Reports 5th November 2005
Men's 1st XI streamroller Bourne III, 7-0
Men's 2nd XI gain a narrow 1-0 win against Alford & District I
Men's 3rd XI defeat St Ives V 4-1
Men's Veteran XI win 3-1 against Chelmsford Evergreens
Ladies' 1st XI complete a clean sweep of victories for the club with a 3-1 defeat of Bourne III
Cambridge South Men's I 7 - 0 Bourne Men's III
H/T: 4 - 0
Scorers: Rob Garrett (2), Matt Murray (3), Chris Baker, Kevin Rowland
Cambridge South, sponsored by PwC, hammered Bourne 3ds 7-0 to move five points clear at the top of Division 4NW.
A scintillating display in the first half prompted watching South Chairman Mick Beasley to comment that it was "possibly the best hockey I've ever seen by any Cambridge South team". Within the first five minutes South were 1-0 up after Rob Garrett harried the Bourne defence into a mistake and slotted home the loose ball.
A disorganised Bourne team couldn't cope with the movement of the South midfield and forwards and South created numerous chances throughout the half. Matt Murray scored two excellent goals and Chris Baker was also on the score sheet before half-time, for his eighth goal in five league appearances.
It was always going to be difficult to maintain the high standard of hockey and the second half was more even - but South still managed to add three more goals to their tally courtesy of Garrett, Murray and Kevin Rowland.
Alford & District Men's I 0 - 1 Cambridge South Men's II
H/T: 0 - 1
Scorers: Samin Ishtiaq
MoM: Ian Evans - first time goalkeeper; solid as a rock; clean sheet
Cambridge South gained a hard fought and rare away win at this northernmost outpost of 5NW. In spite of some excellent hockey players amongst the Alford ranks, South had most of the better attacking moves, and scored the solitary goal through a rasper of a shot from distance by Samin Ishtiaq late in the first half. The away team were unlucky not to score more, and even had a penalty saved shortly after.
In the second half Alford responded, but tight defending, with John Benedikz at sweeper particularly dominant, kept them out. Mark Jackson and Andy Kennedy in midfield were constantly harrying the opposition, and Chris Clegg again appeared to be filling in at least three positions all at the same time due to his huge energy. Although the game ended with play mostly in the South half, few chances were allowed, and the more dangerous moves were at the Alford end.
A satisfying win, with South keeping up the tempo, playing committed positive hockey, and producing scoring opportunities right to the final whistle against an experienced Alford side that we have not beaten for a number of years.
St Ives Men's V 1 - 4 Cambridge South Men's III
H/T: 1 - 2
Scorers: Rob Garrett (2), Jon Price, Wilco Dijkstra
Cambridge South 3rds, sponsored by PwC, earned a second consecutive victory, this time 4-1 against St Ives 5ths.
Due to the 3rds supplementing several players to the firsts and seconds, the final team was formed just an hour before the match. Despite this, South started strongly and immediately took the game to St Ives. The midfielders got the ball through and seasonal debutant forwards James Bridge and Jon Price were able to outpace the St Ives defenders.
It wasn't long before South's efforts paid off and still energetic double-up Rob Garett scored. Although St Ives tried hard to get back, our defence led by sweeper Andy Passmore and Steven Lane proved strong, and they found it easy to get the ball out via John Sharp and Phil Le Gouais.
Not long after, Rob wrongfooted the keeper by running across the backline and firing a direct shot at goal at a difficult angle rather than back to the top of the D. Although a St Ives defender stopped the ball with his foot on the line by lack of alternative options, a penalty goal was awarded. Later in the first half St Ives scored a lucky goal after a scramble in our D, resulting in a ball rolling slowly into our goal.
In the second half South continued to be strong with many scoring opportunities, some hard hits passing only inches past the post. It was only a matter of time before South scored two more goals, with our Jon Price (usually the keeper, making a rare foray outfield) and midfielder Wilco Dijkstra scoring.
