Carnoutsos out

Press, 20 August 1984, Page 40

Carnoutsos out

By KEVIN TUTTY The Canterbury hockey team’s confidence took a pummelling yesterday when it lost, 1-4, to the Canterbury B team in a representative match. Its morale will not have been improved by the announcement last night that George Carnoutsos is not available for the Adidas national tournament which starts in Gisborne next Sunday. Carnoutsos and Robin Wilson were Canterbury’s representatives in the New Zealand Olympic team in Los Angeles, and there is some doubt whether Wilson will be available to assist Canterbury A which has a serious personnel crisis. Wilson said last evening that he will not be available

for the entire tournament and it would depend on work commitments whether he would get to Gisborne at all. If he does play it will be only in the last two or three games. Carnoutsos said family considerations prevented him from being available. The Olympic team was overseas for six weeks and last week his wife, Susan gave birth to their second child. Although he will not play at the national tournament, it did not mean he was retiring. “I will be available for Canterbury again next year,” Carnoutsos said. Wilson has discussed his position with the Canterbury coach, Mr Jim Bowden, and said last evening he would make a deci-

sion probably only the day before he leaves. If Wilson is unable to travel to Gisborne the Canterbury team will have to get through the tournament with only 13 players, a demanding task especiaßy if it has to play Auckland which will have all its Olympic players available. Through unavailability and injury Canterbury will be without seven of its regular players. Besides Carnoutsos, Mr Craig Burtt and Andy Innes were not available. Mark Tynan, David Penfold and John Radovonich will be overseas with the New Zealand junior team and Balvant Bhana was not considered because of injury.