POVERTY BAY'S DEBACLE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 167, 18 July 1938, Page 13

POVERTY BAY'S DEBACLE.

DEFENCE COLLAPSES.

AUCKLAND'S SUPERIORITY IN HOCKEY CHALLENGE.

FIRST GOAL IN FOUR MINUTES

hi. m"! , n<l . h ° ckeV "Presentatives W w,th.tood the first challenge of this season for the New Zealand Shield

whrn 7 m T' those O p enin g, vl.cn Auckland rattled on the firrt goal in tour nunutes, an d the second %ix Jiinuta. later, that ««d the J^ that tl.o holders were "able to rattle on •even goal* n all befor. half-time. I n th" £ S W, « *•" «dded WoS^ttoT'KS The Aueklamlere revelled in the perfert concit on. prevailing nnd definUel? out thTSmi" vleUor " in every *°w™™°i

|^ftt y ir£S;€ fiiet spell, but in the second le atoned for his poor ehowing by givimr a vet - creditable display, a « d wafhefped con" siderably by the tactics of the defence in crowding the circle to counter the efforte of the fast-raiding local forwards. The great weakjjeee of the visiting team was. their defence. The full-back! we™ plaving too square, and the half-line far l°rL l ; T,^V para , certain 'y produced some lusty hitting, but it was so wild in direction that it was ueeless.

The positional play of the halves was crude, for they seldom gave support to their torwards, and were playing Bo deep that the Auckland forwards had plenty of room to manoeuvre for an opening, then iorce home their attacks.

R. Watchman. AH the' forward* were ptifely individual' < jets, Watchman, Slade and McLean eljining spasmodically. On the* right flank Jones and Harrison proved the fallacy, of playing:' a player out of position, for both v these players have been playing on the left during this season. Jones ehowed his old fault of dallying with the ball, and this lost his side a golden opportunity of adding to its score. • ' • Auckland's success Call be attributed to teamwork and positional play. There wae, n wonderful, understanding 'between the players and the judicious us? .of the "back pass" frequently outwitted the oppqsitioh nnd allowed the quick change of direction of the attack*. ;

Outstanding! among the forwards was Rowe, whose clever stick-work and trap* ping of the ball enabled him to elude hie tacklers. Another feature 'of hie play was his unselfishness in the circle. Oh several occasions he was in a position to have a'eliot, but preferred to pass to a player better situated than himself, and Wyatt's goal was the result of one of these move*.

Another highlight of the game was the success of the Hogben-Watson combination in taking penalty corners. Congratulations to th"se tw,o player*. for # , although Watson scored four goals in this manner, Hogben also played an important part in their success.

The winners' defence proved exceptionally eolid; for Wattam, the goalie, was not called upon at any etage of the first •pell, and had very little to do in the second. The half-line were always there to stem the opposing attacks and catered well for their owe forwards by continual variation in method of initiating counterattack*.

VISITORS ENTERTAINED. After the representative match on Saturday, both team* wer* entertained at a complimentary 'dinner toy the Auckfcnd Hoekey Aepcimtion. Mr.. L. H. Norton, president, was in the chair, and in proposing the/tparf of "The Poverty Bay Association *nd Team" welcomed the visitors and congratulated both teams on their •howirig, the winners for their great game and the losers for their keenness in travelling orer 700 miles for the match and their determination in sticking to their task in the 'face of •uob odd*. Mr. L. Cooper, th* manager of the visitIng team, replied, expressing thank* for the hospitality accorded them, and inviting the Auckland Association to ""jM teim to Poverty Bay, and the Ladles Association to eend a 1^ 1M *>*?! New Zealand toernement, which is to be held in Gisborne this season.