Chance for hockey glory

Press, 22 September 1984, Page 76

Chance for hockey glory

By

KEVIN TUTTY

A chance to be the premier hockey club in New Zealand will be at stake when High School Old Boys and Selwyn meet in a quar-ter-final of the H. W. Smith Trophy national inter-club championship at Porritt Park this afternoon. The winner of the match will have a very good chance of progressing to the finals of the competition in Wellington on November 10. The semi-final, to be played on the new artificial surface at Mount Albert Park the previous evening, will be against either Castlecliff (Wanganui) or Palmerston

North Old Boys, teams which either Christchurch side should be able to beat. Selwyn has a little more at stake in today’s game. It is the defending H. W. Smith Trophy champion. In Christchurch last year it beat Auckland Indians to win the national title. Any Selwyn success will depend largely on the form of the key players, George Carnoutsos, Mark . Burtt, Robin Wilson and Richard Schoeman. Last week Carnoutsos and . Wilson took some time to settle and play near their best by which time the side was down, 1-3. Schoeman,

whose predatory roaming in the mid-field is a constant danger to any team, could hold the key to Selwyn’s success.

If he can find space behind the Old Boys defence he will be a serious threat, but what the Old Boys defenders lack in speed because of their advancing years, they make up for in splendid anticipation, reading of the play and tackling. Old Boys has a well balanced forward line and Chris Tye, a former halfback, has slotted in neatly at inside-left and earned himself, in the last half of the season, a reputation as a opportunist goal scorer.

The Selwyn attack is based largely on the insideforward trio of Schoeman,: Carnoutsos and Burtt But John Carnoutsos (rightwing) and David Clements (left-wing) are skilled enough to allow frequent attacking variations down the flanks.

. Wilson, Mark Beatson and Craig Burtt will carry the burden of the defence. Beatson in particular has had a good season and at the national tournament in Gisborne played some exceptional games at full-back for Canterbury B. The umpires will be Messrs D. Stuthridge and L. Munt.