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 Sports
coverage forms a huge part of Martins Bank Magazine’s copy, and by the time
of the 1969 merger with Barclays, stories about or related to sporting
activity occupy around one quarter of the Magazine’s printed pagesMany sports
are played both inter-district and inter-bank, with Martins winning a number
of trophies. Hockey is a popular sport with Martins staff, and in this match
between London and Manchester Districts in 1967 there is plenty of action…
Inter-District Hockey
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London
District 4
Manchester
District
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 driving wind and rain at Catford Bridge
on February 27 did enough to mar this first meeting of two evenly matched
sides whose full abilities may have been obscured by the appalling conditions
but whose shortcomings were revealed by a plenitude of whistle from umpires
W. D. Chambers and G. K. Eaves. Mr
Chambers, a former Surrey and Ireland player, and Mr Eaves, who umpired at
the 1964 Olympics, have nothing to learn about the rules or the finer points
of hockey—hence
the frequency of the whistle which, let it be said, seemed to be fully justified
on a short and bumpy pitch which showed up the capabilities and deficiencies
of the regular and not-so-regular players. Despite
last-minute changes through weekend injuries and the incorporation of
Manchester's travelling reserve, Preston, in the forward line, London's more
recent team experience showed at the outset. For twenty minutes play was
rarely out of the Manchester half, with Richards, Webb and the two Pearces
predominating. The visitors fought
doggedly and on their rare excursion upfield showed possibilities,
particularly in Bent and Doughty, though Belsey and Liley exercised authority
in defence. Against the run of the play Manchester scored first
through Bent, and by the interval they had managed to maintain their lead,
the promise to increase it being evident whenever Bradley or Doughty gained
possession.
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London in defence…
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…and in attack
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After five minutes of the second half a
free hit by R. Pearce was defle cted to even the score. Doughty and Bent then
produced a sparkling move down the left wing, foiled by Liley, and another
effort involving McMutrie and Bradley resulted in a corner and a smart
interception by Richards. Immediately after this Webb gave London the lead, to the
discomfiture of Hopley, and within a minute had done it again with a shot
almost on the by-line through a six-inch gap, the ball hitting the far post
and cannoning into the net. Clearly London had decided to abandon finesse in
the conditions and to get rid of, rather than run with, the ball thereby
uncovering flaws in Manchester's defence which, when Webb completed his
hat-trick, were made to appear more glaring than was generally the case.
There was little to choose between these two keen sides, an impartial
observer offering the opinion that a 2-goal margin would have been a fairer
result. Mr George Milne had entertained the teams at lunch and Mr Harry
Taylor, who joined them for a meal afterwards, expressed his understandable
pleasure at London's victorv— something of a rarity in recent months but achieved bravely
despite 'sticks', 'feet', 'offside' and, of course, whistle.x
The
Teams
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LONDON
DISTRICT
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MANCHESTER
DISTRICT
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K P Marsh
K Liley
E Belsey
K Lee
C J Pearce
R Pearce
D W Empson
J Preston
W Webb
J Tester
P Richards
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W Hopley
A Aked
H Prime
R Smith
R Blomeley
M Bent
J Whitehead
A Bradley
W McMutrie
H Williams
I Doughty
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Standing (left to right): R Pearce E Belsey J S Anderson D W Empson A
W Webb J Tester J Preston C J Pearce
C Milne K P Marsh
W D Chambers K Lee G K Eaves W McMutrie M Bent H Prime A Aked R Blomeley A Bradlev I Doughty J
Whitehead W Hopley
Front row: P Richards K Liley R Smith H Williams
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