Women’s Hockey Better Play Seen In Senior Games

Press, Volume C, Issue 29537, 12 June 1961, Page 7

Women’s Hockey Better Play Seen In Senior Games

Seventh matches in the first round of the Canterbury Womer.'s Hockey Association senior A grade competition were continued at the Hospital Comet grounds at Hagley Park on Saturday afternoon after a break of two weeks because of Queen's Birthday Week-end tournament play at A9bburton. The two leading team*— University and Carlton —were separated when the former won and the latter, after leading for most of the way. tort. Aranui and Digby's, lying together in third place, fought a drawn game to c x me level with Carlton on the points table. By beating Carlton. Harewood made up the quartet now in second place to Un : ver«ty. Although the ground was sticky underfoot on Saturday, conditions were generally good and agreeable hockey was seen. The over-all standard and quality of play was by far ‘he best this season and for the firrt time teams showed signs of having settled into ‘heir formations and following—as teams—their preplanned intentions of olav It was good to watch. The games were keenly fourtit and closer than some of the scores would indicate. A ’airrel of sorts is due to •■he H'nem-vi side which, on its own form and the form of i*s oompebtor. University ehnuld have been ma«sac-ed Univeertty, as *xt>»c*ed. ratted on three eioals tn the firrt half .but then rtoooed: in the second half TT-Hverrttv eould not score at a l ’ but had to concede a goal to Hinemoa. Results were: Uaivenity 3. Hinemoa 1. Harewood 3, Carltan t. Dlgby’a 3, Aranal 3. Rawhtti 3, West Old Girls fi. Aranui v. Ditby's Aranui played an attacking game from the beginning erf this match. The first halt was certainly in its favour and at the interval it led: but form tapered off in the second Griod. Digby's caught up after ving trailed 2-3 ana the game was drawn. The Aranui forwards, which had worked well with the ball in the initial stages, did not maintain the control later on and play became scrappier than it should have, for both Aranui and Digby's—although not top-rankers—are able to tum on a good brand of

t hockey. Not that the game was not exciting; far from it. It ' was one of the mpst exciting , matches of the season, but the level of excitement does not 1 necessarily have any bearing . on the quality of the game from the sport-science point of view. • Digby’s seemed to go best t when the right wing was , played, although the main thorn in Aranui's side was un- • doubtedly the Digby's centreforward. T. Tuhou. who was . deadly on many occasions. Aranui’s scores came from ■ goals by the left wing. J. Ashf enden. and the left inner. S. r Cowles (2). C. Mullally (right wing) and ■ Tuhou scored for Aranui. In the second half, with the I flow of play a memory. M i Healey (left unng) scored for J Digby's to draw level, three-all 1 Two Digby's players worth S mentioning were D. McKinnel (right-back), and G. Blunden ‘ (left-back) who went well. > Rawhiti v. West Old Girls Rawhiti was not a convincing I side and should have done better against West Old Girls. ' To be sure, Rawhiti won three- ' nil but the opportunities that ■ were there for a greater score were not taken. . On the other hand, the less--1 fancied West side was more of " a knit group, in spite of two ■ regular players being out Of I action with influenza. A good deal of credit is due > to the West defence, partlcu- - larly for its efforts in the sec- . ond half, to hold a vigorous Rawhiti team down to three goals only. ! In the second period it was > West which did much of the , attacking and many times its forwards reached the circle. N. Powell (left-back)—she was > the Canterbury left-half in 1959 . —played a first-class game in many of these probes but West 1 could never find the skill needed to pull out the winning shot at the net. In close defence in the circle ' Rawhiti is unsurpassed in the senior competition. The figures : prove it r So far this season Rawhiti ■ has conceded only six goals, 1 compared with Aranui's nine, ■ and University’s and Harewood's eight each. However, although Rawhiti can defend like fury, its own ability in the circle is sadly lacking for in seven games It has scored only eight goals. By comparison. Harewood has scored 20. Carlton and Aranui 16 goals each, and University . 14. • The comparison becomes , more pointed when it is em- . phasised that three of ; Rawhlti's goals came in its last • game, against the weakest team . in the competition. This is the , department which Rawhiti needs to overhaul smartly. , On Saturday. Rawhtti goals i were scored by E. and S. Johnt son in the first half, and by C. , Herrett in the second spell. University v. Hinemoa i The result of this match could a be easily forecast beforehand: f but University did not live up

to expectations in the number of goals scored. Although by far the superior team in skill and experience, it had to work for three goals in the first half and while it would be exaggerating to say the team was outclassed in the second period, the fact that it did not score but had one goal scored against it by the green Hinemoa team does not sit well. Hinemoa players, in their team chit-chat, expressed their admiration for the skill of one or two University individuals: but it was pretty obvious that one side had. in its short time in senior A play, achieved more team understanding than the other. F. Kelly scored two of University's goals and T. Minehan the third. J. Brown (centre-forward) scored for Hinemoa. Carlton v. Harewood The Carlton players in this match were a delight to watch. Carlton likes to think it plays controlled hockey: on Saturday it could claim to have come somewhere near its aim. The pace of the first half and the control Carlton kept of plav was too much for Harewood which was bustled all over the place in a disorganised fashion. Carlton led 2-0 at half time, a fair statistical summary of the merits of the teams. In the second spell Harewood knuckled to work but had to wait 15 minutes before it could penetrate Carlton's defence. Eight minutes before full time Harowood. which had been knocking at the door for some tlm», drew level and took the game with a third goal five minutes before full time. The game was memorable for Carlton's crisp movements; for the clean trapping; for the determined and mostly successful tackling; for the passing rushes that would go from 15 to 50 yards with three or four players handling; and for the snappy, direct passes that would go through holes and gaps in the opposing side to a waiting colleague. This was good hockey, well played and worth watching. In the first half Harewood could not match it. Carlton lost, partly as a result of lack of fitness In being unable to maintain its cracking pace for another 35 minutes and partly because of the mental strain of continuing a brand of hockey being played with the brain instead of only the body. But it showed what can be done; It Is what University has been trying to do all the season. Harewood had tap or three good runs in the first half and on three occasions attacked In the Carlton circle but was unable to complete the moves in the face of energetic defence Carlton's first goal came when Harewood keeper L. Bayliss, was drawn away from the net and miskicked. A Carlton shot rebounded off the metal tube at the side of the net but A. Howman was there to push the ball right tn during the resulting scramble. Further attacks were mounted by Carlton In whieh A. Tourell (centre), L. Drummond (lefthalf) and A. Howman (leftinner) were prominent. Drummond particularly, trapped beautifully. Harewood extricated itself from an uncomfortable position and returned to the Carlton circle but J. Wilson, in goal, made two good saves. Carlton moved back in another foray Into Harewood territory; Howman forced in a single-handed attack and let

Tourell finish It for the second goal. Carlton had difficulty In keep. Ing up the speed and control after half time although the pace was only slightly less than thit of the previous 36 minutes. However. Harewood was an improved side, yet with nothing like the Carlton teamwork Energy told and attack after attack came on the Carlton circle. The intensity of the attacks and the regularity with which they were made had to tell In the end. First, B. Turner, the centreforward goaled; then H. Turner scored to put Harewood level and finally, H. Turner scored the winning goal with less than five minutes to go