard to prevent him getting through, but his effort was useless, and HILL, with a good hard kick, found the net.

This woke Barking up and they tried hard to get down to Kimber, but when Butterworth put his pass across Kimber saved it cleanly and sent the ball up to midfield. Here Hill again picked it up and went like the wind, closely followed by Chaventre and Soden. Before Godwin could stop him Hill had passed out to Chaventre and the latter a moment later centred to SODEN, who put a first-time shot right past Wilson. Five minutes after the first goal the score was: Golders Green 2, Barking 0.

Then Golders Green's team work failed and the result was that Barking had more and more of the ball, and after two solo attempts by Soden to add to the Green's total BROWN took a chance opening and provided Barking with thwir first score. Thereafter there were only three occasions on which Golders Green looked like increasing their total. One was when Soden made a double attempt to beat Wilson and just failed both times. Before this, however, Barking equalised with a shot from BUDD, who had a pass from Rust, the outside-left.

Then the Green's team came down " like a wolf on the fold " and had almost succeeded in getting a lead again when a foul let Barking clear the ball. Next Soden was fouled by a Barking man while about to shoot and had to retire. Golders Green was awarded a penalty for this, which was taken by Broadis. Unfortunately his shot went astray, and so another chance was lost.

Play opened after the change-over with Golders Green a man short, as Soden had not quite recovered from the knock he received. Soon after play commenced the ball was at the Barking end of the field and well out on the right wing, but it seemed impossible for the Green to get it into the centre. Then Soden returned and went to his old place. Shorftly after this Barking gained their decisive goal of the match through HILLMAN, who made a nice run down and across to centre. An oblique shot got Kimber down, though he tried his hardest to save it.

Before very long Soden found the strain of his position too great and changed places with F. Boston. From this point onwards the attempts at team work were dismal. Nobody seemed able to judge or anticipate a pass, with the result that time and again Barking men intercepted a pass meant for the centre-forward and took them away upfield. On one occasion when this happened Huggins came to earth as he captured the ball from Butterworth and found he had it between his knees, He swivelled himself round in the mud and passed the ball sideways to Broadis.

Bucci made a valiant attempt to score on one occasion when he had a fairly clear run down the centre, but his shot went high and was over the crossbar by about a foot. After that a shot by Hillman got Kimber on the jump, but he saved it and the ball went out to Hill.

For a space there followed some unprofitable play, but gradually the ball approached the Barking goal. Hill, who was right on the spot, received the ball and put it beautifully into the net. Wilson was beaten hands down. The goal, however, was disallowed by the referee after he had consulted the linesman, on the ground that Hill was offside. The game concluded without any further incident.

If only Golders Green could learn to play together as as team they would be very strong, but their weakness lies in the tendency to individual effort once a lead has been secured.