Need for skills emphasised

Press, 8 May 1985, Page 50

Need for skills emphasised

By

KEVIN TUTTY

When the full-time hooter sounded in the men’s final at the P. 0.5.8. Trophy hockey tournament at Mount Albert Park in Wellington on Saturday, it was a merciful release for the meagre crowd. The final, which it was hoped would be a showpiece for New Zealand hockey — a bright open match on the new artificial turf — was a disappointment. It was billed as a prestige tournament, but the top six men’s and women’s teams from last year’s national tournaments did not produce the quality hockey expected of them. It quickly became obvious that the surface is not going to bring about an instant revival in the fortunes of New Zealand men’s and women’s hockey at international level.

Teams had difficulty adapting to the speed of the game on the Superturf. Only on the last day did players begin to play at a speed that suited their skills.

The greatest problems were with trapping and passing, errors which theoretically should be reduced on the smooth artificial turf. Also exposed was the need for many players to tighten their ball control.

It must have been worrying for the New Zealand selectors present to observe that tljf best players pre-

sent were the most experienced ones. Talented, youthful, exuberant and thoughtful players were notable by their absence. There were other unfavourable aspects of the tournament. Spectators were few and any hope of a reasonable crowd for the finals on Saturday were sunk when both the men’s and women’s associations in Wellington decided to play club matches.

Trevor Blake, the New Zealand men’s coach, was one who was staggered by the decision. “It’s ridiculous to play club hockey today with this tournament on. And you can print that,” he offered as he wandered around the ground during the women’s final.

Considering the lack of facilities at the ground — there is no stand or changing facilities — the organisation of the tournament was satisfactory. The organisers went to the trouble of running in fire hoses from outside the ground to water the surface. Watering the surface cuts down the friction.

Friction on dry artificial surfaces is extreme and it has been proved overseas that hockey players’ international careers are 'cut

from 10 to five years because of the damage caused to knees and other joints by the stress placed on them. As so often happens, the interests of the players are not always put first. There were numerous complaints about the balls used at the tournament.

Those used were supplied by a sponsor but they were not the most satisfactory for the surface. The ball most commonly in use on the surface is dimpled, like a golf ball, but those used at the tournament had a smooth, almost glazed surface, which, when wet, were especially difficult to control.

On Saturday, the play-off for third and fourth between Canterbury and Manawatu was shortened by three miinutes in each half to allow the televised final to start at the designated time. As it transpired television was running 15 minutes late, the start of the men’s final was delayed, and the earlier play-off was cut short, unnecessarily. The one other unsatisfactory feature was that no extra time was allowed for in the semi-finals. Teams went immediately into penalty strokes at the end of ordinary time.

Two sudden-death periods of seven minutes and a half of extra time would have been preferable. That would have meant an adjustment of a maximum of one hour to the programme. For Canterbury the tournament provided mixed success. The women fulfilled their reputation as the top ranked team and their 3-0 win against Auckland in the final was more emphatic than the score indicated.

The men were thoroughly disappointed they did not reach the final. The dejection was heightened by the fact that they scored a legitimate goal against Wellington in the semi-final that was disallowed. But the forwards still missed a number of other chances to score.

After struggling in their first game, the Canterbury women improved with each game and produced total commitment and more consistency than Auckland in the final.

In its pool match against Auckland — Canterbury’s second game on the first day — it showed tenacity to fight back from a goal down to force a draw. In the final with both teams fresh, Canterbury’s resolve was much stronger. Its success was built around a splendid team effort. Pat Barwick, the coach/. used the substitution

rule effectively, and those called on to relieve did their job efficiently. The steadiness of Robyn Hocking and Isobel Thomson kept the defence knitted together in the first couple of games while the confidence of the other players grew.

Elaine Jensen, who has replaced Lesley Murdoch as the Canterbury goal-keeper, was passed only once and made some good saves. Lorraine Rouse, the youngest member of the defence, was used as a substitute, and in her short stays was a tenacious defender. Maree Flannery, Sue Edmundson and Sue Duggan were all enthusiastic substitutes when introduced to the forward line.

David Grundy, playing his first tournament for Canterbury played impressively on the right wing. He combined readily with Greg Pierce at right half and George Carnoutsos at inside right. Of the other players probably the most consistent were Chris Leslie, at insideleft, and the full-backs, Craig Burtt and Mark Tynan, who complemented each other admirably. Canterbury’s greatest problem is still being able to produce a consistent effort for 70 minutes, but there were signs at Wellington, especially in the last game, that such an efffort is near. T £