HOCKEY Harewood, H.S.O.B. Share Lead

Press, Volume C, Issue 29513, 15 May 1961, Page 13

HOCKEY Harewood, H.S.O.B. Share Lead

The fourth round of the Canterbury Hockey Association’s senior competition emphasised the difference between the standard of the leading teams and that of those more lowly placed. It also suggested that the struggle for championship honours might be closer than last year’s duel between only two clubs. So close are the five leading teams in points that University’s defeat by Harewood relegated it from first equal to fourth equal. This match was the best of the round, and Harewood gained a meritorious victory by the persistence of its attacks after it appeared midway through the second half to be in danger of defeat. All games were played at Burwood Park which was very bumpy and which demanded considerable care in the skills of trapping and dribbling. Results are:— Harewood 3, University 2. High Schoo! Old Boys 5, Sydenham 1. Woolston 5, Technical Old Boys 0. West Old Boys 10, Selwyn 2. Competition points to date: Harewood 3j. High School Old Boys 3i, West Old Boys 3. University 2J, Woolston 2A. Technical Old Boys 1, Sydenham 0, Selwyn 0. HAREWOOD V. UNIVERSITY During the first half, play wa« very even and of a reasonably good standard, the trapping passing and dribbling showing some crispness and precision For some time after the interval the exchanges continued to be fairly shared, but after University gained a lead of one goal its standard slipped disastrously and Harewood took full advantage of University's panic to increase the pressure considerably and snatch a win which was thoroughly deserved In the closing stages the University side became more of a debating society than a hockey team, with several of the players constituting themselves captains and coaches and making a verbal analysis of the proceedings. Hense there was a loss in concentration, the positional play deteriorated badly, and the trapping in the defence became plagued with error University sorely missed its two regular backs, M. Lints and R. G. O’Connor, as the two replacements were far from convincing. In goal K. O’Callahan made some good saves without being as sure as in previous games, but he did not receive much protection from his backs. K. Thomson played well in the first half, but his game suffered in the general panic later. A. Arneson did some useful things at right-half and showed some promise considering his lack of experience.

Until the disintegration of their organisation, the forwards showed adequate form with A. Read and M Berkeley on the right flank making many penetrating breaks. A. Best in the centre used his stick to advantage, and there were flashes of good form from R. Bailey on the left-wing and J. Cahill at inside-left, but both faded towards the end, when the forwards retreated so much as to become inextricably confused with their own defenders. Although worried by the opposing right flank attacks the Harewood backs. G. Burrows and D. Shepherd, defended well, and the latter’s persistent switching of play back to his own team’s right was an important factor In its win. The three halves. G Baldwin. Q. Taylor and L. Innes, again produced sound games. In the later stages they enjoyed ample room in which to operate, and they took full advantage of this to feed their forwards coolly and persistently. At insideright B. Murray led his forwards excellently. He combined well with his wing. L. Smith, whose dribbling was mosi effective, and he fed his inside forwards most intelligently near the opposing circle. His dribbling and ball control were good. Although depending stronglv upon their right flank for the main penetration, B. Turner and R. Cockroft trapped their passes well, and their quickness on to the University goalkeeper always worried the opposing defence. Harewood’? win from a losing position was a very creditable effort. Its goals were scored by C. Broadhurst. B. Murray and B. Turner and the University goals were scored by R. BaiJev and K Thomson. Umpires:—Messrs A. D Holland and J. Reece. HIGH SCHOOL OLD BOYS v SYDENAM The better positional play control, experience, understanding and combination of Old Boys gave them a comfortable and convicing win against Sydenham. They usually had ample time for building attacks and showed much greater dash in finishing them against a defence which was not particularly well organised and which included an inexperienced half-line, whose passing lacked care and permitted too man,y easy interceptions. The Old Boys halves and backs were not posed any difficult problems in repelling the Sydenham attacks, and it was apparent that better passing by the Sydenham halves and forwards might have worried them considerably. W. Browne was the most stubborn of the defenders, but he overdid the pass through the centre and most of these efforts were blocked.

