HOCKEY

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27986, 5 June 1956, Page 12

HOCKEY

CANTERBURY BEATS

OTAGO

MATCH ON WATERLOGGED GROUND

The representative hockey match betwen Canterbury and Otago at Williamson Park was played under extremely difficult ground conditions. The playing surface was waterlogged and cut up very badly during the game, with the result that the players laboured under severe handicap. In the circumstances the standard of play was fairly good. The teams were forced to hit hard in order to make the shortest of passes travel the requisite distance, and the reluctance oi the ball to move over such a surface slowed the players and curbed the impetuosity which has marred so much club hockey recently In this sense the handicap of the ground conditions had a certain beneficial effect upon the form.of the Canterbury team which might otherwise have beaten itself upon a fast surface. Canterbury won by four goals to two.

The greatest general weakness was the neglect of most of the players to get down low enough when making push shots. Such passes were usually under-hit and lacked sufficient power to reach their destination. On such heavy grounds the ball sinks into the surface and the push shot must be executed with the stick digging well into the ground. This requires the player to get well down into the shot, but .omission to do this was due either to lack of fitness or ignorance of such a requirement. In general it can be said tha 4 both teams succeeded in providing an interesting and reasonably skilful display in the circumstances. The teams were:—

Otago—N. Harraway; E. Kofoed, M. Down; J. Cullen, R. McKinley. K. Patel; E. Sew Hoy, C. Currie, T. Ellison. M. McKane, H. Eastwood. Canterbury—D. M. Goldsmith; J. Abrams, R. Rusbridge; B. Murray. M. Wall, R. Cummins; M. McKinnon, N. Hobson, I. D. Armstrong. J. Kiddey, G. Howard. Canterbury Maintains Pressure Canterbury dominated the first half ana made the best use of the ground surface before it cut up. What would have been over-hitting under better conditions proved to be useful through-passes, and the Canterbury forwards used their speed to great advantage in overtaking the ball before the Otago defenders could reach it The Canterbury team used the right flank intelligently in building its attacks and the Otago defence had no answer. Canterbury deservedly built up its winning lead of 4-0 by half-time, although several of these goals were made possible by poor goalkeeping bv Harraway. whose display was well below good club standard. Throughout the first spell Canterbury maintained relentless pressure and Otago never really settled down In the second half it was a different story. Otago played constructive hockey and showed greater stamina and speed It fully deserved its two goals and presented a sufficiently solid defence to a team which was far from fit and was not capable of holding the pace witn which it dominated the first half. Nevertheless. Canterbury’s defence proved adequate in spite of the indifferent form of Rusbridge at left back and Cummins at left half. This was possible because Otago s passing was not accurate enough In this regard Down at left back was badly at fault. He persisted in neglecting accuracy of direction and repeatedly gave the ball back to Canterbury. For this fault alone Otago did not deserve to win. For Canterbury Goldsmith played well as goalkeeper and saved his side on several occasions. Abrams was a competent right back whose task was made easier because the ball was too often sent straight to him. He was certainly Canterbury s most able defender Rusbndge’s poor trapping technique got him into serious trouble and he was far from adequate at left back. Wall plaved well on attack and in midfield at centre-half bP L dld tt? 1 con ? e back far enough on defence. His passing was inconsistent also. c ?M Id p ot recover the form at left half which has deserted him in recent matches, and it was well for Canterbury that Otago neglected Sew Hov on its right wing. Cummins did, however, maintain good positioning in midneld .Play- Murray played reasonably well at right half without being verv conHe d j d not su PPort his forwards often y at e fault h and his was

.^* Kinnon P] a y e d a useful game on the right wing and his speed to the throughpass was an asset. Hobson worked hard at inside right. His stickwork was fairly good, but his appreciation of the effectivef \ he } hrou 8 h -pass showed at times A aCk °/ mat unty. Armstrong hunted v a centre-forward, but he js essenthaLy o o hu 7 ter * of opportunities rather t ba ? a constructive player. He did well rjhhF l tO W i ar L ai l t retention in the team Js r - work ed hard at inside left and p r pved formidable in the circle, but his Hnwi’rrt k because of its inaccuracy IS^ ar^, bad . fe w opportunities on the left c liflguibut 1 ifl g ui but r J played intelligently and unselfishly. He made few mistakes

