Canterbury A wins hockey tournament in Dunedin

Press, 19 August 1985, Page 3

Canterbury A wins hockey tournament in Dunedin

The Canterbury A hockey team had an excellent dress rehearsal for the national women’s hockey tournament in Napier next month when it won a mini-tournament in Dunedin at the week-end. Canterbury A played four games, won all four and scored 23 goals without conceding one. Canterbury was never seriously tested but displayed excellent teamwork and understanding. Canterbury A 14, Otago B 0. Otago B was overawed by the occasion and allowed the Canterbury players loads of space. Crisp interpassing, especially through the centre by Maree Flannery and Shirley Haig, often left the Otago goalie Denise Dean facing a two-on-one situation. With a 10-0 lead at halftime, the Canterbury A coach, Pat Barwick, took the opportunity to give all players field time and to try various combinations. The Canterbury A links, Robyn' Hocking and Isabel! Thomson, dominated the mid-field and moved the ball on quickly while the wing halves, Jane Collins and Nicky Sherriff marked tightly and their attacking overlaps provided impetus. Scorers: S. Haig 3, M. Flannery 3, J. Earnshaw 2, M. Clinton 2, L. McFadden, R. Hocking, I. Thomson, C. Thompson. Canterbury A 5, • Eastern Southland 0. In a scrappy game punctuated by numerous obstructions and kicks, Canterbury A beat Eastern Southland 5-0. Eastern Southland’s spoiling game and its tendency to overcrowd the defensive area made flowing hockey difficult. The half-time score was 1-0, a corner goal by Mary Clinton. Play was more open in the second half with quick switches wrong footing the Eastern Southland defenders. Leanne McFadden on Canterbury’s right wing drove forcefully and delivered well directed cross passes, while Cathy Thompson was prominent with her running on to the loose ball. Scorers: M. Clinton 2, S. Haig, ' L. McFadden, C. Thompson. Canterbury A 2, Otago A 0. After a shaky start in which Canterbury A was back-tracking and having difficulty dealing with the fast pace of Otago’s game, Canterbury settled and played a more controlled game. Quick breaks out of defence gave Canterbury A a number of scoring opportunities and from one of these Flannery netted after Leanne McFadden broke down the right.

In the second half better trapping and firmer and more accurate passing by Canterbury, led to space being created. A quick

change of direction initiated Canterbury’s second goal scored by Cathy Thompson. Scorers: M. Flannery, C. Thompson. Canterbury A 2, Southland 0. Although having a great deal of possession Canterbury A struggled against a robust Southland team. The Southlanders lacked the finesse of their Canterbury A opponents and their physical approach to the game upset Canterbury’s rhythm. Too often Canterbury A opted to attack through the centre only to find Southland’s Moana Blair intercepting passes. Failure to change the point of attack, and passes into congested areas, limited Canterbury A’s scoring opportunities. Scorers: Jane Earnshaw and Shirley Haig. Canterbury B 1, Southland 1. For the second occasion this season Canterbury B had to be content with a draw against Southland. Canterbury B made a promising start when Sue Duggan scored early. Southland improvised after the break and the right inner, Jenny O’Connell, scored from second phase corner play. Canterbury B 4, Otago B 0. Greater speed to the ball enabled Canterbury B to dominate against Otago B and win 4-0 after leading 3-0 at half-time. Pressure on the Otago B goal was sustained with the links Kieren Doig and Pip Wilson holding the ball in the attacking half. Mitchell (2), Duggan, and Hayley Read scored for Canterbury B. Otago A 4, Canterbury B 0. Although losing by four goals Canterbury B’s performance was much improved over its previous encounter two weeks ago. A more stable and tighter Canterbury B defence . restricted the scoring. Jenny McDonald, the Otago captain, was in fine form and was rewarded with three penalty corner goals. Chris Arthur added the fourth with a fine angled shot. Canterbury B 2, Eastern Southland 0. Canterbury B had to fight hard to contain the bustling Eastern Southland team. Eastern dominated the first half against an unsettled Canterbury B team. Overuse of the square pass and a tendency to overdribble in defence resulted in little good ball being delivered to the forwards. However, Canterbury B looked more assured in the second half and scored two opportunist goals to win 2-0. Delwyn Richards and Trish Harte scored the goals.