HOCKEY

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume IV, Issue 204, 13 August 1914, Page 2

HOCKEY

HOW POVERTY BAY BEAT ENGLAND. BEST FORWARD LINE SO FAR. [PER PRESS ASSOCIATION.] Gisborne, Aug. 12. The English ladies’ hockey team sustained the first defeat of their tour to-day, Poverty Bay registering a victory by five goals to nil. The game was very fast and snappy all through, and though the visitors were not at home on the ground, which was somewhat rough as compared with Hastings, they took the defeat in a true British spirit, and admitted that they had gone down before a superior team.

When the teams took the field there was a noticeable striking contrast between the physique of the sides. Compared with the compact ly built athletic-looking English ladies the Poverty Bay representa tives looked like school misses marked out for slaughter. A surprise, however, was in store from the very outset. The lithe and fleet-footed Poverty Bay eleven harried their | heavier and slower opponents and gave them no rest. In vain the Eng lish ladies endeavoured to get going their machine like combination, with which they have carried all before them on the tour. The Gisborne girls were as fleet.footed as deer, and, infusing rare dash and spirit into their work, not only successfully withstood the attacks of their more experienced opponents but carried the fight into the invaders’ territory and pierced their defence twice dur ing the first spell. There was great enthusiasm from the large crowd, as these were the first goals hit against the English team in New Zealand. In the second spell the visitors’ goal was again pierced three, times, and the game ended as stated. The big crowd present received the result with intense enthusiasm, and flocked round the players, cheering and cheering again, but the visitors got in first with cordial con gratulations to the winners. Those to score were Misses 1 Pearce (1), R. Malcolm (3), M. Mai colm (1). Miss Gaskell, captain and mana ger of the English team, stated that they were perfectly satisfied that they were beaten. The Gisborne ladies had played a game similar tc their own, and she considered it was the best forward line that had ever played against them. Most of the teams had had five forwards, but the ,Gisborne team had a forward line and consequently their combination beat them. It was clear that they had been particularly well coached and the visitors were surprised the splendid game the local girls played.