Reports 14th October 2006

Men's 1st XI lose 4-1 against Cambridge City IV

Men's 2nd XI also lose 4-1 to Cambridge City V

Men's 3rd XI suffer a frustrating 1-0 defeat to St Ives V

Ladies' 1st XI get their first win of the season against Saffron Walden III

 

Cambridge South Men's I 1 - 4 Cambridge City Men's IV

H/T: 1 - 4

Scorers: Rob Garrett

A fixture shrouded in myth and legend, the twice annual City-South match up is an eagerly anticipated date in any East League hockey enthusiast's diary. Who can forget the foot of Graveling/God? This is a game that rarely fails to deliver thrills, excitement and controversy and it was no wonder that the stands were packed with supporters at push-back time.

In the pre-match build up Psycho had already displayed his ball skills in a rather more delicate fashion than normal - collapsing as Wallace's swing-and-a-miss caught him right in the Johnson. Afterwards the whole event was reconstructed in graphic and brutal detail using a fork and a potato salad and… well, having seen that potato salad after Wallace had attacked it, our deepest sympathies go out to John.

Previous encounters between these two sides have been closely fought and this fixture was no exception. Wait a minute, that's a lie. This one was an exception. It started off close, and then they scored. A summary of the opening minutes goes something like this: 6 minutes; Wallace gives the ball to the City striker and he scores. 9 minutes; Webb gives the ball to Forrest and he scores. 13 minutes; Thorpe gives the ball to the other City striker and he scores. Unfortunately, Wallace and Thorpe saw more of the ball than Forrest and Webb in the rest of the first half. Their other two goals this half came from some lucky bounce and a flick.

So the highlight of the half - Forrest scoring from the edge of the D. The edge of the D, you say?? A mis-hit, surely! Going for the pull-back, I reckon. But no, it's true. I was there. The inch perfect pass from Webb picks out the run to the left wing and a deft touch puts him inside the defender and bearing down into the D. Barely has the D been penetrated when the trigger is pulled and the ball rifles into the far corner. Those that witnessed it will long think back and say 'I was there'. Yup, we're never gonna see that again this season. A fine goal indeed.

Ok, you may accuse this reporter of slight bias in his match reports but let's face it - there wasn't much else to write about from the first half. Was there? The second half was also fairly devoid of highlight (though it may be the alcohol that's wiped that part of my memory. Ah, the beers afterwards... Morgan the Organ - or Rocking Richard, and not because he liked '50s music - was quite the picture. Let's hope they make it onto the website. And Cowboy Snetler in that delightful pink hat - it went so well with your shirt! And who can forget Keith attempting the seemingly straight forward task of sitting on a chair when oopsadaisy! all I can see now is ceiling).

To be fair, the second half was much better than the first. We matched them and were unlucky not to get a goal back, with the ever-running Read keeping the City defence on their toes. City weren't that good - if these guys are the best in the league then bring on Peterborough! We fought hard in the second period and didn't give up, showing good spirit and determination. Psycho had to hobble off mid-way through the half (perhaps due to excessive alcohol consumption recently, but possibly due to ... er, more delicate issues) and Webb was given a taste of left back. It was a dangerous game for the bystanders, with Morgan the Organ in rather dangerous form at right back; Ellie standing on the side-lines took a hit on the foot, and later the Organ attempted a rugby tackle on an unsuspecting onlooker.

Finally, thanks go to Ron and Kevin for umpiring the game. We're grateful for you for giving up the time to take control of our game.

Team played: Steve Parker, John Benedikz, Jim Thorpe, Chris Graveling, Rich Morgan, Rupert Webb, Mike Thorogood, Kevin Rowland, Lukas Snetler, Rob Garrett (c), Eliot Read, Tim Clapp

 

Cambridge City Men's V 4 - 1 Cambridge South Men's II

H/T: 0 - 0

Scorers: Stu Creed
MoM: Dave Monck - for an inspirational performance in defence. Gareth Hebbron's awesome and energetic performance in midfield is also worth mentioning.

Cambridge South 2nds, sponsored by PwC, aimed to start as they have finished recent games with purpose and hunger. Finn Johnson and Gareth Peat gave the flanks a youthful look and attacked with guile. Tristen Knight and Rob Barton started as the front pairing and went close with some smart efforts in the opening quarter. Andy Lewis carried on Tristen's good work.

