INTERNATIONAL TOURNEY ENDS Netherlands emerges as top team

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32701, 2 September 1971, Page 24

INTERNATIONAL TOURNEY ENDS Netherlands emerges as top team

(New Zealand ‘Press Association) AUCKLAND. Unofficial though it may be in women’s hockey circles, the Netherlands team is now the world’s top team as a result of the international tournament in Auckland.

With its “title” hinging on yesterday’s crucial match between Germany and England, the Netherlands must have cheered a silent cheer when Germany made short work of the English side—previously unbeaten—to walk off the victor, 3-1.

Yesterday’s results were: Germany 3, England 1. Netherlands 3, India 0. New Zealand 5, Scotland 0. New Zealand 23s 2, Belgium 0. Australia 1, Japan 1. Wales 1, United States 1. Ireland 3, Malaysia 0. Canada 0, Fiji 0.

Germany’s win left the Netherlands at the top of' the A division ladder with • four points, gained from one ! win and two draws. 1

On points, Germany and Australia tied for second place with three points each, but on a count of goals for and against, Germany has the edge on Australia.

England, with two points, for two draws and yesterday’s loss, was fourth. If matches outside the offi-

cial draw are taken into account, the Netherlands also takes the over-all title, with New Zealand in second place one point behind. New Zealand also took top place in the B division, with six points, winning all three of its matches. England v. Germany Adapting itself better to wet conditions, Germany scored a convincing win over England. These two sides last met in March when 60,000 spectators packed Wembley Stadium in London to see a fine match end in a two-all draw.

The German v/omen yesterday elected to hit their passes firmly and frequently changed the direction of attack, causing the English defenders to turn and clear hurriedly. England made the error of using short passes, in spite of the holding field, and some passes across their own circle seemed to invite disaster.

In spite of the embarrassment of losing her skirt early in the second half, E. Huth played soundly in the German mid-field and the captain, B. Aichinger, was substantia] as full-back. All the German forwards moved the ball well, M. Raabe putting the stamp on a successful tournament with two goals. England had a hard-

working forward line. The left-wing, S. Condren, made some promising runs, but the German circle seldom came under sustained pressure. Netherlands v. India The Netherlands players hit the ball very hard in scoring three goals to India’s none. The Dutch team-work was always first-class. In goal for India, T. George made some splendid saves. There were several minor injuries, but the standard of hockey was satisfactory in the circumstances.

The goal from a penalty comer was a classic as the Dutch centre-forward, E. Teppema, followed in to score off the rebound from the Indian goal-keeper’s pads. The wet front which has affected Auckland’s weather was duplicated by several of the players, who went sprawling in the wet and slippery conditions. New Zealand v. Scotland Scotland’s defence was sorely tested in its match against New Zealand. Its right-half, M. Brown, played creditably against a strong New Zealand left flank, while its goal-keeper, H. Flockhart, had a good game under trying conditions. It was an open match, both teams adapting themselves to the slippery ground and

using the through pass intelligently. The fast New Zealand forward line quickly took the ascendancy, being three goals up at half-time, through good play by M. Weston and S. Eddy. Mrs Weston was again prominent when she scored New Zealand’s fourth goal with a crisp flick shot, giving Miss Flockhart no chance. J. Bint brought her tally of goals to nine for the tournament when she shot New Zealand’s fifth goal right on time. New Zealand 23s v. Belgium An exciting contest resulted between the wellmatched Belgian and New Zealand 23s teams. It took the New Zealanders 22 minutes to score the only goal of the first half when J. Rutherford scored from a penalty comer. S. Sanson was prominent on attack, but her shot at goal just missed. The Belgian left flank of B. Motte and C. Miserque was always dangerous, but P. Whiteman and M. Stringer were sound for New Zealand.

Heavy rain slowed the second half but Sanson proved herself a wet-weather player with her splendid ball control and penetration. The whole New Zealand 23s half-line defended well, and tried to open up play. Just before time, Rutherford scored again from a comer, giving New Zealand 23s a well-deserved win.

Wales v. U.S.A. A draw gave a good indication of the run of play in the Wales-United States match. Wales held the early advantage but lost many chances of scoring.

FINAL POINTS LADDER . The over-all scoreboard of all international matches—including a win by default for Scotland—is:

P W D L F A Pts Neth’lands ..743 0 13 3 11 N.Z. ..742 1 25 5 10 England ..742 1 15 8 10 Australia ..733 1 13 7 9 Wales ..733 1 10 3 9 Scotland ..631 2 4 7 9 Germany ..632 1 11 5 8 N.Z. 23s ..732 2 6 5 8 Canada ..723 2 4 10 7 Ireland ..722 3 8 10 6 Belgium ..722 3 5 7 6 U.S. ..714 2 5 8 6 Japan ..721 4 8 12 5 India ..711 5 5 10 3 Malaysia ..711 5 3 26 3 Fiji ..702 5 4 13 2 A division Neth’lands . 3 12 0 4 14 Germany ..311 14 3 3 Australia ..311 13 5 3 England .302 13 5 2 B division N.Z. ..330 0 9 0 6 N.Z. 23s ..312 0 2 14 Scotland ..311 115 3 U.S. ..301 2 0 4 1