Burnside goes into a clear lead

Press, 4 July 1983, Page 24

Burnside goes into a clear lead

Burnside has taken a clear two-point advantage after the fifth round of play in the senior A section of the Asia Pacific women’s hockey , competition. Only the three senior A matches were played on Saturday, because of the bitterly cold weather. Burnside scored a one-nil win against Woolston II and now has nine points in this, the second section of play in the senior competition. Its nearest rival now is Carlton, which beat Selwyn by a solitary goal.

The other team to secure a win in the round was Harewood, which managed three goals against the bottom placed Woolston 11.

Players and umpires alike had to contend with the most bitter winter conditions so far this season. Hospital Corner, at Hagley Park, was a forlorn sight indeed, with only the players, coaches and a few dedicated souls braving the elements. A driving, chilling southerly blew strongly throughout the games, bringing stinging rain with it. However, there was little the Canterbury Women’s Hockey Association could do about it. It was faced early in the morning with the question of whether to allow any play at all in the senior grades, having already made the decision on Friday evening to cancel all grades except senior A, B and senior reserve. The association was faced with the prospect of giving in to the weather for the sake of its players, especially in the wake of the influenza epidemic, but in doing so facing the possibility of running out of suitable Saturdays for senior competition, with forthcoming representative fixtures to consider also.

In the end the pressure of keeping to the competition timetable swayed the decision and play went on. Points:—

Burnside 1 (j. Beattie); Woolston I 0. Half-time 1-0. Harewood 3 (H. Carroll, M.

Flannery, C. Smith); Woolston II 0. Half-time 2-0.

Carleton 1 (K. Paterson); Selwyn 0. Half-time 0-0. Bumside 1, Woolston I 0

Burnside clung tenaciously to its lead of a solitary goal through the second half and warded off any challenges the Woolston I side issued.

The goal came from the right wing, Jayne Beattie, who had returned to the side after a break of several weeks for illness. Beattie was in the right place at the right time and chipped the ball in after play had been brought down the right wing by her forwards. Leeane McFadden sent a strong shot across the mouth of the goal, the ball was then touched by her sister, Kerryn Doig and finally it was Beattie who converted.

Burnside, keen to maintain its place at the top of the table, attacked from the onset of the first whistle, but Woolston I also had its share of penalty corners. However, it lacked the finishing touches. The lack of finishing was something which affected both sides, largely because players were suffering from the cold. Conditions underfoot were slushy and greasy, and it affected the ability to trap passes cleanly, especially from penalty corners. Burnside’s normally reliant technique in dealing with such corners, which has usually produced at least one goal for it in each of its recent matches, was accordingly restricted. Woolston’s defence was sound, and it was a particulary good day for Sarah Weston, a member of the under 21 team, who played her first game at goalkeeper, replacing Marion Fullword. Weston coped well with the conditions and made a couple of nice saves. Players from both teams donned extra garments to keep out the rain but one could possibly have mistaken the Burnside goalie, Sandra Eastmond, for a snowman that had been decorated with jackets, scarves and woolly hats. Harewood 3, Woolston II 0

Harewood took top honours for the day as far as goal scoring was concerned, putting three in the net against Woolston 11. Even that could have been improved on, for it was also awarded two penalty strokes, both as a result of the

Woolston II goalie, Chris McDonnell, impeding Harewood players as she slipped from her feet when effecting saves outside the box.

However, it was not to be as McDonnell pulled in two good saves from the strokes, which were taken by Cindy Smith. Harewood, easily the stronger of the two sides, had the better of positional play all through the match, and Woolston rarely ventured into the Harewood 25, expecially during the first half.

It was a tribute to Woolston’s defensive work, and especially Janice Provan, that Harewood’s attacking forwards were not allowed more goals. Harewood’s first goal came from Henrietta Carroll and Maree Flannery in the first half, with Smith getting a field goal midway through the second spell. Harewood showed it was capable of some good hockey and showed it mastered the basic skills better than its opposition in the conditions. Carlton 1, Selwyn 0 Carlton again showed that it has temporarily lost the edge to its game when it was kept scoreless by Selwyn until five minutes from the end of play. It was a match Selwyn was loath to concede, starting the day with a slight lead over Carlton in the competition. However, at the end of the day it was Carlton with the lead. As in the other matches, it was difficult to string more than three passes together and play centred around the middle of the field, giving the wings on either side little ball. It was a day for a team effort.

rather than having one or two individuals from either side making all the play. Kathy Paterson gave Carlton the vital edge late in the game when she scored from a penalty comer which had been trapped by her captain, Robyn Blackman. The cheers from the Carlton team and a few supporters present were audible for some distance, as although there was still about five minutes of the match to play, the chance of Selwyn equalising in a low scoring ' match looked slim indeed.

Selwyn, which shared the possession and attacked as hard as Carlton, was perhaps, a little unlucky to be denied the draw so late in the game.

W D L F A Pt Burnside 4 1 0 10 1 9 Carlton 3 1 1 4 1 7 Harewood 2 2 1 6 4 6 Selwyn 2 2 1 5 3 6 Woolst. I 1 0 4 3 6 2 Woolst. II 0 0 5 1 13 0 Scores and scorers: :—