Reports 26th November 2005

Men's 1st XI score a crushing 6-1 win over Boston I

Men's 2nd XI run out 4-1 winners against St Neots IV

Men's 3rd XI put on a second half show to defeat March Town V 2-1

Ladies' 1st XI cruise to a 6-0 victory against Royston III

 

Cambridge South Men's I 6 - 1 Boston Men's I

H/T: 4 - 0

Scorers: Chris Baker, Matt Murray (2), Peter Carey, Rob Garrett, Mark Reilly

Cambridge South Men’s 1sts, sponsored by PwC, produced an accomplished and professional first half performance to wrap up the game 4-0 at half time.

With slick passing and good use of space, Cambridge South made life for the visitors very difficult. The rapier-like attacks from the home side frequently opened the Boston defence and first half goals came from Chris Baker, Matt Murray twice and Peter Carey.

In the second half the home side sat back and reduced the pace of the game and Boston took advantage with some sustained pressure. Nevertheless, the home side still managed to score twice more, through Rob Garrett and Mark Reilly, before the visitors got a consolation goal in the final minutes of the game.

The win keeps South three points clear at the top of Division 4NW, with a record of eight wins and a draw from nine games played.

 

St Neots Men's IV 1 - 4 Cambridge South Men's II

H/T: 1 - 1

Scorers: Andy Lewis, Tom Gowing (2), Finn Johnson
MoM: Ron Oren - very solid in defence at right-back and also managed to be a threat going forward

Cambridge South 2nds, sponsored by PwC, made it four consecutive league wins against a St Neots side struggling at the wrong end of the table.

An away win hadn’t looked likely in the opening fifteen minutes as St Neots dominated territory and possession. With the ball spending far too much time in the South D, that a goal came was not surprising, though when it came it was very soft. A runner was allowed into the circle due to some ineffectual tackling, and from the top he hit a bobbling shot through a crowd that crept in under keeper Tim Poole's pads.

South can be thankful that it was only one goal they conceeded, especially as St Neots had forced half a dozen short corners. However, none of this produced a shot on goal, which paved the way for a sucker-punch equaliser for South. We won our first short of the match when an attack down the right produced some panic in the home defence, with one defender knocking the ball directly onto his teammates boot. The routine was very smooth, Suk Pannu with a fast inject, Andy Lewis receiving and firing into the far corner.

This goal seemed to wake South up and deflated St Neots, and the game was now far more even. St Neots still had a lot of the ball and won another few shorts, but it was South creating any clear cut scoring opportunities going. One move down the right wing saw a ball pulled back across the D for left-winger Finn Johnson, whose rising shot was beaten away by the home goalie.

Early in the second half, South scored what was to prove the decisive goal of the match. Samin Ishtiaq broke down his right flank and crossed for centre-forward Tom Gowing to sweep a ball home at the near post.

Being behind, St Neots were forced to push some of their stronger players higher up the pitch. This gave them a greater attacking threat but left gaps in their rearguard for South to exploit in swift counter-attacks. South used this space to extend their lead, when the home goalkeeper saved Tom's shot only for the ball to run free to Finn, who smacked the ball home via the far post.

St Neots were now getting increasingly desperate, with their main attacking threat being dribbles up the middle. South's central midfield pairing of Suk and Simon Harper were working back nicely, and the man-markers Sam Lansdell, Steve Lane and Ron Oren were doing a great job, severely limiting St Neots's passing options. As the dribbles were starting from centre-back and such places, even the forwards Tom and Andy were in on the defensive act. On a few of occasions a man did manage to carry the ball as far as the South 25, but there they were meet by sweeper Jan Brynjolffsen and no run was allowed to progress all the way into the D for a shot.

South were still creating chances at the other end, including an undercut from Finn which just whistled above the angle of post and bar, and the game was made safe inside the last ten minutes when a goalmouth scramble saw Tom slip a shot under the keeper, which also somehow evaded the defender covering on the goal-line.

Like London busses, you wait months (years) for a win outside Cambridge, and then two come along in succession. The performance was good after the first fifteen minutes wobble, and for all St Neots possession and post game talk of the final score being a steal, they only managed one shot on target in the entire match! This shows the value of defending as a team. And as the St Neots umpire said "Your finishing was better than theirs." A lot better. Well played everyone.

 

Cambridge South Men's III 2 - 1 March Town Men's V

H/T: 0 - 1

Scorers: Tom Moy, Tristen Knight

A battling performance by Cambridge South 3rds, sponsored by PwC, secured a hard-fought win over March Town 5ths at the Perse School on Saturday.

South fielded an attacking formation against a team five places below them in the League, and were then put on the back foot early as March took the game to South with some determined and skilful hockey. The first half was played at a high tempo as two well-matched teams both looked for the advantage.

The early break went to March, who after forcing several good saves from Steve Parker, the South keeper, finally broke the deadlock with a well-taken goal. As South regrouped, sterling work in midfield from Tom Moy brought South back into the game, although the final ball proved elusive and at half time March still held their one goal lead.

Determined to recover the goal, South were almost embarrased from the second half hit-off as a quick March attack threatened a second goal. Recovering their composure, South began to gain the advantage in what was always a very close contest. Tom's dynamic midfield play began to link up with Tristen Knight at centre forward, with Neil Sneade and James Raikes giving good support down the wings. A succession of corners finally paid rewards when Tristen slipped Wilco Dijkstra's pass to Tom, who cracked the ball home with a hard strike from right to left across the D.

Reinvigorated by their goal, South pressed forward, although March continued to look dangerous. With it looking as if a draw might be the outcome of a tight match, South attacked again. Tristen linked with Neil on the left, who drove hard into the D and pulled the ball back from the byline, leading March to concede another short corner as they attempted to clear. Having already come close with a couple of attempts, Tristen again cracked the ball through the March defence. A slight deflection from a March stick wasn't enough to prevent the ball slamming into the March goal and South had turned around their half-time deficit into a 2-1 lead.

In the remaining minutes, March pressed again for the equaliser which many felt their display deserved, but South kept their discipline well to repulse March and take the victory.

 

Cambridge South Ladies' I 6 - 0 Royston Ladies' III

H/T: 3 - 0

Scorers: Gemma Thomas (3), Jo Read and Emma Clarke (2)

Cambridge South had a match against Royston 3rds on Saturday. As it was a friendly, South used this opportunity for some new players to stretch their legs. The game started well for South with Gemma Thomas opening the scoring in the early minutes. Sarah Martin worked hard in the centre, linking up well with attack and defence.
 Only minutes after her first goal, Gemma was at it again with a quick break she took the ball right from the half way to the back of the net, her second so far…

Louise Gutteridge played great as right mid, beating her opponent to every ball, she delivered a great ball through to Jo Read down the right, who crossed it in for Gemma waiting to score her hat trick! As half time approached South had a comfortable 3-0 lead.

The second half saw South adding a few more names on the score sheet. A few minutes in Jo Read tapped in a deflected shot from Sarah Martin at the far post. Emma Clarke then went on to score her first of the day by taking the ball right to the back line and in the goal. 
Just as the game was coming to an end Emma produced another fine goal, steering the ball across the goal face to the far post and in. This win today was useful for South and hopefully all the new players enjoyed it!

Team played: Lou Tonkin, Ellie Raffan, Julie Sadler, Sarah Martin, Louise Gutteridge, Rachel Moyes, Sue Snape, Liz Brimer, Emma Clarke, Gemma Thomas, Jo Read