First wins for Hearts and St Nicholas

Press, 26 April 1988, Page 31

First wins for Hearts and St Nicholas

Hearts and St Nicholas rewarded Canterbury | tiupporters with their first i#tns in the Swiss Maid natiefna! club netball league at ithe Hagley courts ' during Ithe week-end. Both triumphed at the) expense of Wellesley: ; East. which has yet to record a win. _ ' St Nicholas beat East ;53-50 on Sunday and its coach. Pat Carrick, was satisfied | nth her team s performance 'Naturally we are pissed to get; a win ’ thought we could : dc it and they lost control of the game and; their temper in the final mirJules." she said. I j j It was a physical anc aggressive match and botfj - ices struggled with their sh;O s at goal. In the last quarter, it was difficult tb tell whether the contest between ihle umpires or the players wa; the most notable as the; dual .umpires openly questiimed , each other's decisions.; ! ' "The game got outjqf coni' trol." said Dale Wortman, me I Welleslev East coach, j "We couldn't shoot |ir the last few minutes because they were ali over us like & rash. It was very aggressive and our side is just too lady ike. she added. St Nicholas led -the! whole way except going iritp the last quarter when, it |t’ailed 38-4'j. but it had patches when it appeared almon un-

mt- erested in tie match. Lyhne McLann in! the St Nicholas centre, looked tired in the third qua-ter. but hjer i pace picked up in| the latter stages. Angela Pule and Karen ; Burrows combined resolutely i in the East goal circle to fpi! [ its attempts at goal. Rule's j experience is proving a telling factor on it fence as she directs the yourlgqr additions to the line-up witii skill. ; Hearts beat Hast on Saturday 64-49. but cot.ld not continue its winning streak yesterday as it fa|ie|-ed against Pacific Island Church, losing 53-38. P.I.C. was promoted to the league this season and is hoping to finish in the top -three. It gave a polished performance and Heirs had ! no answers. The side is well balanced with kwjo greats of i netball. Margharet Matenga i (goal attack) dne Wai Tau- : maunu (goal defence i. link-i ing up The team at th.eir i respective einds qf the cciurt. | P.I.C. beat St Nicholas 48-1 40 on Saturday and the good j margins were sdential for it; in case it ties for [fourth p|ace and a goal: ra J ioj is taken to I decide final p.acings in I the league. j I ; •'I am vbry pleased with; our performareq as we| get closer to tide f nals. Ue M’-’e only got Wefleslei’ East left tc play and or. pppjer they look) easy," saiji Mhtenga. | the|

: coath elf P.I.C. I "But anything could happen I and we; are just glad to get !the; two: good wins this week- . end." she said. I lleigh Gibbs, the Hearts coach was not so complimein- : tart’ about her side. ■ ; We are really having ; problems moving the ball | through the court and we do i nof hade enough options on!io i the ball." she said. Our: hesitant play is mak- [ thi opposition's defence : werk a dream. We are on :ne I boird but I had hoped for i rwo wins." ■ Gibbs noted the sound and consolidated performance; of PIC

j'Waj and Margharet's experience is invaluable and P.t.C. did some good things. I just hope that our girls are not looking solely at our losses but at how the winning tehms played." Gibbs said; . 'Winning has come too late in: the competition for the Canterbury teams and both will face 'relegation matches after the final matches. The final.four of the eight tea.ms have "to play relegation games and Hearts’ and St Nicholas will undoubtedly comprise two teams on that list There have been seme questions about the wisdom of making so many sides-piay relegation/ matches to stay in the league. "I must admit. I didn't really! like it at first." said

Matenga. "'But now I think it is all right because it gives a lot of other clubs a chance to break into the league. It keeps their hopes .up. But of course I would not be too happy if we are one of those teams in the bottom four!" she said.

Hearts beat Wellesley East on Saturday, but did not show the dominance that the score suggested until the final quarter, Both sides had difficulty finding continuity in their play and the moves were often muddled and disjointed. A plea by. East's Samdra Kenneriey to work together was a pertinent appraisal cif both sides performance. i

Hearts rearranged its linkup in the third quarter moving Anna Richards from centre to wing attack. Margaret Bray came on to centre and Mary Setu came off from wine attack

Bray gave a sound game for the Hearts side finding good elevation and she anticipated play with dexterity. Both Richards and Bray settled into a reliable stance feeding the shooters with increasing confidence.

Linda de Ruyter, the Heart goal keep had a gutsy game and pulled no punches as she attempted to break East's possession. This was not an easy assignment as. surprisingly. Liz McJorrow. a former New Zealand player and widely accepted as an out-

standing defence; played ;at goal attack and recorded‘a creiilitable: 81 per: cent shooting I success rate.

McJtrrbw proved that she was as wily and deceptive; as usual, and aided by Stephanie Washington who had a 7S per cent success rate, they did full justice to their chances. By , contrast the Hearts shooters were not quite as accurate. Anna Pilbrow slotted 76 per cent of her attempts, while Diana Houghton mustered 68 per cent

PHbrow took time to settle and her immaturity showed as she struggled to shrug (off the; tight defence of Kenner- J ley ] Pilbrow faltered in the early I stages, missing vital shots [and did not move into her passes well, but ,in the last quarter, she found her momentum and finally delivered ! wtiat the crowd had waited 45mms for. St Nicholas, by contrast, had a i disheartening final quarter against P.I.C on Saturday. It ambitiously chased Pacific Lsland Church until the last.'but when its fitness was .most needed, it faded badlv. 1.. . Ironically. St Nicholas had 14 more attempts at goal. April: leremia. the usually dependable goal attack for St Nicholas, had an appalling game under the goal ring i The ball stubbonly refused to ' do her bidding and she had a

'Hi ’ : i 1 disappointing •; 45: per cent shooting success rate, . JuLtk Culhatlej the goal shoot, | could i| not manage much [better with! 56 per cent as crucial opportunities went begging

It showed that it has the poten&al and certainly had the possession ,tq unseat the fourth placed team : but the ball flirted tantalisingly with the ring time and- time-again. Angela Pule, the St Nicholas goal defence, had yet another intrepid; game picking her interqeiptions with all the skill of a seasoned hunter relentlessly trucking Sts prey. Karen Burrows. [ the St ! Nicholas goal: ; keep, was forced to conuej off in the first quarter because she was feeling nauseous] Barbara Lane i replaced her.j ! ;

In the final qiarter. Lynne McLennan, the ! centre, and Rosalie Radhuntd. ithe wing attack, switched positions. Viriama Baker came on at wing j j defence for P.I.C. when Julie ' Wilson retired injured.

p W D L F A Pt Collegiate 6 £ 0 -328257 12 Colles e Rif 6 $ 1 -274228 10 P.I.C. 6 4 2 -260234 8 Verdenes 6 4 2 •254233 8 Carm ii 6 3 3 -297278 6 Heart 6 5 -267303 * St Nicholas 6 ;< 5 -273338 5 Weilesley E 6 0 6 -242314 0