The Old Boys forwards showed much improvement in their passing, and they made 'many good openings fur each other. R. Rogers showed resource on the right wing and enjqyed success in several determined thrusts into the circle. He was well served by P. Blyth at inside-right, who took advantage of the time at his disposal to play constructively and with thoughtful variation. I. Armstrong s sense of opportunism provided a useful finish to some of the attacks, and J. Kiddey, at inside-left, made a welcome return to form. He took time to place his passes and his circle play was much more convincing because of the eradication of wildness and haste. J. Pauling played a fine game tn the Sydenham goal. some of his saves being outstanding. In the backs, L. Lloyd trapped and tackled well, but moved the ball too far at times in eluding opponents and thereby lost it. The halves showed rnbre appreciation of their requirements. but their passing let them down. Several well conceived moves collapsed because the passes were not firm enough. M. McKinnon was the only really penetrative forward. He held the ball intelligently at times but tended to overdribble. although he may have felt that circumstances left him with little option. A. Bhana worked hard on the left wing and successfully eluded his marker on several occasions. C Woods was not in form at inside-right, and D. Lloyd, on the right wing, indulged in stickwork for its own sake when clear of opponents. Goals were scored for High School Old Boys by I. Armstrong (3), R. Rogers and T. Thomas, and C. Woods scored for Sydenham. Umpires: Messrs A. D. Holland and B. Lloyd. WEST OLD BOYS V. SELWYN The two halves of this game provided a sharp contrast in events In the first spell Selwyn played with some care m passing and control, while West Old Boys endeavoured to prosecute attacks by means of long solo dribbles. Under these circumstances Selwyn held its more experienced opponents quite well. After the interval West began to combine and the introduction of such cohesion caused panic in Selwyn’s ranks and a sad deterioration in Its play. Prominent in the West team were G. Smith at left-half for good trapping and passing and D. Hamilton at left-back, whose tackling and intercepting broke many Selwyn attacks. He fed his forwards very intelligently. Peter Clark at centre-half improved considerably in the second spell. During this period the forwards moved with more precision and R. Thomson made the most of his chances on the right win. A. Scott in the centre was determined and penetrative, and Paul Clark at inside-left became more effective after a first half of long, solo dribbles of vain endeavour. The Selwyn defence was fairly stubborn for a while but fell to pieces when the backs, W. Gay and M. Berkeley, resorted to fly-hitting. C. Hessey at inside-right worked hard to some purpose, and R. PughCook dribbled nicely at times, but his passing requires considerable improvement. Goals were scored for West Old Boys by R. Thomson (3). Paul Clark (3). A. Scott (2). W. Thomson and R. Elliott, and R Andrews and K. Ching scored for Selwyn. Umpires:—Messrs K. Wright and J. Calder. WOOLSTON v. TECHNICAL OLD HOTS Although Woolston emerged with a convincing winning margin its forwards were not impressive, and its goals resulted from penalty corners and goal-mouth scrambles. The first half was scrappy and indecisive, but Woolston improved after the interval and exerted too much pressure for Technical to repel. K. Mortimer w’as very sound in the Woolston goal, and the brunt of the remaining defensive play wag ably borne by L. Hobson and J. Abrams, the backs. Both tackled, intercepted and passed well, and their performance was all the more creditable because they did not receive adequate support from the half-line. B. Judge saw more of the ball on the right wing, and combined well with his partner. N. Hobson. Both players were sound and constituted Woolston’s major and most effective form of attack. D. James returned to the team at centreforward and brought some improvement to the attack in this area, but the left flank was weak. Although materially assisted by Woolston'* over-hitting of passes and wild shooting. Technical did well to hold Its stronger opponents during the first half In the second spell Technical’s defence deteriorated I. Emmerson made a number of good saves in goal, and S Hall was prominent at times in the backs, being well supported by his centre-half. C. Smart. L Parker, who showed some control of the ball at centre-forward was the pick of the front line whose passing was too often astray for good combination to be maintained for long Goals were scored for Woolston by J Abrams (3), B. Monk and B Winks. Umpires: Messrs B. Lloyd and K. Wright.