Hagley holds hockey lead

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33230, 21 May 1973, Page 17

Hagley holds hockey lead

Hagley Old Boys clung to a 1-0 lead in its senior men's hockey match on Saturday and in turn clung to the lead of the preliminary competition which has two rounds remaining.

Hagley has a half point lead over its main rival, University, which it will meet in the final round of the competition. University continued its unbeaten record with a 2-0 win over Hare-wood-Bumside on Saturday. A minor surprise was caused by High School Old Bovs B, which beat Redcliffs, while Linwood Old Boys was unlucky not to force a draw with High School Old Boys A. SelwynHillmorton had a good win against Sydenham-Cashmere and looks fairly certain of being In the top six teams for the Trans Tours championship. Hagley, University and High School Old Boys A are already assured of places tn the top six teams as they are so far in front on the points table that they eannot be reached.

Results and scorers were:— Hagley Old Boys 1 (J. Bailey), Woolston 0. High School Old Boys A 3 (E. Barnes, A. Patterson, S. Parry), Linwood Old Boys 2 (G. Davies, G. Williams). University 2 (B. J. Maister 2), Harewood-Burnslde 0. High School Old Boys B 3 (T. Thomas 2, N. Chamberlain), Redeliffs 2 (A. Ineson, P. Christensen).

Selwyn-Hillmorton 7 (A. Hay de 3, D. Clements, M. Burtt, J. Pepper, E. Henning), Sydenham-Cashmere 1 (R. E rlckson). Points:—

LINWOOD UNLUCKY A bumpy ground was obviously the reason for many trapping errors and for a considerable period of the game both teams resorting to futile long hitting. There were also numerous infringements for body play and unnecessary questioning of umpires’ decisions by players who should have known better. In a mediocre Old Boys attack

R. Bailey impressed with hisi ability to 1 find gaps in the defence. E. Barnes controlled play well from centre-half and M. Kidd and S. Parry tackled well, but Parry often with too much vigour. Linwood, which scored two goals early in the second half, deserved a draw against High School Old Boys A, whose play was very scrappy. Linwood had much more cohesion in its forwards than it has had previously this season and the result of enthusiastic hunting was its. two goals. Old Boys had more opportunities on attack but it was only a penalty corner about lOmin from the end of the match which gave them the lead. D. Small did not play to his I best form but he did receive i good support from the other forwards. The halves kept a good supply of ball up to the forwards, with B. Trethewey energetic in everything he did. J. Whitmore on defence halted several dangerous attacks with smart tackling.

Umpires: Messrs E. Ambler and P. F. Clark.

University dominant The depth and speed of University’s attacks in the first half threatened to demolish Harewood, whose defence as the game progressed became vicious in the intensity of its body checking. In the final quarter, University appeared to lose interest in developing Its attacks and was content to hold its lead, which was seldom threatened, although R. L. McHark was required to make several saves in goal. Earlier, the dribbling and interpassing of the three University inside forwards, J. H. Christensen, B. J. Maister, and A. Borren, made the Harewood circle the busiest region in Christchurch, and the halves, P. D. Ackerley, S. G. Maister, and N. Coster, gave them frequent chances for displaying their skills. There were times, however, when the desire for speed lent a frantic touch and was the cause of technical errors. The backs. G. Murray and E. Holstein, covered each other well enough, and Holstein’s tackling i was often invaluable.

Harewood’s ruggedness was unfortunate, because a number of its players showed competence with the ball. The best of these were the halves, R. Pettet, A. Chesney, and B. Halstead, and the centre-forward, J. Halstead, who at times found space for himself and accepted his passes cleanly. J. Bate and E. Clarke were reliable backs, although (troubled by the speed of the opposition, and S. Cranfield was very safe in goal. His blocking of powerful snots was cool and courageous, and he allowed very few rebounds.

Umpires: Messrs E. Gilliver and K. J. McEwen. Scoring spree The disappearance of the Sydenham half line was akin to a birthday present for Selwyn, whose forwards took full advantage of the time and space available. Selwyn played with much the greater application and determination. and was ably led by its centre forward. A. Hayde, who made many breaks and was alwavs well supported by the dribbling and sound passing of M. Burtt at inside left. The latter combined well with D. Clements on the left wing, and both were swift to seize upon hesitation and vacillation in the Sydenham defence. At inside right, J. Pepper was equally lively. In Selwyn’s defence, L. Wong was the only impressive back on the field. His technique was §ood, although inclined to be too eliberate. S. Harvey kicked strongly from the goalmouth. Sydenham allowed Selwyn too much latitude for attacking through the centre, and paid

dearly for having to attempt long clearances from defence, which almost justified what should have been injudicious roaming by D. Simpson, the Selwyn centre half. M. Fitzsimmons made some good saves in Sydenham’s goal, had little chance with other shots, and missed one or two which should have been blocked, but he received little protection from the rest of the defence, of whom C. Tomlin was the most constructive.

The three inside forwards, D. Klrwan, R. Erickson, and B. Cameron, made a number of useful breaks, the more commendable because of the lack of half-back support, but their shooting was hurried and thoughtless. i Umpires: Messrs T. E. Eggleston and P. Chant. Minor surprise

I High School Old Boys B scored early in the match, but play [evened out and Redcliffs slowly gained dominance. A. Inneson, at centre half for Redcliffs, dictated play and distributed the ball well.

Redcliffs began to work as a unit and forced the Old Boys defence to rush tackles and throw away possession with indiscriminating hitting. Redcliffs had several penalty corners and Ineson levelled the score from one of these.

Old Boys pushed the Redcliffs defence back with some quick rushes at the start of the second half, culminating in a penalty stroke which T. Thomas converted. Blay switched from end to end. with Redcliffs playing more constructive hockey, but Old Boys had more scoring chances and it was finally Thomas again who netted the winning goal. Umpires: Messrs D. Denniston and R. Trenberth. Uninteresting game After scoring what proved to be the only goal of the match, Hagley was content to control the match, with the result that play seldom flowed and was generally scrappy. This was also partly because of the close marking by Woolston players. R. Best, until he left the field

injured, was the only forward to dribble with fire. J. Bailey made the best of his opportunities on the right wing, and good anticipation of a pass led to him scoring the only goal. W. A. Thomson made a few attempts to open play but was frustrated by lack of support. B. Aldridge made some penetrating runs for Woolston, but usually found himself cornered on the back-line. J. R. Gillespie gave his forwards good support on attack and covered and tackled assuredly. The rest of the Woolston defence carried out their tasks well, but the positional play of some players was poor. W. B. Wright trapped and directed play well from centre half, and was by far the most [enthusiastic of the Hagley players. His form is much better than earlier in the season. P. F. Clark and P. Cox were prominent in a strong Hagley defence, with bustling but effective tackling. Umpires: Messrs D. Lloyd and K. Gray.

P W L D F A Pts Hagley O.B. 7 7 0 0 20 1 7 University . 7 6 0 1 36 6 6J H.S.O.B, A 7 6 1 0 14 7 6 Selwyn-H. . 7 3 3 1 16 12 31 Harewood-B. 7 2 3 2 3 5 3 Redcliffs .. 7 2 4 1 9 26 21 Woolston -. 7 2 5 0 7 12 2 Llnw’d O.B. 7 1 4 2 8 11 2 H.S.O.B. B 7 2 5 0 6 17 2 Sydenham-C. 7 0 6 1 2 24 J