COMPETITION MATCHES

Press, Volume XCIV, Issue 28057, 27 August 1956, Page 6

COMPETITION MATCHES

FINAL ROUND IN SENIOR GRADE The fifteenth and final round of the Canterbury Hockey Association’s competitions was completed on Saturday in the senior grade Only two matches were played, because University defaulted to Sydenham. The positions of the teams were such that they could not be altered, and consequently there was a picnic attitude among the players, although all four teams strove to achieve victory. Both games were played on the Polo Grounds, which set new problems. Earlier the players had wallowed in a quagmire, but the recent fine weather had dried out the grounds, which now present the pitted appearance of a lunar landscape. The ball jumped and kicked, and attempts at combined play were frequently unsuccessful. Results were:— High School Old Boys 2, Woolston 0. Harewood 3, Selwyn 2. The final competition points are as follows:—Sydenham 13J, Woolston 11, High School Old Boys 8. University 6J, Harewood 4i. Selwyn li. OLD BOYS v. WOOLSTON Old Boys had the better of the play in the first half, and led 2-0 at the interval. In the second half Woolston exerted greater pressure, and the territorial exchanges were fairly even, with both teams missing narrowly on occasions. Three times in the match the Old Boys forwards put the ball over the bar with the goal virtually at their mercy, and the Woolston forwards twice shot wide of the net when plenty of time was available and the goal almost empty. For Old Boys, D. Horman made some good saves in goal, and W. Boundy was a very sound right back. The three halves. P. Hanna. E. Barnes and P. Blyth, were a sounder unit than their counterparts, and Blyth did well in this unaccustomed position on the left side of the field. J Kiddey. in the centre, and R. Cummins, at inside right, where the best ot the forwards. combining fairly well, initiating movements, and giving adequate leadership to the attack. Kiddey made a number of breaks, and was at times frustrated more by the ground than by his opponents.

K Mortimer was his usual dependable self in the Woolston goal, and made one particularly spectacular save. Both L. Hobson and E. Packer contributed some sound defensive work in the backs without being as effective as usual because of the difficulty in trapping the ball cleanly. G. Cockroft and R. Gillespie were the best forwards in a line which lacked combination, and indulged in too muvh solo dribbling, a suicidal practice on such a bumpy surface.

Both teams ended the season much as they began it. Accuracy and control were sacrificed for speed. This fault is bad enough on a good playing surface. On the Polo Grounds it was fatal, and led to much scrappy and indecisive plav with frequent over-running of the bah and mis-hit passes. The Old Boys goals were scored by J. Kiddey and M. Gravestone. Umpires: Messrs H. Turner and C. A. Rogers. HAREWOOD v. SELWYN Selwyn made strenuous efforts to gain its first win of the season, and adopted its usual hit-and-run methods, which met with the customary fate. Harewood played much the same style of hockey, with the result that play soon became scrappy and ragged. Although lacking in skill, the game was played at a very fast pace. Hareu’ood led 2-1 at the interval after an even first half, and Selwyn had slightly the better of the play in the second half but could not finish off its movements through hurried and inaccurate shooting Selwyn is now' faced with a relegation match, and will need to improve on Saturday's showing to remain in the senior grade. For Harewood B. Densem. was fairly steady in goal, but lacked judgment at times in coming out to block attacks. The backs. P. Greenw'ood and B. Pauli, were able defenders, although Pauli was rather bustled on some occasions in the second half. B. Murray covered a lot of ground at centre-half and received good support from C. Green at right half. The Harewood forwards preferred hard hitting, bustling, individual sorties to combined play and were rather flattered by the Selwyn defence in scoring three goals. L. Innes, at inside left, and R. Weir, at centre forward, were the steadiest players in trapping and passing. R. Bay again showed his competence as a goalkeeper for Selwyn, and M. Clements, at right back, broke up many attacks. His intercepting and passing were sound, and he was t|ie mainstay of the defence. He has maintained this consistently gond form throughout the season, and has deserved better support from his team than hag been given. M. Berkely was the best of the halves, but dribbled too far on occasions. G. Kennington showed some ball control on the right wing, and his passing was reasonably accurate. At centre forward B. Blakely, who has better control than most of the other forwards, was wasted because of his colleagues’ inability to make any play for him. Goals were scored for Ha re wood by G. Baldwin. R. Clements, and N Marson. and for Selwyn by P Lints and T. McGillivray. Umpires: Messrs H. Turner and N Hocking. W'HANGAREI WINS NORDON CUP (New Zealand Press Association) , NELSON. Aug. 26. Whangarei won the Nordon Cup from Nelson when it beat the holders by 2 goals to 1. in a men’s hockey match at Nelson on Saturday. Scorers for Whangarei were V. Penny and T. Blake, u'hilr for Nelson. D. Spenoe scored.