LADIES' HOCKEY GALA.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1224, 5 September 1911, Page 8

LADIES' HOCKEY GALA.

THE SECOND DAY. SOME STRENUOUS STICK WORK.RESULTS AT A GLANCE, Hawke's Bay 3 Taranaki 0 Canterbury A _ 5 Manawatu B 0 Wellington A' , 1. Nelson 1 Wairarapa „ 2 Manawatu A ... 2 Southland _ 2 West Coast 0 Wangamii _ 6 Wellington B ... 0 Canterbury B _ 3 Bullor 3 Ushered in by an almost perfect afternoon, the.second (lay's play of tlio New Zealand Ladies' Hockey Tournament proceeded merrily yesterday. Quite a number of persons journeyed across to Day's Baj-, 'and, if tho volum;: of advice and. encouragement that sounded forth while some of the matches were in progress -is any criterion, then a great number thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon's outing. At present it would bo merely guessing to endeavour to predict the winners, or even to foreshadow tlio two teams which will meet in the iinal. So far as tho big annual carnival of '"the Valkyrie's" has progressed, Hawke's Bay, last year's champions, have won all matches in fairly tasy style, but they havo some difficult encounters still lying athwart their path. Wellington A, for instance, will bo a fairly stiff proposition, as also will bo Nelson and Auckland, while Southland ara as yet an unknown quantity. Beyond question, the most exciting match yesterday was tho fray between Nelson and Wellington A. As it progressed tho number of spectators attracted to it increased steadily, and tlio excitement grew. When tho local team sent in tho first goal against such, a redoubtable team as Nelson (for since Nelson's defeat of Auckland on Saturday they have come , to bo regarded with-respect) tho atmosphere became a little electric. "Black and Gold" was the cry, and the black and gold ladies, thus urged; played the game as .seldom ladies do. Hero and .there a shrill voice would call on Nelson to bo up and doing, and, occasionally, some Wellingtonian would allow his or her chivalry triumph over partisanship, and then there would be- a united chorus —"Well played Nelson!" An old man, whose voico. seemed to, be. well past its best/alsoendeavoured to add to the paean for Nelson, and capped his effort by re-'marking:-"Wellington want all the shields jn 'New Zealand." So the game went on, and honours wero easy.at. the finish. The Hawko's Bay-Taranaki match also had its moments/ and many an admonition was directed at Taranaki to check tho triumphal march of-their opponents. But science and Ekill predominated, and Taranaki lost. '■-'- The little AYairarapa girls deserve a meed of praise for the courageous manner in which they met and fought Manawatu A. They were practically a beaten team all the way, but.they were big in resource, and they never abandoned hope. The goddess of Fortune smiled on their plucky effort, and they ■ equalissd right on the call of time. ■ •. The v fact of three drawn games being played is a good indication that as the contest progresses it will lose nothing as ■fax as • interest is concerned. SECTION A. Hawke's Bay, 3; Taranaki, 0. , ' The Hawke's. Bay-Taranaki- match was splendidly contested, -and full of excitement. Both sides gave a good exhibition —the Hawko's Bay team especially ' so. They made a very auspicious start, for the game had only progressed a few minute's when they registered their first goal. ■ Then play began' to.grow exciting, i'requently the Taranaki forwards took tho ball-.. to their opponents' circle, but the splendid defensive, play of the Hawke's Bay backs nullified all efforts to score. Next moment tho aggressors wo.uld be busily defending.' As the game went on, ■however, it became evident that Hawke's Bay were tho better team. Their forwards wore faster, and played with more combination, and their passing and stick work was' surer, while their , backs could always bo relied upon. 