HOCKEY OLD BOYS RETAIN NARROW LEAD FROM WOOLSTON

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28939, 6 July 1959, Page 17

HOCKEY OLD BOYS RETAIN NARROW LEAD FROM WOOLSTON

The results of the eleventh round of the Canterbury HockeyAssociation's senior competition have given High School Old Boys and Woolston a clear lead in the

championship table, and. with only four rounds left, the struggle for championship honours is virtually confined to these two teams. At the other end of the ladder West Old Boys drew level with Technical Old | Boys by a meritorious victory over Sydenham. AU matches were played in good overhead conditions, and the grounds were | dry, although rather bumpy and uneven.

Scores were:— H. 5.0.8. 3, Technical 0.8. 1.

Woolston 3, Harewood 0. West 0.8. 2, Sydenham 0. Competition points to date are:—High School Old Boys BA. Woolston 8, Sydenham sj. Harewood S. Technical Old Boys 3. West Old Boys 3. High School Old Boys v. Technical i Old Bo.< s Ola Boys were too sound in all departments for Technical in a match in which both teams deserved credit for their ertorts to play to a sound plan Players were handicapped because of the cutting up of the ground, but the lack of fulfilment of the intentions of tire respective teams also came from passes which lacked pace, passes which were ill-directed, and passes which arrived at their destination at the same time as an opponent The Old Boys backs, W. Browne and W. Boundy, played with their usual understanding and covered each other well, ana Browne's clearances showed some improvement on recent form C. Francis, at right half, was also in better form, but still neglects his cover defence duties. At centre half, E. Barnes adhered to his defensive role with some effect, but in switching play to the right he appeared to be content with the general direction of the pass rather than with a specific target. D. Anthony, on the right wing, exceeded the speed at which control could be maintained, and must keep his head down. P. Biyth was not at his best, being I rather slow to the ball and often caught in possession. J. Kiddey gave some thrust to the forward line at infside left, while his left wing partner, T. Thomas, made some spirited I runs which were completed with good centre passes. I Technical's goalkeeper, I. Emmerson, moved quickly to the ball and made some fine saves, and L. Lester's trapping at right back was better than his passing. N. Gardiner was the best of the halves, retrieving the ball well and endeavouring to feed his right flank forwards. His passes need to be crisper. In the centre C. Smart moved the bail well, eluded opponents ably, and then presented the ball to them because of inaccurate passing. B. Bedwell again showed flashes of ability, but was again starved of the ball, partly because L. Taylor, at inside right. I was below his best form. S. Crotty land K. Collins were not as prominent as usual, either. The failure 'of the Technical forwards to carry lout a constructive policy was attributable to a lack of mastery of Itechnique. not to lack of intention. ’lf the intention is retained there .should be some improvement in the future. The Old Boys' goals were scored by T. Thomas (2) and J. I’'M an j s Crotty scored for Technical.

Umpires: Messrs N. Hocking and J. Calder.

WEST OLD BOYS V. SYDENHAM In view of the positions of the two teams in the championship table the result of this match was rather surprising, but Sydenham's Sack of skilful forwards has made the team unstable and its performances inconsistent. West took full advantage of weak forward play and was able to develop its own short-passing methods more fully as a result of the reduced pressure. The most prominent players In the West defence were D. Hamilton at left-back and Peter Clark at centre-half, and a rearranged forward line in which all members made some useful contributions moved with more fluency than in recent games. R. Thomson and P. Oakes were an effective right flank. A. Scott showed some thrust in the centre, and Paul Clark used his stickwork to some purpose at inside left.

The failure of the Sydenham forwards doomed the halves and backs to considerable pressure and their defence was reasonably sound. The most noticeable players were L. Lloyd. K. Cumberpatch, and M. Wall. Goals were scored for West Old Bovs by R. Thomson and Paul Clark." Umpires: Messrs W. D. Sloane and D. Holland. Woolston v. Harewood Although Woolston scored its three goals in the first half it maintained supremacy for most of the game. If there had been less obstruction and offside play by some of the forwards the winning margin might nave been greater, but these faults prevented the Woolston forwards from making the most of the chances which were presented by a Harewood defence which was less solid than usual. The Woolston right flank pair. N. Hobson and B. Judge, form the most effective attack in the senior competition on current form, but their efforts were not well supported by the remaining forwards, who showed a lack of combination and understanding of each other's play Harewood almost broke even in the midfield exchanges, but D. Sheppard was the only defender to show reliability in the face of the Wools-

ton attacks. By contrast the Woolston defence was always capable and sound, the backs and the halves covering each other adequately. The Woolston forwards back-tackled tirelessly, and always maintained a close link with their defenders, who were tnus able to feed them with greater ease and accuracy than were available co the Harewood defence. With a few notable exceptions the players of both teams did not possess a sufficient mastery of stick work for sustained possession of the ball. Attacks were therefore of a helterskelter . nature, and little was seen ot any planned tactical pattern. For Woolston, K. Mortimer in goal made many clean, powerful clearing kicks, and J. Abrams, at right-back, by good trapping, elusive sidestepping, and firm, accurate passing, was far in advance of most other E layers on the field. The left back, Hobson, gave him good support, and made many clever switches of play from left to right. B. Davie was as sound as usual In a defensive role at centre half. At left half R. Gillespie trapped well and did not neglect any opportunity to transfer the play to his team's right flank but his stickwork is rather undeveloped and suffers from faulty footwork N. Hobson jwas always constructive at inside right and always contributing a full share of ba~k-tack’ing. His trapping wss good and nis play improved by reason of earlier passing. He combined well with B. Judge, who played another

promising game, breaking clear many times and sending across a considerable number of well-placed centres. On the left flank. B. and G. Aldridge were both reasonably effective when dribbling, but their passing was not good and they did not move into the correct positions for the receipt of the centre passes from the right.

For Harewood, B Densem. in goal, was quick to the ball, but occasionally kicked across the line of flight. D. Sheppard, at right-back, played coolly, trapped well and passed accurately, but his partner. G. Burrows. was unreliable in both trap-1 ping and passing, and committed the grievous error of rushing opponents tn order to tackle. G. Baldwin was the best ot the halves, mainly because of improvement in his passing B Murray was forced into a defensive role and made some good interceptions on the reverse stick side, but his passing was well wide of the proverbial haystack. In the forward line I. Smith wandered out of position too much, and R. Wear, at inside right, passed frequently to where colleagues should have been and not to where they were. His trapping and dribbling were good but there was a frantic 'ouch to most of his play. M. Hayward passed to the left far too much. This provided C. Broadhurst on the left wing with chances for many fast dashes, but seldom did the ball return to the centre at the end ot these. The Woolston goals were scored by G. Aldridge, B. Aldridge and L. Hobson. Umpires: Messrs F. S. Kiddey and! W Morris. '