FOURTH SUCCESSIVE WIN

Southland Times, Issue 23297, 6 September 1937, Page 12

FOURTH SUCCESSIVE WIN

K CUP RETAINED BY EASTERN

Wellington Beaten By Three Goals TWO GAMES IN ONE DAY CANTERBURY AGAIN FILLS THIRD POSITION Seven years ago Eastern Southland A and Wellington met in the final of the Dominion women’s hockey tournament, which was held in Invercargill that year. The result then was a draw. At Rugby Park on Saturday afternoon these two teams again met in the final match of the tournament to decide which should hold the K Cup for another year. Eastern Southland A, the present holder, won by three goals to nil, but in doing so did not play as well as it has often done in the past. In some measure this was because it had already played a hard game in the morning against Canterbury for the right to enter the final. There can be no doubt, however, that although the Eastern players were tired they did not force themselves to play the subtle hockey that alone could have saved them yards of useless running and given them several extra goals.

Eastern has now won the K Cup seven times since 1930. The only year that it was beaten was in 1933, when Canterbury and Otago drew in the final at Dannevirke. Wellington wins the Floyd Shield and Canterbury the Holden Cup. The Wellington team played better than was expected against Eastern, and there was very little between the teams on the play. Eastern’s forwards were more effective because, although they made many mistakes, they placed their passes more effectively and kept their position reasonably well. The halves made many mistakes, but kept well up with the play and did-not wander too far infield. The Wellington half-backs were too often found out of position and this made the work of their full-backs, good as they were, too heavy. A. McDonald again played well for Eastern but her partner, M. Small, was equally effective. M. Sherriff appeared to be the least tired and the most effective of the Eastern forwards and made several openings that normally should have led to better results. SHORTER PASSING The Wellington forwards kept their passing shorter than they have throughout the tournament, and it was only their inability to keep the ball right at the end of their sticks—a very difficult thing to do—that prevented them from scoring. They were also handicapped by the fact that their halves, and sometimes their full-backs, hit the ball so hard that any attempt to trap it accurately was out of the question. The Eastern halves were also guilty of this elementary mistake. M. Sanson was the best of the three and played an improved game. Eastern well deserved its win, which can be attributed to slightly better combination, better

backing-up and a few moments of inspired forward play. The teams were:— WELLINGTON (black and gold).— E. Cheyne; R. Gibbs, A. Smith; J. McDowell, T. Monk, I. Morris; D. Roberts, J. Mack, H. Morris, E. Dunce, I. Pickering. EASTERN SOUTHLAND A (mauve and white).—M. Wright; M. Small, A. McDonald; R. Mcßain, M. Sanson, A. McLaren; J. Mcßain, K. Soper, M. Sherriff, M. White, M. Nicol. A RAPID START

Eastern made a rapid and effective start, and began to keep Wellington well penned up. The halves, however, were passing a little too hard and the inside forwards were not yet accurate enough to finish off promising movements. M. Sherriff and M. Nicol were breaking through fast, but sudden changes of direction kept the Wellington defence guessing and A. Smith made a lucky clearance when K. Soper had only the goalie to trick. I. Pickering, the Wellington right wing, made an opening and Wellington went past half-way for the first time. The Eastern defence, however, was very sound and sure and J. Mcßain was soon away again on one of her fast and pentrative runs. The ball came across to M. Sherriff, who sent it on to M. White, who was playing well over to the left, and the insideright scored with a low hard shot. Eastern Southland A 1, Wellington nil. Wellington was now attacking strongly and H. Morris made a splendid opening which J. Mack overran. I. Pickering was now playing better and H. Morris gave the goalie her first test. However, the test was not very severe and M. Wright turned it aside. Eastern was allowing itself to become a little bustled and its forward play suffered from long passing and careless stick work. However, it returned to the attack and forced two penalty comers, both of which were fruitless. R. Gibbs and A. Smith were keeping the Eastern forwards, always dangerous, away by keen interception. M. Nicol made an opening for M. White. She shot hard and high, but the goalie stopped it on her arm. M. Sherriff followed in fast