'The .Taranaki forwards were also.. good, but they, wero not so ably supported. As the end drew near they tired perceptibly, and, when time was called, they were busily defending. One of the Hawko's Bay players was incapacitated for.some time through receiving a rather severe. blow on the ankle. Aliss Pitt was'the first player who found the net for Hawko's Bay. The next score was obtained by Miss Crowley,' who rushed the Taranaki goal-keeper, and sent the ball through. The third goal was scored by Miss Smith. Mr. Muldoon was the referee. Canterbury A, 5; Manawatu B, 0. This game was played _ on No. 3 ground, and resulted in a win for Canterbury by 5 goals to' nil. The scores cannot be taken as a fair indication of tho merits of the respective teams, for, in the' first half, Manawatu had the advantage, and missed what seemed two certain goals through weak circle play. The first spell ended with the scores reading: Canterbury, 2; Manawatu B, nil. The second spell had not been long in progress when Canterbury began to givo a taste of their quality. Manawatu attacked strongly for a time, and actually shot a goal, bnt it was disallowed for "sticks." Thereafter, the gam© was all in favour of' Canterbury. Misses Pearce (3), M'Millan, and G. Morgan shot-goals for the' winners. Sir. G. Carver was referee. SECTION B, ' Wellington A,., 1; Nelson, L This match was characterised by romarkably even play from start to finish. Iu a comparatively early stage of tho game Wellington scored after a splendid piece of combined play, Mis Dement finding the not. Then a great struggle took place, and it rather seomed that Wellington had the advantage—indeed, many competent judges predicted a win for tho homo team. They attacked repeatedly, but tho defence was sound and sometimes brilliant. Then the Nelson ladies took a turn, and gave their AVellington sisters plenty to think about. The first spell ended in favour of Wellington by ons poiil to nil. The second spell was a repetition of the-first-perhaps a littlo , more strenuous—and Wellington again had just a slight.advantage. But, after slaving off repeated attacks, and just on'tlio call of time, Nelson scored, Miss Harris shooting the ball through. So ended what was easily tho best gamo of the day. Mr. Manning had charge. . , Canterbury B, 3; Buller, 3. This gamo was vigorously contested, but as an exhibition of hockey it did not reach a very lugh standard. Tho teams wero well matched, and the score -is a fair indication, of the game. Prom a corner hit, Miss Peacock shot Buller's first goal, tho ball going over the goalkeeper's head. Then Miss K. Latter dribbled the ball, from halfway, and equalised matters for Canterbury. Misses Greenland and A. Uali also found the net for Bulier, and Misses Rhodes and Fergus scored for Canterbury. Mr. Bay was referee. SECTION C. WairaTapa v. Manawatu A. Tho match between Waiiarapa and Mauawatii- A .resulted in-a .draw, each sido scoring two goals. From ■ the com-, mencemeut tlio Manawatu forwards attacked . strongly, but through defective shooting or , over-anxiousness they could not' score. They wero . admittedly the superior team on tho play, and led by ouo goal to the call of time, wlcn Wai-' rarapa equalised matters. The Wairarapa ' forwards lacked combination ■. .and. hitting power, nu'l it was only through tho dei'ensivo play of their full-backs that thoy'managed to avert defeat. .Misses M'Kojizio and Collingivood obtained goals for Mn-nawatu, and Misses B. Orr and Reid.scored for Wairarapa. Mr. Keall was referee. .Southland, 2; West Coast, 0. ■ Southland again added to their laurels by defeating West Coast by two goals to ml. West Coast gave a very poor display, .and lacked knowledge of tho finer points of tho game. Their forwards were, not fast, and evinced no particular desire to meet an opponent. Southland were tho aggrcs3)rs throughout, and time after timo.their forwards had fairly easy shots at goal, hut somehow they could not find tho net. Jlis3 M. Marsh scored for. Southland soon oftw tho start,' and Miss J. Marsh shot another goal just on' the call of time, Mr. Floyd was referee. Wanganui, G; Wellington B, 0. Wellington B again suffered decisive. defeat at tho hands of Wanganui, the score being G goals to nil. Tho game was

fairly fast and willing, but the Wanganui "forwards wero too big a proposition for the local team, tho three "centres" especially working together beautifully. The game was too one-sided to lend itself to description. Misses Perritt (■!), Jones, mid M'Donald shot tho goals for Wanganui. ilr. Fitt controlled the play, TO-DAY'S GAMES. Tho following is tho list of the' games for to-day:— ■ Section A.—llawke's Bay v. Manawatu A, on No. I) ground. Canterbury A v. llarlborougli, on No. -I ground. Section B.—Auckland v. Buller, on No. 5 ground. Nelson v. Canterbury B, on No. 1 ground. Section C.—Wairarapa v. Southland on No. 1 ground. Wanganui v. Manawatu A, on No. 3 ground. Wellington B v. West Coast, on No. 2 ground.