HOCKEY High School Old Boys Win Championship

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29265, 25 July 1960, Page 8

HOCKEY High School Old Boys Win Championship

In the fourteenth and final round of the Canterbury Hockey Association’s senior competition. High School Old Boys drew with Woolston and thereby emerged as the champion club team for 1960 by the narrow margin of half a point. Had Woolston won the match it would have gained the championship, and it came desperately close to doing so. There was an element of drama about the manner in which the game concluded. At the expiration of time, Woolston was leading by one goal, but a penalty bully had been awarded against its goalkeeper, and the rules provide that this must be taken. Hence Old Boys gained the equalising goal at the last possible moment. Old Boys deserve to have won because they have been the most cohesive and constructive team throughout the season, but the manner in which Woolston has pressed them so closely has maintained interest to the end. With a representative programme in the offing, it has been decided to conduct a club knock-out competition during the balance of the season.

Results were:— , High School Old Boys 1. Woolston 1. West Old Boys t. University 1. Technical Old Boys 1. Sydenham 1. Harewood 1, Selwyn 0. Final competition points are:— High School Old Boys 12(, Woolston 12, West Old Boys 9, University 7(, Harewood 7, Sydenham 4, Technical Old Boys 3J, Selwyn i. HIGH SCHOOL OLD BOVS v. WOOLSTON As this match decided the fate of the 1960 club championship the standard of play was disappointing, and the main interest stemmed from the efforts of Old Boys to equalise during the second half and from the exciting and dramatic finish. Old Boys deserved to win because its forwards provided the only constructive Play of the match, but this was restricted to the first half. Woolston depended’ too much upon hard hitting, only J. Abrams. N. Hobson, and B. Judge relying upon constructive effort. Having gained a lead of one goal during the first spell. Woolston appeared to be content to keep Old Boys at bay, and indulged in long hitting over the Old Boys’ goal-line. Even if defensive tactics had been justified it would have been better to have used the side-line, because Old Boys gained far more from the 16-yard hit than a roll-in could have provided. During this second half the Old Boys’ forwards became so desperate in their efforts to score that their combination deteriorated. and their attacks degenerated into solo dribbles of the hit-and-run type. There was far too much barging and stick interference by both teams, and in one or two instances during the first half Old Boys might well have been awarded a penalty bully. Through passes into the circle well in advance of the forwards provided D. Goldsmith, the Old Boys custodian, with opportunities for powerful kicking, and he always cleared' the ball a long way upfield. W. Browne played a most effective game at leftback. his tackling >elng strong and relentless, and his clearances powerful and accurate. He also made good use of the push shot when under pressure to feed his Insideleft intelligently. His partner, W. Boundy, supported him well, and emerged from the match with credit, although he missed his trap on several difficult occasions. During the second spell D. Iggo at left-half cut out the Woolston right flank repeatedly, and was quick to return the ball to his own forwards. E, Barnes at centre-half was fit and tireless, and his defensive play was especially valuable. He covered a vast amount of ground in his best game of the season. C. Francis on the right was subjected to much harrying and body play, and his contribution was handicapped by a severe knock. R. Rogers made some useful dribbles at times on the right wing, but was too casual about making himself available for passes and seeking unmarked positions. P. Bly th controlled the ball well at inside-left, and showed penetration in his dribbling which was based upon some clever stickwork. In the vital second half he was the only forward who sought to make openings by means of intelligent passing. At centre-forward I. Armstrong roved all over the field and tried to break the Woolston defence with many solo bursts. Although he required careful marking his team’s attack would have been more effective if he had indulged in more combined play. As the game progressed J. Kiddey at inside-left tended to panic, and was frequently caught with the ball on his left side. N. Thomas dribbled well on the left wing, but too often ended at the left comer, where he was effectively isolated from his colleagues. , K. Mortimer was safe in the Woolston goal, and his right-back, J. Abrams, played a sound game. He timed his tackles well, and Ms passing was always accurate and inteilgent. L. Hobson, at left-back, intercepted and tackled effectively, but too many of his passes were cut off by opponents. His difficulties were increased because he had to cover his left-half. R. Gillespie, who was so frequently beaten. The latter indulged in fly-hitting at times, was unreliable in his trapping whose technique is faulty, moved In to tackle, inopportunely, and was often caught out of position. B. Davie and D. Percy played solid defensive games in the half-line, and made many interceptions, but their passing did not greatly assist their forwards. The Woolston attack was based on N. Hobson and B. Judge, although it was a mistake to play the former on the wing in the first half. Both moved well with the ball at times and their passing was good in the first half, but Woolston’s second half policy tended to cut them out of the game. The remaining forwards were mediocre, B. Judge scored for Wools-

