HOCKEY The results of our four inter-school matches were as follows :3rd Feb. v. Ashville College. Lost, 1-2. 28th Feb. v. Bootham School. Drawn, 0-0. 7th Mar. v. Worksop College. Lost, 2-3. 10th Mar. v. Trent College. Won, 1-0.
That table of results shows very clearly where the weakness of this year's Hockey XI lay. We could not score goals : and however well a side may play in mid-field, it is goals that count. The forwards just could not seize their chances in the circle. This was due to a slowness in shooting, an apparent inability to hit the ball hard enough, and a lack of anticipation. Scoring goals is partly a matter of experience and practice; and inevitably we have not enough of the former, and bad weather is always liable to deprive us of the latter. Considering how wet February was, we were lucky to get as much hockey as we did : but even so, at the most critical stage of the season we had ten days completely blank. We started the season with four old colours, and we really reduced that to three by deciding that Gunning should not keep goal, but try —with his quickness off the mark at Rugger in mind— to fill a gap at centre-forward : and he will certainly do that in time. That left us with Smith at full-back and Hodgson and Hodd at inside forward to build on. We built our defence on the captain, A. N. C. Smith, at right back : and that defence became entirely adequate and at times very good indeed. Backs and halves knew their job and did it, and trusted the others to do theirs. Positional play was very good, and the only sides that looked likely to score many goals against us were Styx, who actually scored four and Worksop who outpaced us on foot and scored three. The building of the forward line was not so successful, and yet there was much to admire in mid-field, and our passing was at times admirable. Hodgson and Hodd worked tremendously hard to get the line working together, but Hodgson has lost his shooting power, and Hodd never seemed quite to know where the goal was. We had to make an outside left, and after several experiments decided on Pullan who filled a difficult position very adequately and improved in every match. He has the makings of a good inside left, which may well be his position another year. At outside right the choice lay between Kershaw and Raylor, and Kershaw's superior speed won him the place, though he is not a natural hitter of a hockey ball. Whatever results we may have achieved, everybody seemed to enjoy their hockey tremendously : and that is, after all, the primary object of playing any game. 50
