HOCKEY HIGH SCHOOL OLD BOYS WIN SENIOR COMPETITION

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28975, 17 August 1959, Page 13

HOCKEY HIGH SCHOOL OLD BOYS WIN SENIOR COMPETITION

The final round of the men’s hockey competition was played on Saturday at the Polo grounds. High School Old Boys, with a win against Sydenham, increased their lead by a further half point over Woolston. which was hefd to a draw by Technical Old Boys. The game between Harewood and West Old Boys was also drawn. Two of the senior games were played on a ground which was particularly rough and bumpy. These conditions proved too great a handicap for many of the players and the games were characterised by scrappy and indecisive play. Final points for the season are: High School Old Boys 12; Woolston 10A; Sydenham 7; I Harewood 7; West Old Boys 5; Technical Old Boys 3J. Technical Old Boys will now have to play a relegation game against either Selwyn or University, which have yet to play off to decide the winner of the senior second division competition. OLD BOYS V. SYDENHAM High School Old Boys beat Sydenham 3-1 in a poor game, which did little to enhance the reputation of the champion team for the season. Sydenham fielded several veteran players, and provided a stubborn defence for most of the game. Higli School Old Boys, however, held the initiative for a large part of the game, and steady pressure in the second half enabled them to gain the advantage. For Old Boys, R. Eves, the goalkeeper, made several good saves, and the backs. W. Boundy and W. Browne, combined well and were seldom troubled in dealing with Sydenham attacks. C. Francis and R. Cummins were steady in winghalf positions, and gave a commendably high proportion of reasonably accurate passes. At centrehalf, E. Barnes was bustled at times into giving hasty and poorly-judged passes, but otherwise his play was sound.

The forward line did not function as well as in recent games, and the best of these were P. Blyth, at inside right, and J. Klddey, at inside left. Old Boys failed to make sufficient use of D. Anthony on the right wing by directing a considerable amount of play down the left flank. T. Thomas made several good runs on the left wing, and put his centres across crisply. Many promising movements failed, through missed traps and poor passes, but these could be excused somewhat by the adverse playing conditions. The Sydenham goalkeeper, J. Pauling, made many good saves, and his kicking and clearing were particularly good. J. Bate played steadily at left back, and he was given firm support by M. Hall, at right back Hall was a little slow on recovery at times, but his positional play, interceptions, and passing were of a good standard. M. Wall was notable for some good defensive work, but A. Macalister was slow on cover defence at times. D. Lloyd showed some control on the right wing, and he combined nicely with C. Woods the inside right, on occasions. The Sydenham forwards had little combination, and their efforts were largely individual. R. Randle, at inside left, and R. Rusbridge, left wing, were effective early in the game, but appeared to tire in the second spell. Goals were scored for Old Boyr by Kiddey (3), and for Sydenham by Woods. Umpires: Messrs E. Thomas and P Beere. WOOLSTON v. TECHNICAL

Woolston was severely weakened through having four players in the South Island-team, and was fully extended to draw with Technical Old Boys, 1-all. Neither team played well, but Woolston showed rather more combination than Technical. The game was played at great speed on a bumpy ground, and neither team retained possession for more than a few seconds at a time.

For Technical, L. Tyler, the goalkeeper, defended solidly, and P. Kissel was the mainstay of the defence. The halves were generally sound, but Les Lloyd was slow on recovery at times. L. Taylor was very steady at centre-half, and his passing was better than the average. Technical relied on fast, bustling tactics in the forwards, the best of whom was J. Burrows on the right wing. C. Smart trapped well at Inside right, and S. Crotty provided some dash at centre-forward. K. Collins contributed some useful backtackling at inside left I. Smith made some fast runs on the left wing, but showed a tendency to stray out of position at times. For Woolston, K. Mortimer was his usual competent self in goal, and he was given good support by the backs, D. Coulter and L. Hobson, who played soundly. B Davie, at centre-half, was the best of the halves, being prominent both on attack and defence. B. Judge played coolly at right wing, but many of his well-placed centres were not accepted by his other forwards. Woolston had several good chances to score, but these were frittered away through excessive haste. B Aldridge was the most effective of the Woolston forwards in circle play. Crotty scored for Technical and B. Aldridge for Woolston. Umpires: Messrs J. Calder and W. Perry.

WEST OLD BOYS V. HAREWOOD West Old Boys drew. 2-all. with Harewood in the best game of the day. Both teams made some attempt to relate speed to ball control, and in this respect West Old Boys were superior. West Old Boys had the belter of midfield exchanges, but their attacks broke down more frequently through poor passing than through the efforts of the opposition Inaccurate passing at critical times has been the main weakness of the West Old Boys’ team throughout the season. B. Densem, the Harewood goalkeeper. played very steadily, and his stopping and kicking were well judged. D. Shepherd was sound at left back, but he was frequently leit witnout support. J. Baldwin played his usual steady game at right half. B. Murray was seen to advantage in the centre-half position at times. I. Smith made several penetrating runs on the right wing, and his positional play and trapping were sound. R. Wear played well at inside right, trapping neatly and passing with some discretion. M. Heywood showed good control at centre-forward, but occasionally attempted too much individually. For West Old Boys N. Little was sound in goal, but the backs. R. Elliott and D. Hamilton, were unsteady with their trapping. Apart

from this fault, Hamilton was otherwise sound. B. Cosgrove and Peter Clark trapped well, but Clark did not retreat quickly enough on defence. R. Thomson combined well with P. Oakes on the right flank, but A. Scott was not as effective as usual at centre-forward. Paul Clark was steady at inside left and scored one good goal with a reverse stick shot. Goals were scored for Harewood by Shepherd (2) and for West Old Boys by Clark and Thomson. Umpires: Messrs D. Sloane and D. Holland.

LOWER GRADES Senior Second Division.—Woolston 1, Harewood 1; Selwyn 2, Technical 1; Varsity 1, New Brighton 0. Senior Reserve.—Varsity 2. Sydenham 0; West ‘ 0.8. 4, N.A.C. 0; Burnham 4, Kedcliffs 2. Second A Grade.—Technical 0. Woolston 0; West 0.8. beat Teachers’ College by default. Second B Grade.—Christ’s College 3. Selwyn 0; Beckenham 4. Emulous 3; Harewood 5. Sydenham 4. Third Grade.—Selwyn 4, B.H.S. 3; Kaiapoi 6. B.R.A. 2. Fourth Grade.—Sydenham 4, Shirley B.H.S. 3; Boys’ High 5. Technical College 1; N.A.C. 1, HSO B 0. Fifth Grade.—Woolston 5, Kaiapoi 1; Technical 2. Sydenham 1. Under 16 Years.—Selwyn 1. New Under 14 Years.—A Section: Brighton 0; West 0.8. 2, Papanul H.S. 1. Papanul H.S. S, Selwyn 2; B.H.S. 13. B.R.A. (k Sydenham 2, Shirley B.H.S. 2. Section B: Beckenham 4, Selwyn 2; Woolston C 3. Sydenham 1; Boys’ High B 1, Woolston B 1.