Hockey: Holland's strike proves decisive: Army miss their chances and find the going sticky

Civil Service. .1

The Army. . . . 0

THE game which looked as if it might have brought a deluge of goals turned into something of a damp squib yesterday, the Civil Service taking the honours with the only goal of the Army's last match before next week's Inter-Services Championship, writes Bill Colwill.

On Hounslow's splendid artificial pitch at Chiswick, both sides' forwards squandered a number of good opportunities set up by their respective midfields, in which Nigel D'Cruz and Michael Hannon dominated for the Civil Service and Ian Jennings for the Army.

In a goalless first half in which the Civil Service did most of the attacking, the game came to light in the closing minutes, with both goalkeepers making good saves. First Hounslow's Jon Williams saved well for the Army from Ian Brown on the break, and then David Burtenshaw was equally alert to block Mick Bale's attempt.

The Civil Service, who won 5-0 after a goalless first half against the Royal Navy on Wednesday, restarted purposefully. With Alistair Holland and D'Cruz pushing forward from midfield they scored the decisive goal four minutes later. Holland, driving down the right, drew Williams and after rounding the goalkeeper scored from a narrow angle.

CIVIL SERVICE: D Burtenshaw (City of Oxford); R Jones (Winchester), A Craddock (Cannock), S Lemon (Fareham), G Osborne (Surbiton), A Holland (Woking), N D'Cruz (Old Midwhitgiftians, capt), M Hannon (Swansea), R West (Winchester), C Slatcher (St Neots), I Brown (Springfields). Substitute used: G Hunter (Cheltenham).

ARMY: Capt J Williams (Royal Signals); Capt S Hazlitt (Infantry, capt), Sig W James (Royal Signals), Cfn A Chick (REME), S/Sgt B Gray (REME), 2Lt M Way (Infantry), S/Sgt I Jennings (APTC), S/Sgt F Millar (RE), Lt T Wood (Royal Signals), Sgt M Bale (REME), Maj D Proctor (Royal Signals).

Umpires: Cpl T Norwood (RAF) and P Vijay.

(Photograph omitted)