Women’s Hockey Canterbury’s Unimpressive Win Over Ashburton

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28963, 3 August 1959, Page 6

Women’s Hockey Canterbury’s Unimpressive Win Over Ashburton

Although it beat Ashburton on Saturday by six goals to nil, the Canterbury K Cup team was unimpressive. and some very solid practice will be necessary to improve the trapping and passing if the potential ability of the team is to be realised in the K Cup tournament matches. The most disturbing feature was the refusal of so many of the forwards to pass. There was far too much solo dribbling, which will have little effect on strong provincial defences Furthermore, much of this dribbling was of the hit-and-run type in which skill was Sacrificed to speed, with the inevitable result that the ball was presented to the opposition with liberal and monotonous regularity. In addition to running blindly into tackles, the forwards failed to retreat to link with their defensive players. Hence the team lacked cohesion and balance. The match was played on a rather heavy surface which was not entirely level, and the ball behaved at times in a rather erratic manner Theie were two exceptions to the general pattern of the forward play T. Minehan. who played at centre forwaid in the second half, brought some degree of combination into the line, and her influence gave the right flank some opportunity of functioning. She made a creditable effort to relate speed to control, and when it was required showed just as much speed as her tearaway colleagues. M. Thomson, on the right wing, made the most of her opportunities, dribbled strongly, maintained good control, and fed her inside forwards intelligently. She should, however, have made a greater effort to link with her defence.

The Canterbury goalkeeper, B. Makinson, played with assurance and made some good saves, but the right back. J. Hall, still requires far too much room in which to elude an opponent, and many of her clearing hits were badly directed. At left back, N. Lennie made many cleve'r interceptions, showed good anticipation in her positioning, and covered her partner effectively. A. Fleete, at right half, made a creditable showing for a young player, and showed intelligence in using her centre half when in difficulty. Talented Player S Coiner, in the latter position, reevaled her exceptional talents throughout the game, and her skilful and determined dribbling was of great value to her team in overcoming the neglect of her forwards to retreat. She was forced to pass to the inside left position far too much in the midfield play because of the fact that H. Turner. at inside left, was the only forward who was bothering to make herself available for passes. There were times when the right side of the field appeared to be populated solely by the opposition. At left half L. Watson started nervously, but once she had settled down and had overcome a tendency to stray infield, she played well, and fed her forwards with good passes from a very neat push shot. At inside right J. Thomson made

some attempt to feed her other forwards, but her efforts were somewhat frustrated because of her failure to check her speed when trying to pass. Her style of play was that of a wing forward, and this was not suitable for the inside right posiuon. She made some fast breaks near the circle, where her play was good. S. McCaw, at centre forward, tore down the field as if no other forwards existed, and for the trapping of centre passes she substituted wild swiping at the ball. Though H. Turner, at inside left, deserves credit for making herself available for passes from her halves and backs, she indulged in far too much solo dribbling, which ended dismally in the crush of a stacked defence. An inside left who refuses to combine with her other forwards imposes a severe handicap upon her team’s attack, and personal individual skill can never compensate for this severe failing. M. Donnelly dribbled strongly on the left wing, but took the ball too far before passing, and she also failed to check het pace in making centres, with the result that they lacked strength and direction. Ashburton Players

Ashburton did not provide strong opposition, but the attacking methods of the Canterbury forwards enabled’it to muster a stronger defence than would have been available with earlier passing. Although father slow. E. Carter, at left back, controlled the ball well and passed accurately, and G. le Comte, at left naif, was the best player in tne Ashburton team. Her cover defence was of a high standard, and she was constructive in building attacks for her forwards, of whom M. Mac Kay, in the centre, was the pick. The latter dribbled and passed well, but seemed reluctant to shoot ; n the circle, occasionally passing when a shot should have been made. A. Hood, on the right wing, was rather disappointing in view of tne promise which she showed last season. The Canterbury goals were scored by H. Turner (4) and J Thomson (2). Umpires: Mesdames A. Timlin and M. Cullimore. LOWER GRADES Senior Reserve.—Aranui 3, Carlton 3; Pacific 1. Cranmer 0; Rangiora 1, Nurses 1. Third Grade. —Carlton 3, Rangiora High 1; Aranui beat Avonside by default. Fourth Grade.—Dental Nurses 5. Rawhiti 0; Harewood 8. Christchurch West 0. Fifth Grade.—Shirley 4, Christchurch West 0; Carlton beat Avonside by default. Sixth Grade.—Technical 2. Belfast B 1.