Reports 10th March 2007

Men's 1st XI defeat March Town II, 3-1

Men's 2nd XI win a tight match 4-3 against Bourne III

Men's 3rd XI run away with a 7-2 win over Ely City IV

Cambridge South Men's I 3 - 1 March Town Men's II

H/T: 1 - 0

Scorers: Mike Thorogood, Chris Baker, Rob Garrett

Cambridge South, proudly sponsored by PwC, finally secured victory over March Town 2nds after losing the previous three encounters. The two teams were promoted together last season, but have since moved in opposite directions. While Cambridge South have gone from strength to strength, March are third from bottom and have struggled to make an impact in this division.

Today's match was all about Cambridge South; in control for the first fifteen minutes they let their concentration drop and almost allowed March right back into the game. The home side took the lead through Mike Thorogood but it took some excellent saves from Lino Di Lorenzo to ensure the score remained 1-0 at half-time.

A well-worked short corner routine in the second half allowed Chris Baker to score and steady the home side's nerves, and when Rob Garrett swept home the third from the top of the D it should have been an easy canter to the final whistle, but March never gave up and they got a goal back with ten minutes to go.

In the end the home side did enough to win the game, but they'll be looking to improve the performance in the final two games of the season if they're to finish the season on a high. Skipper Baker was pleased to have mathematically made safety, saying "We made hard work of the this victory but in the end secured a well deserved victory and ensured we will be back in this division next season".

Team played: Lino Di Lorenzo, Rupert Webb, Ron Oren, Jim Thorpe, Leo Tomita, Eliot Read, Chris Baker (c), Mike Thorogood, Russell Johnson, Tim Clapp, Rob Garrett, Finn Johnson

Bourne Men's III 3 - 4 Cambridge South Men's II

H/T: 2 - 2

Scorers: Andy Lewis, Gareth Hebbron, Samin Ishtiaq, John Greaves
MoM: Gareth Hebbron - tigerish thoughout, except for his goal celebration, which was more Tigger-ish

This was an excellent end-to-end game with each side in the ascendancy at different points. Bourne opened the scoring early on with a solo move carving through the away defence. They went further ahead soon after from one of number of short corners, as the initial shot connected with James Lee's foot near the goal line. The centre forward gave keeper Jon Price no chance with the resultant penalty.

These events only stiffened the South resolve, and increased pressure led to a long corner, with which Samin Ishtiaq intelligently found Gareth Hebbron, who immediately moved the ball on for Andy Lewis to sweep it into the net. The equaliser arrived soon after, when a Suk Pannu short corner reached Hebbron on the 25 yard line. As others stood around in admiration, he dribbled into the D and flicked the ball into the net, before embarking on a characteristically bouncy celebration.

Thus the game was evenly poised at 2 - 2 at half time. South went ahead early in the second half, as playmaker Stuart Creed faked to drive a free hit into the D, but instead passed it to Samin Ishtiaq who controlled the ball and confidently hit it into goal. The play began to open up as legs - particularly Bourne ones - became tired, and South grabbed a fourth mainly via Rob Barton's persistence. He arrived in the D and in spite of defensive attention managed to get a shot in, which was going narrowly wide before John Greaves stopped it and calmly slotted the ball into the net from close range. Greaves was unlucky shortly after as he turned a Creed cross just past the far post. Greaves and Barton both got the ball into the net on other occasions, but they were disallowed on technicalities (e.g. dangerous play). The Bourne keeper kept other attempts out with some brave stops.

By this stage South were able to find space and open up the home defence but couldn't add to their tally. Bourne did manage a third goal, a scrambled effort initially saved by Jon Price before being dug out by the hatrick-making centre forward.

Once again the 3-1-3-3 formation worked for South, once the marking was sorted, and the win ensures safety in 5NW.

Team played: Jon Price, James Lee, Andy Bleach, Jan Brynjolffssen, Gareth Hebbron, Kevin Rowland, Stuart Creed, Suk Pannu, John Greaves (c), Rob Barton, Andy Lewis, Samin Ishtiaq

Ely City Men's IV 2 - 7 Cambridge South Men's III

H/T: 1 - 2

Scorers: Tom South, Paul South, Tom Rosselli (5)
MoM: Tom Rosselli – for his five second half goals to wrap up the victory

Cambridge South Men's 3rds, sponsored by PwC, made the short trip up the A10 to face bottom of the table Ely City 4ths looking for a sixth consecutive victory. As has been a recurring problem this season, South were slow to find their rhythm from the start and Ely were eager to take advantage. Anchored by some skillful players in defence, Ely were pushing into the South half and threatening to create chances.

Having resisted the early pressure from Ely, South began to carve out chances of their own. Paul South and Tim Waller started to win control of the midfield and better play from South was rewarded when left winger Tom South, in only his second game for the club, swept in a loose ball at the left hand post to give South the lead. Although the match was still close the goal gave South renewed confidence. The lead was doubled by Paul S, carrying the ball left to right across the top of a crowded D before striking the ball through a gap in the crowd and into the bottom right corner of the Ely goal. However, Ely pulled a goal back via a short corner to keep the match finely balanced at half time.

Facing an unexpectedly close match, South captain Neil Sneade urged his team to up the urgency and use the width to test the Ely defence. The plan didn't seem to be working when a further short corner for Ely early in the second half saw them level the scores. However, the goal seemed to spur South on and they began to find their higher gears. Playing the ball wide, South finally opened up the Ely defence as two markers on Simon Ta left space for John Horsley to exploit. With balls coming in from the right, Tom Rosselli on the left wing found himself with space to arrive at the far post and sweep in a goal to restore South's lead. South had found Ely's Achilles heal and exploited it ruthlessly. A purple patch from Tom Rosselli resulted in four more goals as Ely repeatedly failed to pick up the late-arriving left winger.

In the end, a comfortable 7-2 victory but a reminder of the need to play with 100% effort from the start and exploit the width to attack.

Team played: Ian Evans, Tom Rosselli, Neil Sneade (c), John Sharp, Mark Jackson, Tom South, Paul South, Tim Waller, John Somerville, Wilco Dijkstra, Simon Ta, Dave Borthwick, James Pope, John Horsley