Reports 29th November 2003

Men's 1st XI win their derby match 4-1 against Cambridge Nomads III

Men's 2nd XI lose 3-1 to Wisbech Town III

Men's 3rd XI suffer a 7-2 defeat by St Ives V

Ladies' 1st XI lose 3-0 to Wisbech Town II

Cambridge Nomads Men's III 1 - 4 Cambridge South Men's I

H/T: 0 - 2

Scorers: Matt Readman, Matt Murray, Chris Graveling, Steve Fleck

South kept up the pressure on Division 4NW leaders Peterborough Athletic by recording a relatively comfortable victory over a Nomads side who never quite gave in.

South made the running right from the start, with livewire Sanjay Agarwala seeing plenty of action on the left wing and Peter Carey in a roving defensive-cum-attacking vein prominent just about everywhere. Agarwala and the equally ubiquitous Chris Massey both had shots well saved and short corner attempts from Rob Sprawson and switch-man Steve Fleck were also on target. The occasional Nomadic foray was firmly repelled by an uncompromising Jim Thorpe as South patiently built up their game, exploring both wings and playing the triangles nicely.

Matt Readman, calmness personified as ever, spread the ball round well and, on twenty-five minutes, took the opportunity to move upfield and slot home crisply through traffic from the top of the D to make it 1-0. Further good work from Massey, ball apparently welded to his stick, and the persevering Jonny Tostevin on the right increased the pressure and, after Readman and Matt Murray had engaged in a neat one-two, a fractal run by Fleck put Murray clear on the spot and the good doctor finished the move with clinical precision to double the lead after thirty-one minutes. Nomads threatened briefly when a skimmer was deflected just wide but a half-time advantage of 2-0 was no more than South deserved.

Rob Barton, returning from injury and with a goal already under his belt from earlier in the day, quickly made his presence felt with a cunning reverse pass after a South short and master and commander Chris Graveling was on hand to unleash a cannon into the bottom left-hand corner and put clear water between the sides. A superb multi-directional move stemming from a big Thorpe clearance and involving Barton, Agarwala and Sprawson deserved better than a turnover and a Nomads break but Thorpe was reassuringly in position to defuse the threat.

Despite a good debut from Mark Jackson on the left and persistent attacking intent, South hit a slightly rocky patch hereabouts and, after fifty-one minutes, a nasty hole opened up in the D, leaving a Nomads forward to roof a first-timer home from five yards. A further home goal at this point might have jangled the nerves but keeper Steve Parker first blocked a sharp hit from an unmarked Nomads attacker and then clawed down a flick from the same player to spare South's blushes.

With moral fibre stiffened by Thorpe's schoolmasterly promptings - a pained "This is shocking!" perhaps the most effective - South swiftly regained control and Murray nearly got through on a sliderule feed from Carey, while Graveling and Sprawson played havoc with the Nomads defence, the former bouncing a flick off the goalie's chest and the latter reversing a subtle pass to Murray. The pressure finally told and, from a sixty-sixth minute short, Fleck found space to make it 4-1 with a wily raised deflection from Sprawson's well-angled drive - a textbook goal which left both defenders and keeper powerless.

Skipper Steve Parker, after delivering an impassioned pre-match speech, was satisfied with the victory whilst expressing some concern with the team's occasionally shaky second half showing. He added that he was looking for a commanding performance in the final league game before the Christmas break.

Cambridge South Men's II 1 - 3 Wisbech Town Men's III

H/T: 0 - 1

Scorers: Dan Adlington
MoM: Andy Lewis - for his great wing play, and mesmerising skills setting up CSHC attacks

A skilful Wisbech side dominated the game from the start and the home defence was regularly called upon. They were up to the task, especially the disciplined and effective Andy Bleach and the assertive Matt Bailey. Unfortunately on the occasion that an attacker was left unmarked, he snuck in to grab the opening Wisbech goal.

CSHC were then able to get more into the game and force some short corners which were sadly not converted. Most of the home attacks came from opportunist moves by the lively Lewis, who was a constant threat. The ball arrived in the Wisbech D enough times, but the final strike eluded the CSHC forwards.

The second and third Wisbech goals came shortly after half time, one from a speculative cross which found its way into the goal without anyone touching it, the other from that unmarked forward once again. As often happens, South then became more purposeful and the final quarter was their best period, including a deserved goal for Adlington after a quickly taken Creed free hit.

Umpire Pride got himself more involved in the game than expected by a deft header, which unfortunately failed to find a CSHC stick, but made a nice noise.

St Ives Men's V 7 - 2 Cambridge South Men's III

Scorers: Unknown

No report

Wisbech Town Ladies' II 3 - 0 Cambridge South Ladies' I

H/T: 3 - 0

Scorers:
MoM: Katie Thornburrow

The final league match before Christmas saw Cambridge South Ladies suffer a second successive loss. Playing a Wisbech side with a strong forward line and some very promising young players, South found the going difficult in defense and could never quite get into a scoring position up front either.

Once again the weather was not helpful but South could not give this as an excuse for a first half display that saw them concede three goals. Unfortunately, Wisbech were just a bit too good and put together some fine passes for each of their goals. A few of the South players were playing out of position and captain Rachel Rule did some reorganizing after the first goal, moving Charlotte Page to centre half where she had a strong game.

In the second half South put up a much better performance, preventing any further goals and putting together some breaks of their own but could not manage to produce a goal for their efforts. Katie Thornburrow, sporting an impressive bruise on her knee after last week's match, did extremely well at left back with some crucial tackles and was South's woman of the match.

Strong early season results mean that South go into the winter break with a mid-division position in the league. They will be looking to maintain this position at the very least in the new year.