and tapped the ball into the net. Eastern Southland A 2, Wellington nil. When the Eastern forwards concentrated they looked the more dangerous line and their halves gave them some of the support, at least, they needed. Half-time sounded with players on both sides aimlessly hitting the ball. THE SECOND HALF H. Morris went through 'when the second half began, but M. Small intercepted brilliantly and sent J. Mcßain away. The latter player went right through the defence, but was bowled over when a short pass infield would have spelled grave danger for Wellington. Wellington was now passing the ball more accurately and the inside forwards trapped the ball, with the necessary precision and J. Mack was clever enough to elude A. McDonald, but not calm enough to shoot the ball into the goal. Eastern became aggressive again and three times the ball raced the forwards over Wellington’s back line. R. Mcßain was frequently penalized for obstruction and was not playing with her usual discretion. M. Nicol was now playing with greater ease, and Wellington was forced to defend stubbornly. The Eastern right wing made desperate efforts to scoop the ball into the circle but her wrist shots were just too slow and the K Cup holder did not increase its score. An additional factor in this failure to score was the impetuous play of the inside forwards, especially K. Soper, who refused to draw the goalie out. Eastern scored eventually when M. White sent the ball out from a melee in the circle to M. Sherriff. The centre-forward made no mistake with a hard shot to the corner of the net. Eastern Southland A 3, Wellington nil. D. Roberts and J. Mack tried hard to outwit the defence by clever stick-work and nearly did so until M. Small made another fine save. I. Pickering was being badly barked now by a tired R. Mcßain and the Wellington forwards were having much more opportunity for constructive play. The defence was becoming listless, but was still capable enough when the whistle blew for fulltime with the scores: Eastern Southland A 3 Wellington 0 Messrs H. A. Bourne-Webb (Nelson) and C. Bishop (Ashburton) were the umpires. CANTERBURY FAILS IN SEMI-FINAL IMPROVED DISPLAY BY EASTERN A At the High School grounds on Saturday morning Eastern Southland A and Canterbury played again to decide which team should meet Wellington in the final. The K Cup holder won, this time with something to spare, by four goals to nil. Canterbury evidently attempted to keep the game closer by shorter passing, and that was a wise move, but Eastern was also doing the same thing and its type of play was more suited to these tactics. It still made too little use of the flick and push shots when attacking, but its players showed more discrimination than 'on Friday and their judgment and backing up was greatly improved. Canterbury never looked like winning and its forward line was here, there and everywhere with the result that when the halves id pass accurately, which was not often, interception was not difficult. Eastern’s score would have been much higher if the inside forwards, and even the wings, had drawn their opponents more closely and passed more lightly. Canterbury once again wins the Holden Cup, which is given to the team that comes third in the tournament.

The teams were:— EASTERN SOUTHLAND A (mauve and white). —M. Wright; M. Small, A. McDonald; R. Mcßain, M. Sanson, A. McLaren; J. Mcßain, K. Soper, M. Sherriff, M. White, M. Nicol. CANTERBURY (red and black).—M. Rhind; V. McNab, B. Watkins; I. Riddell, S. Aldridge, N. Prestney; D. Dickey, P. Bell, M. McKenzie, G. McKenzie, M. Turner.

Eastern was soon on attack and kept Canterbury well on the defensive for several minutes. Apart from a spasmodic effort Eastern was having the better of play. M. White sent the ball across to K. Soper, who found the angle at which she was placed too acute for a goal and the ball went over the back line. Eastern’s forwards were playing well and M. White made an opening for M. Nicol, who scored from well in. Eastern Southland A 1, Canterbury nil. J. Mcßain went through once and put the ball in the net, but the umpire ruled her offside. Again the Eastern forwards went away in a concerted movement, but K. Soper was unable to make the necessary opening for M. Sherriff. M. Nicol and M. Sherriff were constantly on attack, and the latter player was using discrimination in feeding her inside forwards. From a bright and clever movement the insides almost carried the ball over the line, but the goalie saved well and it was left to R. Mcßain to follow in and score with a high shot from the rebound. Eastern Southland A 2, Canterbury nil. D. Dickey and M. McKenzie were the most impressive of the Canterbury forwards and broke away very fast, but the work of the line was ragged and lacked harmony. As long as this type of play went on Eastern looked safe to enter the final. Indeed, if it had not been for a very slight loss of touch when the circle was reached Eastern would have added to its This sense of touch, however, was always there and M. Sherriff made another opening from which J. Mcßain scored. Eastern Southland A 3, Canterbury nil. Half-time sounded a minute later. M. White and M. Nicol lead Eastern away when the second half began and, apart from one rush, it was rarely out of Canterbury's circle for many min-

utes. M. White was passing accurately and gave M. Nicol a shot which was cleanly put into the net. Eastern Southland A 4, Canterbury nil. Canterbury now looked a beaten team and Eastern did all the attacking. Play was coming mainly from the right and M. Nicol and M. White cut their way through the opposition on many occasions, but could not finish off. M. Sherriff was unselfishly passing to her team-mates, but with the Canterbury backs bunching in the circle shots of a wristy nature were the only ones that would have been effective and these were not being used. Fol* the second time in this half P. Bell and M. McKenzie gave Canterbury supporters a faint hope that it might score, but A. McDonald and M. Small were very steady and nothing but a penalty cornel’ came of all the hustle and bustle that was mainly ineffective. Canterbury was now tiring and the halves were hitting the ball too hard or not at all. When time sounded Canterbury was attacking with determination, but not with judgment. The final scores were:— Eastern Southland A 4 Canterbury nil

