MEN’S HOCKEY

Southland Times, Issue 23829, 29 May 1939, Page 2

MEN’S HOCKEY

Only Senior Matches! Played DRAW BETWEEN LEADING TEAMS The senior men’s hockey games at Queen’s Park on Saturday did not reach the standard of which the teams are capable. Rain in the morning and a slight drizzle in the afternoon made the surface of the grounds soft, and after a few minutes’ play the fields were badly cut up. The poor display of all the teams can be attributed to the state of the grounds, as the surface made good hockey impossible. As a consequence, the games lost the interest they otherwise would have held. There was little spectacular work by any one player, as individual play suffered as much as team play because of the state of the grounds. No intermediate or senior grade games were played. The results were:— Civil Service 2 drew with Central 2. Collegiate 4 beat Central B 0. Hie competition has become more interesting because of the drawn match between Civil Service and Central It was generally thought that Central would hold off Civil Service, but on Saturday the teams were very even. Both sides missed opportunities through faulty passing. Collegiate had a comfortable win over the young Central B team, but Central B put up a good showing, C Cartwright, in particular playing well. Points in the Doublebee Cup competition are as follows:— ■ Central A 9 Civil Service 6 Collegiate 5 Central B 0 # MATCH ENDS IN DRAW GAME SPOILED BY STATE OF GROUND Civil Service was rather lucky to force a draw right on time in its game against Central. Central had the advantage for the greater part of the game, but though the forwards had many opportunities, they could not finish off their movements. N. Jones, the Civil Service goal-keeper, proved his worth on several occasions. W. Barraclough and N. Burns, the Civil Service full-backs, also did much to keep the Central forwards out of the circle. T. Hennessy was playing soundly as Central’s centre-forward, but the defence was strong. The teams were:— CENTRAL.—P. Cooker, Moffatt, K. Lythgoe, A. McLean, H. Semmens, R. Field, J. Greer, E. Mullen, T. Hennessy, I. Speirs, Ritchie. CIVIL SERVICE.—N. Jones, W. Barraclough, N. Burns, M. Keen, I. Campbell, D. G. Hardcastle, L. Anderson, H. Poole. H. Gray, C. Gray, H. Rennick. Central was first to score. After a long period of aimless hitting and passing, followed by fruitless raids on each other’s territory, the teams began to settle down as far as possible. Semmens sent a pass to his wing and Speirs took it down to the Civil Service 25. There was some skirmishing for position and finally Speirs broke through the defence and scored. Central 1, Civil Service 0. Central held its advantage for a long period. H. Rennick made numerous attaclts into th Central territory, but was not fully supported. H. Gray sent the Civil Service forwards away to a good start and from a melees in the goal-mouth he followed the ball into the net. The half-times scores were: Central 1; Civ'l Service 1. In the second half there was no improvement in play. The game was still ragged and featureless, and the ball was still being passed badly. Central made several attempts to shoot, but was. foiled each t’ ne till Mullen decided to go through on his own. He passed the fullbacks and sent in a stinging shot, making the scores: Central 2; Civil Service 1. Civil Service tried hard to score, but was unsuccessful till just on full-time, when H. Gray scored his second goal of the day. It was a good finish to a match that held little interest for 'the spectators. The mal scores were:— Central 2; Civil Service 2 Messrs J. D. Gregg and F. Hinton were the umpires. COLLEGIATE BEATS CENTRAL B , STRONG RESISTANCE BY YOUNG TEAM In spite of the spirited resistance of the young and inexperienced Central B team, Collegiate had much its own way when it beat the Central team. The score would have been greater against Central B had it not been for C. Cartwright’s sound defence. He spoiled many of Collegiate’s attacking movements and gave his forwards a good share of the ball. V. Poole shot three goals for Collegiate during the game, one of them coming from a solo rush from half-way. during which he had to pass half the opposing team. The game was played at a slow pace, as the ground was badly cut up, and did not present a good surface for passing. The teams were: COLLEGIATE.—N. Poole. C. Hodgson, N. Spiers, J. Melrose, H. Hunt, C. Martin, J. Waddell, L. Mason, V. Poole, E. Booth, S. Mason. CENTRAL.—N. Fredric. C. Cartwright, B Lowe, P. Semmens. N. Lindsay, Drummond, Berry, Moen, Gunn, McKenzie, Aitken. The first half of the game was fairly even, though Collegiate had the greater share of the ball. Central B played well, but the forwards were inclined to bunch. V. Poole was first to score He took possession of the ball at the halfway flag and went through the opposition on his own for a splendid solo goal. There was no further goal till half-time, when the scores were:— Collegiate 1; Central B 0. In the second half Collegiate began to show its superiority, and the Central B forwards began to tire a little. V. Poole shot two more goals, and L. Mason also added one. The final scores were:— Collegiate 4; Central B 0. Messrs W. R. Curwen and G. J. Hope were the umpires. IN OTHER CENTRES WELLINGTON Karori I 8 beat University 0. Huia 5 beat Wellington 0. Technical 4 beat Karori II 3. Hutt 3 beat Wesley 2. CHRISTCHURCH Canterbury A 5 drew with New Zealand University A 5. Canterbury B 2 beat New Zealand University B 1.