Canterbury Shield Hockey Champion

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31161, 10 September 1966, Page 17

Canterbury Shield Hockey Champion

“The Press” Special Service

DUNEDIN.

Canterbury decisively won the New Zealand Challenge Shield yesterday when it beat Whangarei, 2-1, in the final match of the 1966 hockey tournament at Dunedin.

The score did not fairly reflect the dominance which Canterbury asserted in the second half.

Whangarei succeeded in producing more skilful hockey than ever before in its relatively brief history of major provincial competition.

It attempted to match Canterbury in the techniques of close ball control, short passing, swift covering and right flank penetration. In all these respects it achieved some success, especially in the first half when its right flank enjoyed the advantage of the best area of surface on a heavy field. Judge Outstanding Thereafter, Canterbury used the same area persis- [ tently, and in doing so brought B. Judge, its rightwing, into the play with devastating effect. . He was quite outstanding. His dribbling was so elusive Sand penetrating that he repeatedly left hordes of

baffled opponents in his wake, and he provided Canterbury with ample opportunities. Only excellent defence in the goalmouth itself prevented a higher score.

Pools of Water

Canterbury's triumph was synonymous with Judge’s match, and it was fitting that his goal in the first half was the product of a splendid shot.

The ground suited Canterbury, the ball rolled smoothly, apart from the isolated patches which were pools of water, and the trapping of the team was vastly improved upon that of previous matches.

Although Canterbury and Whangarei emerged from the tournament with the same number of wins and one loss to each other, there was little doubt which was the more skilful team in the final. Canterbury did well to emerge so convincingly from its earlier doubts and tor-

ments, and from the peculiar hoodoo which it has inflicted upon itself in its encounters with Whangarei in recent seasons.

Canterbury’s goals were scored by Judge and J. Christensen, and K. Deeming scored for Whangarei.

Fell Into Error

In Canterbury’s defence, B. Turner, the left-back, was the best tackler on the field, and he also passed intelligently, but his partner, A. Patterson, fell into error through requiring far too much space with his stickwork. The coolness and close control of S. Maister, at righthalf, were invaluable, and in the centre, K. Thomson became a rock as the game progressed, although lax in his marking in the early stages. W. Thomson toiled as never before at inside-right, back-tackling well and using his stick-work with imagination, and the play of Christensen, at inside-left, was characterised with the same virtues, a considerable achievement for such a young player who is essentially a right field player. For Whangarei, R. McPherson made some fine saves and R. Capey and J. Hicks were prominent in the first half. Afterwards, the Whangarei halves faded badly under pressure. Lacked Maturity

The best of the forwards were D. Deeming, right-wing, who dribbled splendidly, and T. Blake, on the left-wing and in many other places, whose control was good and who fed the ball most intelligently. G. Moss showed much promise at centre-forward, but lacked the maturity to cope with the closer marking to which he was subjected as the game developed. The Whangarei forwards dribbled into spaces cleverly, but they lacked the ability to slip passes when confronted with a congested defence in the circle area.

Auckland gained third place in the tournament by defeating Wanganui, 3-1, and Hawke’s Bay won the Rothmans Cup, beating Taranaki, 5-4, in the final round.