Reports 24th November 2007
Men's 1st XI beat Wisbech Town II 4-3
Men's 2nd XI lost 3-1 at City of Peterborough VI
Men's 4th XI drew 1-1 at Rutland III
Ladies 1st XI won 5-3 at Wisbech Town II
Ladies 2nd XI drew 1-1 with Wisbech Town III
Mixed XI lost 5-2 to Wild Geese
Cambridge South Men's I 4 - 3 Wisbech Town Men's II
H/T: 3 - 2
Scorers: Chris Baker (2), Mike Thorogood, Rupert Webb
Cambridge South, proudly sponsored by PwC, moved to fourth in Division 3NW by beating Wisbech in a charged and tight match on Saturday.
It was an open and free-flowing game with both sides going on the attack in the first few minutes but it was the home side that took the lead through Chris Baker. Wisbech equalised soon after before Michael Thorogood restored Cambridge South's lead. Wisbech again drew level, though, before Rupert Webb finished off a short corner routine on the stroke of half-time to give the home side a 3-2 lead.
A tighter second half saw Wisbech press forward in search of another equaliser and mid-way through the half they finally broke through and at 3-3 it was anyone's game. It was the home side that managed to snatch all the points, when Chris Baker found the back of the net from another sort corner routine.
Team played: Steve Parker; Chris Graveling, John Benedikz, Jim Thorpe, Leo Tomita, Finn Johnson, Chris Baker (c), Mike Thorogood, Rupert Webb, Eliot Read, Rob Garrett, Pip Dickinson
City of Peterborough Men's VI 3 - 1 Cambridge South Men's II
H/T: 3 - 1
Scorer: Simon Ta
MoM: Rob Barton – solid job filling in, in an unusual position
LoM: Kev Rowland – for various offences, mostly over-enthusiastic running around to little discernable effect (c.f. the England football team last Wednesday)
Cambridge South 2nds, sponsored by PwC, came out on the wrong end of a hard-fought game in the cold of Peterborough on Saturday.
A distinct lack of defenders had seen South go into the game with centre-forward Rob Barton filling in as sweeper, a role in which he would offer a solid performance. However, with this new look defence, South found themselves struggling to clear their lines in the opening minutes. Shorts were given away, and from the third of these, a rebound from a save from ‘keeper Lino Di Lorenzo was lifted high into the net.
From the re-start, South began to play, a neat move finding Samin Ishtiaq in space, Samin’s flick drawing the first of a string of saves from the Peterborough ‘keeper. South kept probing, and had another good chance when Simon Ta was millimetres short of a tap in on the far post, after a driven cross from Samin, but the hosts were also looking dangerous on the break as their quick young forwards interchanged neatly. Mid-way through the half it was 2-0, again from a short; the initial move seemed to break down, but with the defence converging on the ball, one simple pass found a player in acres of space and he cracked hard into the bottom corner.
South again came very close to pulling a goal back when James Cobbe played an aerial down the left touchline to strike partner Simon, whose touch in plucking the ball out of the air was classy, leaving him to able to outpace the last defender. Simon tried to round the ‘keeper, who got a slight touch on the ball, forcing him wide and having to stop to regain composure for his shot. This gave time for a defender to scramble back to his goalline and block the effort.
Peterborough scored a deflating third from a quick break soon afterwards, a late runner appearing in the circle to nip in front of some static defenders to touch the ball home. However, South earned themselves a lifeline in the dying minutes of the half from a short corner. Kevin Rowland attempted to slip the ball left to Paul South, Paul miss-controlled neatly into the path of Simon, who swept smartly into the far corner.
The second period was an end-to-end affair, as South looked for the goal that would get them back into the game. Whilst Peterborough remained a danger throughout, the home goalkeeper was the busier of the two. The closest South came was the result of counter-attack that saw Simon burst through a high last line of defence, near halfway. He advanced into the circle, went around the ‘keeper but then, as the angle rapidly narrowed, was unable to achieve a solid enough connection on the reverse stick, the ball drifting wide.
Time ran out with South still probing for a way back into the match. Skipper Kev was looking for positives from the performance, saying "Despite the score line there was plenty to get from the game, good team passing and possession was high which meant we created plenty of threatening play in their half. We’ve got to put some focus on converting the build up into goals to get the points we need".
Team played: Lino Di Lorenzo; Rob Barton, Jan Brynjolffssen, Ron Oren, Gareth Hebbron, Dave Stock, Kevin Rowland (c), Samin Ishtiaq, Colin Singleton, Paul South, James Cobbe, Simon Ta
Cambridge South Men's III
No game - bye week.
