Hockey Canty A wins women’s tournament

Press, 5 August 1985, Page 27

Hockey Canty A wins women’s tournament

Canterbury A won the annual quadrangular women’s hockey tournament involving Southland, Otago, and Canterbury B, at Warren Park, Sockburn, during the week-end. Atrocibus weather conditions means that the scheduled Saturday morning matches were unable to be played. However, the Canterbury Women’s Hockey Association obtained Canterbury Court for indoor games. With improved overhead conditions in the afternoon matches were transferred to Warren Park, where the grounds were relatively firm but rough. Canterbury A had a resounding 8-1 win over Southland on Saturday, and a hard-fought 2-0 win against Otago yesterday. Canterbury B showed it has a lot of work to do before it can be regarded as a strong contender for next month’s Prudential Cup tournament. In the first match, it was swamped by Otago, 0-7, and yesterday it could only manage a 2-2 draw against the second division Southland. Canterbury A 8, Southland 1 Canterbury opened in commanding fashion with two goals from Shirley High in the first five minutes. From the restart, Southland drove downfield and good hunting, combined with indecisive play from the Canterbury defence, led to Southland’s only goal of the match being scored by Vicky Haggerty. Canterbury went on to dominate play but the sticky field conditions made it difficult to develop a flowing style. The Canterbury forwards were all guilty of wayward shooting and this, combined with determined foraging by Southland, especially from Moana Blair and Trish Johanson, prevented any further scoring in the first half.

After the break, Canterbury made the most of the drier ground conditions and goals came freely with Haig securing a further five to cap off some good team build-up. The midfield pairing of Robyn Hocking and Isabel! Thomson linked well with their rear guard to move the ball out of defence and initiated attacking moves with well directed passes. The defence, led by

Mary Clinton, successfully switched play quickly to allow its attackers more space. However, Canterbury did not have all the play as Southland looked dangerous with its quick build-ups and came close to scoring on a number of occasions. The Canterbury goalie, Elaine Jensen, twice faced a one-on-one situation which she successfully repelled, while on a further occasion Nicky Sherrif calmly trapped a stinging goal-line shot. Scorers: Canterbury A 8 (S. Haig 7, M. Flannery 1), Southland 1, (V. Haggerty). Otago 7, Canterbury B 0 Otago displayed a sense of urgency and speed to the ball which was lacking in Canterbury’s disappointing performance. Earlier in the day, Canterbury lost the services of its captain, Barbara Mitchell, through an ankle injury and her experience and high work rate was sorely missed. Loose marking by Canterbury, especially in the circle, allowed the Otago forwards room to move and they produced a polished passing display continually having the Canterbury defence turning. Otago’s left side attack of Cindy Smith and Chris Arthur combined well in penetrating moves. Jenny McDonald and Robyn Elliot, Otagos mid-fielders, took command and built up a cordon which Canterbury found difficult to pierce. The failure of its forwards to create space and link effectively resulted in few passes finding the receiver. Otago led, 3-0, at half-time and added a further four field goals in the second half. In spite of Canterbury being outplayed, its left half, Lorraine Rouse, produced a steady performance while the young left back, Geneva Kara, timed her tackles well under the constant pressure. Scorers: Otago 7 (M. Edge 2, R. Elliott 2, C. Smith 1, D. Flannery 1, C. Arthur 1), Canterbury B 0. Canterbury A 2, Otago 0 In a fast and exciting match, Otago provided the expected strong opposition that Canterbury has not had in recent provincial matches. The Canterbury defence, which has

enjoyed the luxury of not being severely tested was regularly threatened by Otago’s speedy and energetic forwards but emerged with a sound and competent display. The few blemishes that resulted through bad passes or poor body positioning were recovered with good support play. Canterbury’s goalie, Elaine Jensen, was called upon to save on several occasions, and her pad work and confrontations with opposing players were of a high standard. Canterbury began by attacking into the poorer ground conditions, and this tended to make smooth passing movements and delivery of good ball difficult. However, a high scoop from Kathy Paterson, which covered considerable ground, landed favourably for

Cathy Thompson and she was able to flick it by the goalie to give her team the lead.

The Canterbury forwards enjoyed better ball in the second half with Robyn Hocking distributing particularly well. Gaps created by off-the-ball running from Haig and Judy Phillips were well used and a number of penalty comers resulted. From one of these a penalty stroke was awarded when the Otago goalie lay on the ball and this was neatly converted by Haig. Gradually Canterbury took command by slowing the game and retaining possession. Scorers: Canterbury A 2 (C. Thompson, S. Haig), Otago 0. Canterbury B 2, Southland 2 Although Canterbury produced a much-improved performance than against Otago,

it nevertheless had to settle for a draw against Southland. Greater urgency, reliable trapping and more positive passing contributed to the more heartening display. The midfielder. Kerian Doig, was in commanding form with her thoughtful passes and abilitv to relieve pressure in difficult defensive situations, while the left side attacker, Delwyn Richards, made the most of the her opportunities with aggressive running. Lorraine Rouse again had a tidy game with good marking and intelligent distribution of the ball. The first half was scoreless in spite of a number of opportunities the Canterbury forwards created with good running off the ball and effective dribbling into spaces. Southland opened the scor-

ing with a goal from Isla McKeown, Canterbury equalised 10 minutes later when Janet Sperry netted from a goal mouth melee. Again Southland took the lead when the talented Blair converted a penalty stroke. A fine drive down the left flank by Richards led to Canterbury’s equaliser. Her pass to Trish Hart was dribbled along the backline and Richards was on hand to guide the back pass into the net. Canterbury had a golden opportunity to take the lead when it was awarded a penalty stroke five minutes from the final whistle. Rouse's shot was however superbly saved by the Southland goal-keeper. Scorers: Canterbury B 2 (D. Richards. J. Sperry); Southland 2 (I. McKeown, M. Blair).