Central Did Well To Win Six-A-Side Hockey Tournament

Southland Times, Issue 23838, 8 June 1939, Page 11

Central Did Well To Win Six-A-Side Hockey Tournament

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The Central Club is to be congratulated on its magnificent win in the six-a-side hockey tournament on Monday. It went through the whole tournament without being beaten. There was no doubt from the first match Central played, that it would be a hard team to beat, and as the tournament progressed, many teams found this out to their cost. Last year Collegiate was the premier club. A seven-a-side competition was played last year, and the standard of play in the six-a-side this year has not depreciated any. The six-a-side seems to be just as good as the seven-a-side, and the association will probably retain it as an annual fixture. The games on Monday were certainly fast and bright, and six-a-side play has proved its worth. The members of the Central A team each deserve credit for the club’s win. T. Hennessy’s performance as the centre-forward was a magnificent piece of work. He was on top of the play at all times and scored many goals. H. Semmens made much of Hennessy’s good work possible by keeping him well supplied with ball in each match. His play was fast and neat, and his passing was good. I. D. Speirs and E. Mullen were sound forwards. They were always harrying opposing backs and were dangerous in the circle. Field was a half-back to be respected. His play on Monday marked him as one of the soundest of the halves in the competition. He has a hard clearing shot and can control the ball while he is dribbling. K. Lythgoe played his usual steady game at full-back. He seems to be better able to stop the ball with his stick. He played a sound game on Monday and beat many forward rushes with his strong clearances. The team worked well as a whole and its combination was good. Civil Service did well to be runnerup. The team was beaten once, by Central A, but only after extra time had been allowed. It will be remembered that Civil Service was runner-up to Gore A in the Eastern-Northern seven-a-side tournament last season. Last year the club began to return to form and has made steady progress since. H. Poole played in the final in place of C. Gray, who was injured in an earlier game. H Gray played an outstanding game as a forward for Civil Service. He was fast and sure, and he followed the ball closely. Gray made many solo breaks during the tournament, and some of them resulted in goals. His goal against Central A in the final was a beautiful piece of opportunism. The field lay open before him from about the half-way flag, and he lost no time in taking advantage of the opening. H. Rennick may be a veteran player, but on his form the last few Saturdays and again on Monday, he should come into consideration for the Southland

team as a winger. He has shown that he can outrun most forwards and beat most of the backs in a race to the ball. The forwards who will come into consideration for the provincial side are mostly inside players and centres, so that Rennick will have a good chance. He has good control of the ball with his speed and his passing is sound. He makes a good captain of the Civil Service club. I. Campbell gave a wonderful exhibition of stickwork. He passed good forwards with ease and his push shot had many opposing players baffled. His passing and placements were sound and his shots drew comment from the crowd. C. Gray’s fast work was also remarked upon. He showed remarkable pace, and it was unfortunate that he had to be replaced because of injury. H. Poole, who played in his place, gave a good account of himself, however. M. Keane’s work was sound and reliable at all times. Special mention should be made of Barraclough’s work at full-back. He made several saves of shots that were within inches of the back line. His stopping of the fast ball was well managed. and had it not been for his wonderful work in the full-back position Central’s score against Civil Service must have been much greater. These saves' were perhaps the most exciting incidents in an exciting final. The second grade matches were of quite a good standard. The play was bright and interesting and the games were played at a fast pace. Some good young players 'were seen in action on Monday, and the selector, Mr E. G. Pankhurst, will have a lot of good material from which to pick his colts’ team. The final will be played at Gore on a date which has yet to be arranged. It should be worth seeing. SATURDAY’S PLAY Collegiate was rather badly beaten on goals by Central last Saturday, but on actual play it did not do so badly. Central had the advantage on attack and when Collegiate was attacking it missed V. C. Poole, the centre-forward. Hunt played a sound game in the Collegiate half-back line, and saved several goals that went very close, N. Poole, the goal-keeper, had a hard day. The Central forwards gave him no peace, and the shots that passed him would have passed, any goalie. However, with V.. Poole missing from the forwards and the side playing one man, short, Collegiate could hardly have hoped to put up any strong opposition. The Central B team, many of whose players have had very little experience in the game, put up a strong showing against Civil Service. C. Cartwright played another outstanding game. His play on Monday too, was reliable. P. Semmens is playing well. He kept his forwards well supplied with ball on Saturday.