ton and J. Kiddey scored for High School Old Boys. Umpires: Messrs A. Holland and B. Rogers. UNIVERSITY ▼. WEST OLD BOYS This match was marred by far too much body play, barging and illegal left-side tackling, and the standard of play was poor. West Old Boys had the better of the game until about 20 minutes from the end when panic seemed to take control, and the ball was bashed to all points on the compass. In its first season in senior hockey and for the earlier part of the present season West acquired a reputation for attempting to play constructively and with good control, but it* concentration on these desirable principles seems to have weakened in recent games. University’s defence was not a* solid as usual, and it wavered rather badly on the occasions when West scored its two goal* which were in the nature of gifts from the opposition. For West Old. Boy* the major defenders were D. Hamilton, R. Elliott and Peter Clark, and R. Thompson played coolly and with some finesse on the right wing. The better players in an unimpressive University team were K. Thomson, at centre-half, A. Read, at centre-forward, and B. Maunsell at inside-right. A. Scott and Paul Clark scored for West Old Boys and G, Smith scored for University. Umpires: Messrs B. Lloyd and P. Beere. SYDENHAM v. TECHNICAL OLD BOYS This match was fairly evently contested, and play was often fast, with both sets of forwards fully extending the respective defence* but failing to finish off their movements because of limited stickwork or badly placed passes. The trapping in the Technical team showed improvement upon that of the previous round, and this resulted in a much more successful defence. For Technical I. Emmerson made a number of good saves in goal, and the backs, P. Kissell and S. Hall, fully maintained their good form of recent games. L. Taylor played soundly and received better support from the wing-halves, while L. Smith. G. Harper and I. Parker all showed ability in taking the attack to the opposing circle. S. Crotty and K. Collins seldom wasted a chance of switching the direction of the attack, but received few opportunities for shooting when play reached the Sydenham goalmouth. Sydnham’s best defenders were J. Pauling in goal, and the back*. L. Lloyd and D. Whalley. The halves were not particularly constructive, but their spoiling play created difficulties for the Technical forwards. D. Lloyd and C. Woods showed plenty of dash on attack, and M. McKinnon used hi* stickwork and dribbling ability to good advantage. D. Lloyd scored for Sydehnam and I. Parker equalised for Technical Old Boys. Umpires: Messrs R. Campbell and K. Cumberpatch.

HAREWOOD V. SELWYN The greater liveliness of the Harewood players allied to superior control, gained them a meritorious victory over Selwyn in a fast but rather scrappy game. At times during the season Selwyn has shown some degree of improvement, but it has been inconsistent, partly because of lack of experience and partly because it has been vulnerable to bustling through insufficient concentration upon stfckwork.

Prominent in the Harewood team for sound defensive play were the backs, D. Shepherd and D. Fuller, and they were always well supported by the halves, L. Innes and B. Murray, who also gave their forwards good service on attack. D. Stanton and R. Wear combined nicely at times on the right flank and produced some well-controlled dribbling, and G. Gibson and C. Broad hunt were quick to take advantage of any lapses in the Selwyn defence, which was often hard pressed by their opportunism.

R. Harris made several fine saves in the Selwyn goal, whose defence was somewhat handicapped by a half-line which lacked solidity through failing at times to cover with sufficient speed. M. Berkeley was the best of the halves, especially in the development of his stickwork. M. Clements was again the most capable and constructive defender, and easily the best player in his team in devoting care to the placing of his passes. The forwards were eager enough and produced some useful dribbling at times, but they lacked combination through inexperience in selecting the correct time to deliver passes. Some degree of thrust wa* provided by K. Cherry and M. Wilkinson. B. Turner scored for Harewood. Umpires: Messrs P. Beere and S. Swift.