Messrs H. A. Boume-Webb (Nelson) and C. Bishop (Ashburton) were the umpires. PRESENTATION OF TROPHIES VISITING PLAYERS ATTEND FAREWELL DANCE The trophies won during the Dominion women’s hockey tournament were presented, at the farewell dance in Smith’s Hall on Saturday evening At the request of the president of the Southland Women’s Hockey Association (Mr A. St. C. Macgregor), Miss E. E. Laycock, of Wellington, chairman of the New Zealand Women’s Hockey Association, presented the trophies. Miss Laycock congratulated all the teams on the way they had played during the tournament and referred to the sporting spirit that had been shown even in the hardest and most critical of matches. She said the New Zealand Association intended to take steps to see that the button badges that, many years ago, it had been decided to award to the individual members of the winning team would be forwarded to those players who were entitled to them without any further delay. The K Cup was received by Miss M. Nicol, on behalf of the Eastern Southland A team, the Floyd Shield, for the second placed team, by Miss I. Pickering, of the Wellington team, and the Holden Cup, for the third team in the competition, by Miss D. Dickey, Canterbury. Mr G. C. Hamilton, manager of the Eastern Southland A team and a New Zealander selector, in reply said he hoped that some other team would come along and beat Eastern Southland, if only to show that the standard of hockey had improved in other parts of New Zealand. A presentation was made to Mr J. Cusack, the manager of the Wellington team, by Mr Hamilton on behalf of the managers and chaperones of the visiting teams and the umpires. He referred to his keen interest in all branches of sport, especially in women’s hockey. Mr Cusack suitably replied. PREVIOUS WINNERS AT TOURNAMENT Following is a list of winners of the K Cup at previous tournaments: — 1924— Southland, at Nelson. 1925— Southland, at Gisborne. 1926— Southland and Ruahine, at Invercargill. 1927— Ruahine, at Palmerston North. 1928— Canterbury,/ at Timaru. 1929 — Southland, at Gisborne. 1930— Wellington and Eastern, at Invercargill. 1931— Eastern, at Auckland. 1932— Eastern, at Dunedin. 1933— Otago and Canterbury, at Dannevirke.

1934— Eastern, at Christchurch. 1935— Eastern, at Gisborne. 1936— Eastern, at Blenheim. IZARD CUP Following are the previous winners of the Izard Cup, which was awarded, until 1923, to the champion team of the Dominion. In 1924 it was replaced by the K Cup:— 1909— Hawke’s Bay, at Napier. 1910— Nelson, at Wellington. 1911 — Nelson, at Nelson. 1912— Hawke’s Bay and Wairarapa, at Christchurch. 1913— Wairarapa, at Wanganui. 1914— No competition. 1915— Poverty Bay, at Wellington. 1916 — No competition. 1917 — No competition. 1918— Poverty Bay, at Wellington. 1919— Canterbury, at Christchurch. 1920— Poverty Bay, at Gisborne. 1921— Poverty Bay and Wellington, at Palmerston North. 1922— Poverty Bay, at Napier. 1923— Southland, at Dunedin. FLOYD SHIELD Following is a list of previous winners of the Floyd Shield, which is awarded to the team that gains second place in the Dominion tournament:— 1913— Canterbury. 1914— No competition. 1915— Wellington and Wairarapa. 1916— No competition. 1917— No competition. 1918— Canterbury. 1919— Wellington. 1920— Auckland. 1921— Poverty Bay and Wellington. 1922— Wellington. . 1923— Wellington. 1924— Poverty Bay. 1925— Ruahine-Dannevirke. 1926— Southland and Ruahine-Danne-virke. 1927— Southland. 1928— Southland. 1929— Canterbury. 1930— Wellington and Eastern. 1931— Wellington. 1932— Otago. 1933— Canterbury and Otago, 1934— Marlborough.

1935— South Otago. 1936— Otago. THE HOLDEN CUP Following are the previous winners of the Holden Cup, which is awarded to the team which gains third place in the tournament: — 1928— Otago, at Timaru. 1929— Ruahine, at Gisborne. 1930— Otago, at Invercargill. 1931— Manawatu, at Auckland. 1932— Canterbury and Marlborough, at Dunedin. 1933— Eastern, at Dannevirke. 1934— Canterbury, at Christchurch. 1935— Southland, , at Gisborne. 1936— Canterbury, at Blenheim.