HOCKEY PLAYED ON IMPOSSIBLE GROUNDS

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 111, 1 August 1927, Page 11

HOCKEY PLAYED ON IMPOSSIBLE GROUNDS

BALL STICKS IN MUD LITTLE GOOD PLAY One man got a whack on the head with a stick. Pie was lucky it wasn’t worse. In fact the whole field on the Remuera hockey grounds on Saturday , was lucky that several did not have to retire with broken bones. Imagine a stockyard on a wet day that has been churned up for hours by a mob of restless cattle, ringing and fighting, and you have some conception of what the grounds were like toward the close of the day. Combination was almost impossible, and well-directed stick work out of the question. Take the Wesley-St. Luke’s contest, which ended in a win for the latter by 4 goals to 3. From the bully both teams set out to play good hockey. The forwards were seen in promising offensives, while both goalies were hard put to keep their respective nets clear. Lucas, especially, for Wesley was seen in his dashing but effective clearances. St. Luke’s had the best of the game in attack. Bay, in the front line in particular, playing a hard game. Giles was also seen to advantage. The Burton brothers were prominent both in clearances and attack for W T esley. Gradually the ground got churned up, and in front of the nets showers of mud followed each swipe at the ball. Many times it was only the mud and not the ball that shot through the air. The leather was almost out of sight. It was in one of these scrambles that BLirnett, one of St. Luke’s players, took his knock-out. It was a blow wielded by a fellow player who, losing his balance, after waving legs and stick wildly round in the air, regained it at the expense ’of the back of Burnett’s head. In the second half it was impossible to get a run on the ball, and players were slipping and sliding in all directions. Craig it was who, swiping at the ball in the circle, missed and slid head first into the net. Toward the close a stop had to be made for a new ball the leather was pounded out of shape. St. Luke’s maintained its advantage in attack, though Wesley was seen in snappy decisive moves. TRAINING COLLEGE DEFEATS EDEN. After a spirited battle under unfavourable weather conditions, Training College succeeded in lowering Mount Eden’s flag by the narrow margin of I—o.1 —0. Taken as a whole, the game was fast, but little high-class hockey was seen, and it could not be otherwise considering the big handicap of sodden grounds upon which the contestants laboured. The most attractive work appeared to be done by the back division of both sides, and some brainy stick play was , evidenced from time to time. Forward work was spoiled by the mud, and few really pretty combined movements were effected, and it was a day of individual play rather than an exhibition of team work. Two more evenly matched sides would be difficult to discover and it was anybody’s game throughout. The solitary goal of the match was the result of a fine shot by Wotherspoon from a corner. The goalies of both teams had plenty to occupy their time, and Straubel, of College, performed outstandingly well. ARETA TOO GOOD FOR EPIPHANY A great fight was put up by Epiphany in its first try-out against Areta in the first round of the Devonport shield competition. Having been playing in different sections hitherto these sides had not met before, and their first engagement was a matter of much conjecture previous to the match. Epiphany is always an unknown quantity, and now and then brings off some surprise wins. Although Epiphany by no means had things all its own way in the first half, the mid-way whistle found the score 2—l in favour of the Yellow and Blacks. It was mainly due to the remarkable work of Rankin in goal and the fullbacks that kept Areta’s dashing forwards at bay as long as they did. From the outset Epiphany had a tough job to keep its net safe, and although the Yellow jerseys were seen in some promising sallies they played a defensive game for the most part, but especially in the second half. Taw, Playle and Merryweather seemed to do the best work in the forward line, but the shocking state of the ground nullified any possibility of good passing movements. The halves were not able to do much in the way of feeding the forwards on account of the hopeless condition of the field, and the brLint of the defence as well as offence was left to the fullbacks, who appeared to be less affected by the slush. KING COUNTRY TEAMS SELECTED PLAYERS The following teams have been selected to represent King Country against Waipa in hockey matches at Taumarunui next Wednesday. Ladies.—Misses F. Watkins, N- Morris, P. Niell, D. Johnson, P. Firman, G. Laing, R. Freeman, Iv. Carlson, L. TLirton, G. Fraser, E. Marshall. Men. —D. Horton, A. Rice, C. Adams, C. Le Prou, C. Halliday, V. Hostick. JPeacock, W. Fathorpe, S. Winger, Patrick, T. Morgan. e NEW ZEALAND TEAM MATCH WITH VICTORIA GAME ENDS IN DRAW MELBOURNE, Sunday. The New Zealanders yesterday met Victoria, and the result was a draw. Each side scored three goals. The weather was fine and there was a good attendance. The New Zealand team was as follows:—Goal, Fletcher; backs, Mahoney, Soper; halves, Cole, Morris, Hore; forwards, Seccombe, Lusty, Bell, Watts, Spieres. The Victorians were the first to score. New Zealand then attacked and Hore shot a goal cleverly. Victoria again attacked and scored a second goal. Then brilliant halfback play by Hore resulted in Watts making the scores even. New Zealand was attacking at half-time. After the interval New Zealand led off strongly, the backs showing up well. Spieres played cleverly and the visitors’ play was systematic but smart. The Victorian goal was threatened, but the goalkeeper cleared. New Zealand made many attacks, but the defence of the Victorian backs was too strong. The home team then took a turn at the offensive, and after many shots scored, but Hore soon equalised with a clever goal. Soper, at left fullback, brilliantly stopped a strong Victorian attack, but the home team was still aggressive when time was called. New Zealand’s best players were Hore, Soper, Bell, Watts and Lugty.— A. and N.Z.