Rob Hay's composure on the ball was great to see breaking from defence. Ron was his usual effervescent self, breaking up attacks and surging forward, supporting the midfield hub of Suk Pannu, Stu Creed and Gareth Hebbron. Leo Tomita was strong and robust in shutting out City attacks.

The first half ended goal-less for both sides. City used this 'let off' to regroup and make positional changes. Their style of play also changed. A more physical and aggressive approach brought them goals, three of them in quick succession. It also brought a warning for over exuberance for one of City's players.

South's commitment was still good but after Stu Creed pulled a goal back from a short corner, City grabbed a fourth. This presented a score-line that masked the true story of the game. South had many penalty corners but, perhaps with belief and confidence ebbing away, so were the chances.

Lino Di Lorenzo made excellent saves throughout, the most memorable being one towards the end of the second half. A City player pinged the ball at shoulder height and Lino wafted it away with his stick like an irritating but dozy wasp, lingering late on in summer. This defeat had a real sting to it. Hopefully after next week's fixture, things will be as sweet as honey!

 

Cambridge South Men's III 0 - 1 St Ives Men's V

H/T: 0 - 1

Scorers:
MoM: James Pope - for great play from midfield

Cambridge South 3rds saw their run of four victories from the start of the season brought to a halt against a well-organised St Ives side at the Perse School.

An evenly matched contest saw action at both ends in the first half. Good passing from a well-organised St Ives side put pressure on the Cambridge goal, while quick breakaways and strong midfield play gave South chances of their own. Lacking some of their previous fluidity in their play, South were finding it difficult to get their game going but hard work from Wilco and James P in central midfield did bring some reward, with James C having a shot go narrowly wide. Despite several decent chances for both sides, the game reached the half time interval without score.

In the second half, St Ives stepped up the pressure on the South goal, with only a spectacular one-handed reaction save, low down to his right, from South goalkeeper Jon Price keeping the scores level. St Ives's pressure was eventually rewarded, with a hectic passage of play in the South goal area ending with the ball being scrambled into the goal.

South responded and the St Ives goalkeeper was forced to make saves from all three of the Cambridge forwards, Simon Ta, James Cobbe and John Horsley. At the back, South sweeper Phil Le Gouais made several crucial interceptions in his first game of the season. Despite the pressure from the home team the equaliser wouldn't come, leaving St Ives to take a hard-earned victory.

Team played: Jon Price, Phil Le Gouais, David Bridge, Neil Sneade (c), John Sharp, James Raikes, James Pope, Wilco Dijkstra, Peter Reed, James Cobbe, Simon Ta, Ian Glover, John Sommerville, Michael Woolley, John Horsley

 

Cambridge South Ladies' I 3 - 1 Saffron Walden Ladies' III

H/T: 2 - 0

Scorers: Tash Cox, Bek Rhodes, Julie Sadler

South Ladies, sponsored by PwC, picked up their first win in the league this season with a comprehensive win over Saffron Walden.

South piled on the pressure right from the start with an all round solid performance. After a period of attacking play it wasn't long before Becca passed a ball into the D where Tash pounced to knock the ball under the keeper. Yet more attacking play followed culminating in a cross coming in from the right wing to Liz, who passed to Tash at the top of the D, who knocked it to Gemma, on the keeper's pads, who passed square to Bek who put it in the back of the net. A great team goal with some fantastic passing.

The rest of the first half continued with South attacking and Loopy Lou didn't have to touch the ball, thanks to a solid defence by Ellie, Jodee, Becca and Margot (welcome back).

A quick swap at half time brought Julie on for Bek at left wing and South were off again. There were some great periods of play with the ball being moved well out to both wings. Saffron Walden had their fair share of chances in the second half, but thanks to their striker putting the ball well wide in front of an open goal South kept their lead.

Mid way through the second half Sarah passed to Gemma who ran into the D as the keeper came charging out the ball was squared to Julie who made it 3-0 with her first every goal. With only 15 seconds left of the game (and Loopy getting ready to celebrate a clean sheet) Saffron Walden managed to put the ball beyond Lou.

Team played: Lou Tonkin, Margot Overbeek, Jodee Webb, Becca Lumb, Ellie Raffan, Liz Tattersall, Gemma Thomas, Sarah Martin, Bek Rhodes, Tash Cox, Liles Dee, Jenny Smith, Julie Sadler