St Ives, desperate to win and reinvigorated by two substitutes, stepped up a gear and succeeded in getting many short corners awarded despite the efforts of our defence and midfielders David Bridge and John Somerville. However South's defence proved impenetrable with keeper Tim Poole stopping various shots in the last fifteen minutes.
South, getting tired without subs, still managed to break free several times and were dangerous in the opposition's D, but didn't increase their lead. And so the final score was 4-1 for Cambridge South, a well-deserved victory, resulting in South displacing St Ives from the second position in the league. South currently sit three points behind early pacesetters Market Deeping 3rds, but have a game in hand.
Cambridge South Men's Veterans 3 - 1 Chelmsford Evergreens
H/T: 2 - 1
Scorers: Karl Konradt, Roger Craigen, Piyush Jani
Winning back-to-back games for the first time in three years has prompted the first report of the season. Looking through the archives, the last time the Vets won two successive games was in October 2002 so this is an event to celebrate.
Following last week's league win over Peterborough we entertained Chelmsford in a friendly in a match that proved to be very enjoyable, both on the pitch and afterwards in the pub.
South started the match looking the most likely team to score but could not turn their early pressure into a goal. Chelmsford came back into the match and their two international over-60s players made up for lack of pace with superb skills.
However midway through the half, following a move involving passes between half the team, Karl Konradt received the ball near the top of the circle which he hit past the keeper for South to take a well earned lead. A few minutes later following a very similar move, Roger Craigen converted the final pass to make the score 2–0.
Chelmsford made a concerted effort after this and put the South defence under pressure and finally reduced the deficit with a slightly bizarre goal. Jim Sutcliffe made a good save only to see the ball strike an attacker's stick and then loop back towards goal, hit the back of Steve Riches's head and slowly travel over the line. Well that is how it was described to me as by now the light was starting to fade and the floodlights hadn't yet been turned on!
The second half was fairly evenly balanced with Ricky Williams being unlucky not to extend the South lead on a couple of occasions. In midfield, Geoff Butcher and Piyush Jani were in control and Geoff was very vocal with his masterful directions to the players around him. Keith Davidson on the right and Karl Konradt on the left of Geoff and Piyush help control the centre of the pitch, but when Chelmsford got around them the defence of Kevin Pride, Andrew Matthews, Graham Cormack and Steve Riches were able to deal with the danger, although Jim was called upon to make several good saves. Towards to end of the half, South finally made the game safe when after a period of pressure Piyush scored his first goal for the club.
An excellent team effort which shows what can be achieved by effort, passing, running into space and pulling the opposition around to create room for others. Now on to the next match and the possibility of winning three on the trot!
Cambridge South Ladies' I 3 - 1 Bourne Ladies III
H/T: 2 - 0
Scorers: Jo Read, Emma Clarke, Tash Cox
It was an early push back for Cambridge South on Saturday when they played host to Bourne. Cambridge started bright and alert, managing to get a quick goal just a few minutes in. Tash Cox had a shot at goal, which rebounded to Jo Read who managed to place it over the line.
After the great start Cambridge South continued to play well, with great long range passing from the midfield. Liles broke free on the right several times in the half and every time the ball wasn't far from the back of the goal. Towards the end of the second half, as the great play continued, Gemma Thomas hit a great ball in to the D area which Emma Clarke, waiting near the left post, guided in for South's second.
The second half started in the same way the first finished, with Gemma Thomas nearly converting several penalty corners into goals. Bourne never seemed to get out of their half and after absorbing a lot of pressure a neat ball from South's midfield was threaded through to Tash Cox who took the ball round the keeper to give South a 3-0 lead.
Bourne went on to make two substitutions, later proved to be illegal to the Cambridgeshire League Rules, and did put some pressure on South's defence, leading to a goal near to full time. A big thanks goes to Elena, who went in goals for South, having not been a keeper for quite some time, even so she did play great!
Team played: Elena, Ruth Jempson, Becca Lumb, Ellie Raffan, Margot Overbeek, Jodee Davis (v-c), Gemma Thomas, Liles Dee, Liz Brimer, Jo Read, Tash Cox, Emma Clarke