Canty teams off to good start in women’s hockey

Press, 2 September 1980, Page 36

Canty teams off to good start in women’s hockey

. Special correspondent Canterbury < A made an encouraging start in its bid for K Cup honours when the national women’s . hockey tournament began in Blenheim yesterday. In spite 'of the drizzle which persisted all day, the underfoot, conditions' were hard, if slightly greasy, but Canterbury adapted well and accounted for Waikato, 3-0.

Other' leading teams, Auckland A and Eastern Southland A, also impressed in . winning their opening matches. However, Eastern Southland, the K Cup holder, was given a stem test by Northland. Eastern Southland led by one goal at half-time, but conceded a goal early in the second half. An excellent field goal and a well-struck penalty comer enabled Eastern Southland to put the result beyond doubt. The newly-promoted Wellington A caused an early upset in the premier grade when,it. beat Otago, 3-1.. Canterbury started strongly against Waikato and play was confined mainly inside Waikato’s half. Canterbury forced several comers, but the forwards dallied in taking their shots and allowed Waikato to recover its defence.

After 25 minutes of consistent attacking play, Shirley Haig netted from a neat pass from Judy Phillips to give Canterbury the lead. Waikato relied on strong clearances from its defence whereas Canterbury used its combination between its forwards and defence to move upfield consistently. Waikato attacked more positively in the second half and Canterbury made errors under constant pressure. The team was fortunate that a stinging shot from a corner was just astray. After weathering the storm, Canterbury launched its own assaults and passes found their targets. A clever move down the left flank enabled Henrietta Carroll, a replacement for Julie Reid in the forward line, to push the ball across the Waikato

circle. The ball was stopped by a Waikato defender’s foot and Mrs Haig made no mistake with the penalty stroke. Soon afterwards, Waikato conceded a comer and Miss Phillips netted the goal after Pat Barwick had made a good hand stop. Canterbury lifted its play in the final minutes and . was. wellserved by Chris MacCauley, who intercepted many loose passes,, and by Dale Milne, who trapped her passes accurately at left half. In section B, for .the Floyd Shield, Canterbury B had a good opening win against Auckland B, 2-1. Auckland opened the scoring when its inside-left, S. Cocking, netted a crossed pass. Minutes later Canterbury’s left-half Leigh Williams, saved another Auckland shot on the goal-line.

Canterbury B mustered its attack and the equaliser came from a strong shot by Jane Earnshaw. Canterbury continued to attack and. took the lead when the inside-left, Barbara Mitchell,, scored from a comer. Auckland was kept on defence in its own half for most of the game and its occasional breaks were well dealt with by the Canterbury defence. Auckland’s defence also proved sound and coped with tiie many comer shots awarded to Canterbury B. In the same section, Ashburton was beaten by Manawatu, 2-0. Results were:—

Section A (K Eastern Southland 3, Northland 2: Canterbury. A 3, Waikato . 0. Pool B: Auckland A 3, Hawkes Bay 1; Wellington A?, Otago 1. Section B (Floyd Shield).—Pool A: Wairarapa 6, Poverty Bay 1, North Shore A 3, Central Otago 0 Pool B: Manawatu 2, Ashburton B 2, Auckland B Section C (Mills Cup).—Pool A: South Auckland 2, Taranaki 1; Malvern 2, Southland 0. Pool B: Marlborough 2, Horowhenua 0; Tauranga 6, King Country 1. Section D (Holden Cup).—Pool A: Wellington B 5, Eastern Southland B 2; . Maniototo 1, North Shore B 1. Pool B: South Otago 3, North Otago 1; Nelson 2. Bay of Plenty 0. Section E (Umpires’ Trophy).— Pool A: South Canterbury 3, Counties 1; Wanganui 6, West Coast 1. Pool B: Ruahine-Danne-virke 1, Rangitikei; 1; Piako 5, Buller 2.