Linwood Old Boys in senior hockey final

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33610, 12 August 1974, Page 16

Linwood Old Boys in senior hockey final

Linwood Old Boys qualified for the grand final of the Trans Tours senior hockey competition when it beat I ligh School Old Bovs. 3-2, on Saturday.

Linwood fully deserved its win, for its applied itself to the basic principles and controlled the ball far better than did With D. Small and H. Dullough prominent, Linwood kept probing the weaknesses in the Old Boys defence, and the side was helped by the intelligent distribution of B. Bhana. Old Boys at times, appeared almost dis-1 interested. Linwood made much; ground through the left-fieldi runs of R. Parry and G.| Davies. By sound positioning and! good covering, Linwood! denied the Old Boys for-i wards any freedom o'f movement and it was only the occasional individual effort by one of ■ the forwards which placed Linwood under pressure. K. Budhia and R. Whitford covered well, and B. Dunning. in goal for Linwood, also had a fine game. BAD PASSING Old Boys looked nothing like the team which had very nearly beaten University a week earlier. Its attitude may have partly brought about its downfall, and bad passing was another contributing factor. A number of promising movements were wrecked by a badly di rec-; ted pass.

G. Gibson tackled and covered soundly and by his efforts

put some of his more experienced team-mates to shame, R. Smith gave Gibson useful support, but it was lack of cohe-; sion among the forwards which’ robbed Old Boys of * winning chance. There is now the strange! situation of Linwood and Uni-; versitv having to wait five weeks before they contest the final; a situation which might have an adverse effect on the teams' retaining fitness and combinations.; Small and Dullough scored Linwood’s goals, and R. Bailee| and G. Marshall netted for Old; Boys. TRANS ONE HUNDRED Results of the Trans One Hundred matches were:— Hagley Old Boys, 2 iK. and 1 Thomson goals'. Redcliffs 0; University 3 <B. J., S. G., and C : A Maister), Selwyn-Hillmorton,. 1 (M. Burtt). Hagley adapted its play better: to the heavy ground than did* Redcliffs. and considering the conditions its standard of play, was quite high. i Both sides used players who; are basically half-backs as inside i rights — L Ineson for Redcliffs and K. Thomson for Hagley — and this resulted in some welldirected attacking moves. Selwyn generally out-trapped University, and also adapted slightly better to the conditions.; but Selwyn played without a goal-keeper, and this, naturally.; placed it at a great disadvantage.

University still managed • r f skilful hockey, particuiarb the second-half, when it stored all its three goals. The Trans One Hundred co--petition was let down b> the fact that no umpires were ~r-pointed pointed for the two matches both cases, coaches umpne.h and while they did a eompelo-.: .iob the players might be ex cused for questioning the im portance being placed on the competition.