Reports 4th December 2004

Men's 1st XI lose 5-1 to league leaders Bourne II

Men's 2nd XI lose 3-2 to Spalding III

Ladies' 1st XI lose 3-1 to Huntingdon II

Mixed XI draw 1-1 with Combwick

Cambridge South Men's I 1 - 5 Bourne Men's II

H/T: 0 - 2

Scorers: Chris Baker

South concluded the first half of the season's league campaign at the Perse on Saturday with a very tough fixture against league leaders Bourne 2nds, who were two divisions higher than South last year and who have only dropped one point so far this time round.

The result - a 5-1 defeat - was a fair reflection of the current standing of the two sides and, for most of the game, South were hard pressed to keep their keen, well-organised visitors at bay. Rob Hay made a goal line save in the second minute, keeper Steve Parker had to pull out all the stops after the defence got itself into trouble in the third minute and, overall, South found great difficulty in putting any really joined-up moves together, although the long-striding Rob Garrett was twice able to round the Bourne goalie before running out of time and space.

Occasional flashes of inspiration, such as when Veejay Agarwala took on and beat five men with the ball glued to his stick or when Chris Graveling made a superb jinking run from defence, were not enough to break down concerted spells of pressure from the confident Bourne attack, who thrived on sustained periods of possession.

The visitors were 2-0 up at half-time and, seeking to reinforce their advantage over nearest rivals Ely and Horncastle, looked to step on the jugular after the break. South had to absorb relentless pressure at the back, with Graveling and Keith Simpson doing their best to stem the bleeding after Bourne had gone 3-0 ahead on thirty-seven minutes, but there was little respite as two further open-play goals were swept past the beleaguered defence with fifteen minutes still to play. South's scoring threat hitherto had been limited to a Jim Thorpe short corner and another Garrett special - hit just wide after he had evaded a full-on challenge from the keeper - but some consolation was at hand when Chris Baker raced through and slotted home a good hard drive into the bottom left-hand corner after fifty-nine minutes.

The game finished without further addition on either side, leaving Bourne top of the pile and South mustering their collective will for the second half of the season, which starts next weekend with an away trip to Long Sutton, the mercurial Lincolnshire side with whom South drew in the opening fixture back in September.

Spalding Men's III 3 - 2 Cambridge South Men's II

H/T: 0 - 2

Scorers: Andy Lewis, Raphael Mis
MoM: Steve Richies - solid at sweeper; Mark Reilly - Duracell man at centre forward

It was all going so well in this must-win game. Early dominance and fluent attacking play from all angles, with Lewis and Reilly running the home defence ragged. The reshaped back line not giving the ball away, and turning defence into attack with good hitting out from set and open play. Two first half goals came from straightforward short corner routines, first from Andy Lewis, and shortly after from Raphael Mis, both with unstoppable efforts from distance.

Further South chances followed in the second half, but were sadly unconverted. Spalding snatched a goal back, and as CSHC tired and suffered some unfortunate injuries which slowed down the players concerned, turned the game, mainly through their playmaker in central midfield. They got the equaliser through sheer persistance and ability to get numbers into the D. Goalkeeper Jon Bartram was called upon more and more to repel shots, and sweeper Steve Riches tried manfully to shore up the defence.

The last hit of the game gave the home side victory from a short corner, with the final whistle already blown and all ten Spalding outfield players ready to pounce. This was a cruel ending to a competitive game which leaves South in the lower reaches of 5NW.

Huntingdon Ladies' II 3 - 1 Cambridge South Ladies' I

Scorers: Jo Read

No report

Southerners (Mixed Team) 1 - 1 Combwick (Sunday 5th December)

H/T: 1 - 0

Scorers: Rob Garrett
MoM: Lino Di Lorenzo - for a string of tremendous second half saves

South's most even mixed match so far this season produced a fair draw, with both teams feeling they had chances to win.

South started like lightening, and opening the scoring in the second minute, when a good attack down the right wing sprung Nick Wong into the D. His shot was saved by the keeper, who was unfortunate to see the rebound fall straight to Rob Garrett who swept the loose ball comfortably home.

South nearly doubled their lead in the fifth minute, when good interplay between Emma Clarke and Kate Nustedt gave Kate a shooting opportunity. Unfortunately, having beaten the keeper, Kate's shot hit the post and roll agonisingly across the line, but stayed out.

After an extremely rocking opening passage, Combwick began to find their feet, with their impressive sweeper starting to break up South's attacks before launching his own team. Combwick created a few opportunities for their forwards, to which Lino Di Lorenzo in the South net prove equal.

The second half saw Combwick throwing players forward in an attempt to get back into the game, which left the game extremely streched. South were being forced into a more defensive counter-attacking mode, and the visitng team shots began to test Lino, giving him the chance to shine. Especially impressive was one full length diving glove save, to stop what had seemed an almost certain goal. Another close run thing for Combwick came when a ball near the South byline was crossed into the circle. Lino, seeing the ball had just passed out of play prior to the cross, left it alone, letting a visiting forward sweep home. Fortunately the Combwick umpire proved as eagle-eyed as the South keeper and, to the relief of the home defence, a sixteen yard hit was awarded.

With ten minutes left, Combwick got the goal their second half pressure had threatened, when their dangerous central midfield picked up a loose ball near the top of the circle and unleased a drag flick that, though Lino got a glove to, he couldn't for once keep out.

The teams played out a tight, scoreless last few minutes, during which the best chance fell to South, when Nick Wong's run and shot went wide, to end the match as an honourable draw.