Harewood, Pegasus open two-point lead

Press, 2 May 1988, Page 28

Harewood, Pegasus open two-point lead

Harewood and Pegasus have opened a two-point lead in the premier men’s hockey championships after Saturday’s games but in the next week the competition could find an outright leader. f

Both teams have important games tomorrow evening. Harewood; plays Selwyn and Pegasus plays University and next Saturday Harewood and Pegasus meet in a game that could give one or the other the sole lead in the championship. Pegasus comfortably overcame the challenge of Selwyn on Saturday winning 4-0, but yesterday Harewood had a much tougher battle to beat Sydenham 3-1. High School Old Boys overcame an early deficit to beat Woolston 3-2 on Saturday, and yesterday University beat Redcliffs 2-1. The win was more comfortable for University than the score suggests. It was only in the last minute that Redcliffs scored. The points table is:

PEGASUS 4 (J. Radovonich 2, Greg Clark, D. Grundy) SELWYN 0 The first five minutes were fast and furious and an exciting game seemed a possibility. Selwyn had two chances to score and Pegasus one in those early minutes, and Selwyn would have rued the fact it was unable to score because from that point Pegasus slowly assumed more and more control until in the final quarter Selwyn was camped almost exclusively inside its own half.

Unfortunately the flowing play that was promised in the early stages did not eventuate and the game became static, especially In the second half, with numerous stick and body obstructions. Pegasus finally broke the deadlock after 18 minutes. The Selwyn defence, which had been under pressure, failed to trap a cross from the right and the ball rolled to John Radovonich who made no mistake.

Selwyn was able to hold Pegasus off until 18 minutes into the second half when Greg Clark scored with a deflection from a

cross. David Grundy scored the third after 25 minutes when Selwyn failed to clear its circle, and Radovonich scored two minutes from the end after having a penalty-stroke saved a minute earlier. < Selwyn was ponderous in the midfield in the secondhalf with its trapping and passing, and halves and forwards were frequently caught in possession. By contrast Pegasus broke onto attack quickly and used the full width of the field to promote attacks and constantly had the Selwyn defence scurrying to cover. Mark Beatson was an effective tackler on defence for Selwyn and David Clements on the left-wing required close attention from his marker. Phil Teague worked tirelessly linking for Pegasus, and on defence Bruce Radovonich missed only a few of the tackles he attempted. UNIVERSITY 2 (J. Hardacre, C. Dockeriil) REDCLIFFS 1 (R. Schoeman) University’s defence was its strength against Redcliffs. The excellent positioning of its defenders and their competent tackling enabled them to quickly break down most of the Redcliffs attacks before they worked too deep into the University half. By contrast the University forwards possessed better control, more urgency and greater accuracy with their passing which kept the Redcliffs defence occupied for long periods. Peter Tynan and Selwyn Wong were dominant in the University attack combining fluently and placing pressure on the Redcliffs defence with their close stickwork.

Chris Dockeriil scored the only goal of the first half when he moved swiftly onto a rebound from a penalty-comer. University went two goals ahead when Jeff Hardacre scored midway through the second half when the ball ran free after a penalty-comer was blocked.

The best goal of the match came from Richard Schoeman a minute from full-time. He ran onto a loose ball near the 25m line, burst into the circle, and fired a superb shot across the goalkeeper into the far comer of the net.

Greg Pierce and Mark Tynan were steadying influences in the University defence, and in the Redcliffs defence, Lee and Richard tackled , confidently and cleared from deep defence quickly and effectively. HIGH SCHOOL OLD BOYS 3 (G. Cumberpatch 2, K. Thomas) WOOLSTON 2 (G. Rhodes, M.

When Malcolm Wood burst away from the Old Boys defence after five minutes and slid the ball under the goalkeeper from the top of the circle the signs looked ominous for Old Boys. Their attack had shown little cohesion in their previous matches this season, but on Satur-

day they rose to the challenge presented by Woolston's early goal. ;<■ The forwards showed a new urgency and determination as they sought to narrow the gap, and midway through the first half they were rewarded not just with the equaliser but with the lead. Twice in the space of a minute Phil Crisp broke down the right flank and fired the ball across the circle where Gavin Cumberpatch, not noted for his goal scoring abilities, was on hand to make two superb deflections. Woolston remained a danger to Old Boys, its forwards being quick onto attack, but they lacked the control necessary to split the Old Boys defence which tightened its rearguard after being caught without cover when Woolston scored. Old Boys moved to a comfortable 3-1 lead five minutes into the second half when Kerry Thomas belted home a penalty-comer and 10 minutes from full-time Greg Rhodes scored for Woolston from a penalty-comer. HAREWOOD 3 (C. Leslie 2, G. Innes) SYDENHAM 1 (M. Marks) Sydenham has not earned a point in the senior championship this season but it has had the satisfaction of making the two top teams fight hard for their two points. Both Harewood and Pegasus have only managed two-goal winning margins against Sydenham. Harewood should have scored more goals but it spoilt a host of promising attacks with poor passing. Harewood started confidently and was a goal ahead after only a minute of play. Glen Hayde made a scything run into the circle and laid the ball off to Graeme Innes for an easy goal. From that point though It was a struggle for Harewood as it tried but failed to penetrate the Sydenham defence. Sydenham had a couple of shots at goal that were just wide during the first half and after 25 minutes it equalised when Murray Marks was quickly onto a rebound from a penalty-comer. Harewood showed more urgency from that point and three minutes later Chris Leslie belted home a penalty-comer to give Harewood the lead again. The second half developed Into a open flowing game with Sydenham counter-attacking swiftly but without a lot of success. Harewood In the meantime continued to spoil its chances, often with the wrong option of pass, which allowed the Sydenham defence to make countless interceptions. ' Sydenham came close to equalising again midway through the half when there was a scramble in front of the Harewood goal after a penalty-comer. Leslie made the game safe for Harewood 10 minutes from fulltime. He dribbled from the 25m line past several Sydenham defenders and completed the move with a neat reverse flick into the net

P W D L F A Pt Harewood 4 4 0 0 21 3 8 Pegasus 4 4 0 0 17 4 8 University 4 3 0 1 13 3 6 Selwyn 4 2 1 1 9 8 5 Redcliffs 5 1 2 2 5 8 4 H.S.O.B. 5 1 1 3 9 19 3 Woolston 5 1 0 4 6 17 2 Sydenham 5 0 0 5 4 22 0