POLO TOURNEY.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIX, Issue 98, 25 March 1939, Page 5

POLO TOURNEY.

YESTERDAY’S GAMES. The handicap cup matches played yesterday afternoon at Feilding brought all matches in the polo tourney to the final stage, prior games throughout the week having led up to the semi-finals decided yesterday, which resulted in victories for Hawke’s Bay B and Matangi in their respective matches against Itangitikei B and Taihape. MATANGI v. TAIHAPE. Almost immediately the teams settled down in the opening ehukka in the game between Matangi (7 handicap) and Taihape (12 handicap), the aggressors being Matangi, _ who through Howlett scored the initial goal. In the second ehukka two and in the third only one goal resulted from energetic movements, all coming Matangi’s way, the scorers being L. Chitty, H. Peake, and Panslead. At the close of the fourth ehukka Howlett raised Matangi’s score to 5, while in the sixth spell it was Howlett again who caricd on a movement initiated by Chitty and a score resulted. Ranstead was responsible for the seventh goal, which put Matangi two ahead on points at the opening of the final ehukka. Taihape added one to their points early in the spell, when the Duncan brothers worked m accord for the goaling shot to come from John Duncan. Matangi, however, recovered their two-point lead when Chitty sent the willow. Taihape were attacking with vigour when the game ended with the scores Matangi 15, Taihape 13. HAWKE’S BAY V. RANGITIKEI B. Hawke’s Bay secured a lead of 4 goals before tlieir opponents, ltangitikei, made a scoring shot. For Hawke’s Bay, S. McKenzie scored the first goal in the opening ehukka, while Robson collected the second point in the following ehukka. F. McHardy broke through the defence in the same spell and got his shot home through a nest of opponents’ sticks. Just before the bell in the third ehukka Itobson again came to light with a powerful shot which drove the ball borne. It was in the fourth ehukka that Rangitikci’s turn came, and Q. Wilson added a couple of points for his team. This ehukka lasted 11 minutes, the ball not going out of play until three minutes after the ball. The fifth, ehukka produced another goal for Hawke s Bay, when, following a lead by Robson, McKenzie got into position to score. Itangitikei were penalised in the final stage of the ehukka and the hit was taken in the final spell by Robson, whose shot was stopped by W. Wilson, but the ball was not got out of danger and in the close play which followed F. McHardy got in a goaling _ drive. Despite powerful work by Simpson and J. Duncan, assisted by Q. Wilson, Itangitikei were unable to improve their position and when the. final hell went there was no alteration in the score, Hawke’s Bay B. 18, Itangitikei 14. ~ Both teams played with a handicap of 12. THE FINAL MATCHES.. This afternoon the final matches in the handicap cup and the Australasian Gold Cup '.matches were' scheduled to begin at 1 o’clock and 3 o’clock respectively. Both the Hawse s Bay contingents were engaged in the matdie's the A team to play Western Districts for the Australasian Cup while the B team played for the handicap trophy.