Hockey: Waugh heads victory march

Bristol University. . .2

Birmingham University. .3

TWO goals from Bill Waugh, who leaves today to play for England in the Indira Gandhi Tournament in Bombay, gave Birmingham victory in the Commercial Union UAU Cup Final in Reading yesterday, despite a spirited fightback from Bristol.

Waugh, one of five Bombay- bound players on view yesterday, gave Birmingham the start they wanted with a goal from a penalty corner after only 10 seconds after Nick Conway had burst through the Bristol defence only to have his stick chopped.

When Birmingham went further ahead in the eighth minute, Chris Bloor scoring from Matthew Sutton's long pass, the going was looking dismal for Bristol. With courage and skill on the part of their three midfield Under-21 internationals, England's Ben Cope and Jon Hauck and Germany's Henning Tewes, they clawed their way back into the game.

Three minutes into the second half, however, when Waugh finished off a solo effort with a goal off Tom Barker's pads, even their vociferous supporters were silenced.

Within a minute Bristol were back in the game. Dom Hughes pulled one back from a well- worked penalty corner and when four minutes later, Hughes's shot from another corner was stopped by Waugh's foot on the line for a penalty stroke, which Tewes converted, the game was wide open.

In a desperate closing period Birmingham defended a series of penalty corners, somehow cleared a succession of dangerous crosses from Paul Harradine and regained the title they last won in 1989. No one was more relieved than their coach Jon Roberts, other perhaps than England's coach David Whitaker, that all his players appeared to come through unscathed.

In the women's final at Birmingham, Loughborough, with three goals from Charlotte Cornwallis, beat Heriot Watt 3-2 to claim their sixth successive title.

Bristol: T Baker; A Waldock, R Hern, L Marston, K Langfelder, H Tewes, B Cope, J Hauck, P Harradine, B Edgar (capt), D Hughes. Substitute used: J Hewer.

Birmingham: S Hobbs; K Elston, P Shipston, J Day, W Waugh, S Mainwaring, C Bloor (capt), M Tucker, N Conway, M Sutton, N Ski.

Umpires: T Shobrook and T Hoddinott (WCHUA).