Otago Team’s Performance Kofoed was the better of the Otaen backs but delayed his passing andl wS caught m possession unnecessarily Down stopped several rushes well but wac poor at clearing the ball and neglected to keep it on his right side with result that he was often penalised for obstructing. Patel, at left-half wt? l£ o best half on the ground. He had a hard day and revealed good stickwork sufficiently well to demonstrate its value no mat er how difficult the conditions McKinley was a competent centre-half whose positional pay was of great value tn O ta f°' Was not convincing at right half, and showed a lack of experience Currie at foside-rtght. was the best I of u forwards. His stick work was passed with discrimination ♦u? d intelligence, as well as being fast to the hall and through the gap Ellison supported him well at centr?-forwa?d and s . ht ? w cd great promise. McKane was a wh ° contro, <ed the ball and fed his wing judiciously with well-timed and well-directed passes. MeKane rather lacked penetration in the circle, nowever, and needs more stickwork to be really adequate in his position. Eastwood dribbled well with controlled speed on the left wing. He had a good match and his onlv fault was a tendency to move the ball on to the forehand tackle of his opponent at times Sew Hoy did well enough on the right wing to emphasise the folly of Otago’s neglect of this form of attack.

Most of the players could be faulted

for poor passing at times, but the bad state of the ground made this inevitable. This factor must be borne in mind when criticism is levelled on this score. In general the players are deserving of some measure ot congratulation for providing a fast and interesting match under such circumstances, though a higher level of stickwork might have been expected from an interprovincial match. For Canterbruy Kiddey scored two goals from penalty corners with very good shots aided by poor goalkeeping, and a further goal from a well-placed rush from some neat combined play. Abrams converted a penalty bully. For Otago. Ellison scored a good goal from close quarters following a concerted rush, and Kofoed netted a penalty corner with an excellent shot from the circle edge. Umpires: Messrs J. F. Mann and J. Mayne.

THREE MATCHES AT ASHBURTON

CANTERBURY DRAWS ONE, LOSES TWO Three matches were played between Ashburton and Canterbury teams at Ashburton yesterday. Good, open hockey w-as seen in all matches. Results were: Senior A.—Ashburton 1, Canterbury Colts 1. Senior B.—Ashburton 5, Canterburyfifth grade 1. Intermediate. —Ashburton 3, Canterbury sixth grade 2. In the game between Ashburton senior A and Canterbury Colts, play was fast and open, with attacks being broken often by the solid defence of both fullbacks. Ashburton’s opening attack proved valuable. and after seven minutes a penalty corner was awarded to Ashburton. I Smith goaled with a hard shot. Ashburton continued the attack, but many chances were missed through the forwards getting off side. G. Long was unlucky not to increase Ashburton’s score when his shot at goal hit the side of the net. Canterbury attacked well and, one minute before half time, secured a penalty corner from which D. L. Sheppard goaled. Canterbury held the attack for most of the second spell, but failed to penetrate the defence. When Ashburton cleared and took the ball into the circle. Smith’s attempt at goaling went over the top. This was closely followed by a shot which hit the top of the net and bounced over. Canterbury’s trapping and stickwork outclassed that of Ashburton, but the forwards were not combining as well as they should have Ashburton forwards were also relying on solo efforts. b..Y^ pi J es e J Vlessrs M - Newton (Ashburton) and L. Smith (Christchurch).

WEST COAST WINS AT GREYMOUTH

(New Zealana Press Association) ... GREYMOUTH, June 4. West Coast senior A and B men’s hocKey teams beat Canterbury senior reserve teams at Greymouth today. West Coast > von 3 "2 in the A grade match and 2-1 in the B grade. The weather and ground condition' were excellent, and the matches were of a uniformly high standard. A. Boustridge (2) and D. Maurice scored West Coast goals in the A grade match, and A. Aldridge netted both Canterbury goals. In the B grade match. R. Strange scored both goals for West Coast, and M. Quinn scored for Canterbury.

TEACHERS’ COLLEGE MATCHES

The Christchurch Teachers’ CoDege won both the men's and women's hockev matches when it played teams from the Wellington Teachers' College at the weekend.

Results:—Women: Christchurch 6. Wellington 0. Men: Christchurch 9, WeDington 2.