Rutland Men's III 1 - 1 Cambridge South Men's IV
H/T: 0 - 0
Scorer: Andy Lewis
Man of the Match: Andy Lewis - tireless running and a constant threat to the Rutland defence.
Goat of the Week: James Raikes (again!) - either for forgetting his astros or not being able to open the changing room door, depending on who you asked.
Early on a frosty November morning Cambridge South Fourths, sponsored by PwC, travelled across country to Rutland to try and put their league campaign back on track after a disappointing outing the previous week.
They faced a Rutland team with the usual mix of youthful speed and steady experience found in this league. Early exchanges were cagey with few clear chances at either end. Gradually South were able to apply more pressure and Andy Lewis, John Greaves and James Raikes were all unfortunate not to score on several occasions, denied by a combination of misfortune, good goalkeeping and final touches not quite finding their mark. At the other end Rutland were not fashioning as many chances but still had moments that stretched the South defence into scrambled clearances or good saves from Shahbaz Ali.
As the second half started South continued to keep the pressure on but were still unable to convert. It was beginning to look like a scoreless draw was on the cards but with ten minutes remaining James Raikes picked up the ball just inside the Rutland half, slipped it to Ian Glover running up the centre who managed to draw the keeper before slipping to Andy Lewis to hammer home.
Unfortunately it was a lead that South couldn't maintain as their opposition pushed forward with renewed vigour. A short corner shot was parried but couldn't be cleared before falling to the injector who fired in from short range. Despite a helter-skelter last few minutes the one-one scoreline stood at the end. A frustrating draw against a team that South had chances to put away.
Team played: Shahbaz Ali; Ian Glover, Shahzad Ali, David Bridge, John Somerville, James Raikes (c), Sava Cornegrata, Joe Williamson, John Sharp, Andy Lewis, John Greaves, Wilco Dijkstra, Rupert Espley, Tim Waller
Wisbech Town Ladies II 3 - 5 Cambridge South Ladies I
H/T: 0 - 3
Scorers: Gemma Thomas, Anne Keislair, Hayley Sharpe (2), Emma Clarke
MoM: Tash Cox
Another 4'o'clock start in north Cambridgeshire. Cambridge South, sponsored by PwC, set off at 2ish on the long and winding road to Wisbech hoping that they would maintain their current winning streak. In previous weeks South had not struggled to put out two full teams, but this week was a challenge, and in the end both teams scraped together 11 players, with ill and injured players volunteering their services (forced to play!) for the cause. We had to overcome adversity, and did so in style, the seconds narrowly missing out on a win and the firsts producing the goals for a win.
We hadn't been keeping track of this but Terry pointed out at the coin toss that in fact Hayley has won the toss almost every game, beating the odds, just like South today (too cheesy?)! Spurred on by Hayley's ramblings in the changing rooms about monkeys and kicking bottom, South started out looking the stronger side and much to everyone's surprise took the lead almost straight away through Gemma Thomas' pea-roller shot. Doesn't matter how they go in, as long as they do right? But probably a 1 out of 10 for style and finesse (:-)). A goal nonetheless and South battled through the darkness with Anne rampant on the right wing hammering shots at the Wisbech keeper, and eventually one went in. 2-0, and the South keeper looked frozen.
The rain came down, audibly increasing in strength as the half progressed. Tash was inspirational in the forward line, tracking back to hassle their defence and always providing an outlet for our defence and midfield. Brilliant. Probably as a consequence of Tash's marvellousness, South won a penalty corner... the first attempt resulting in another. This time a straight strike by Hayley gave South a comfortable lead. At half time we were all aware that we were slowing. We wanted more goals from this game, but with no subs, we needed to keep our concentration.
A lot of teams lose their heads at 3-0 down, however, to their credit Wisbech came back fighting. A much more even game ensued. Hayley hit the post and eventually got a second, but a quick break gave Wisbech a glimmer of hope (oh and a goal!). South held their heads up, Tash screaming at us to keep going and we did, Emma finished off a flurry of chances in the Wisbech D from her favourite position on the by line - awesome. However, Wisbech came back and got 2 goals in quick succession. It was a shaky last ten minutes but South held strong to keep Wisbech at bay. 3 hard earned away points mean we stay in touch with Newmarket.
Half way through the season....won 7, lost 1. And a goal:game average of 4.875 (lets call it 5). Storming.
Team Played: Sarah Messen; Jodee Webb, Louisa Richmond-Coggan, Rhiannan Williams, Julie Sadler, Gemma Thomas (jc), Hayley Sharpe (jc), Hannah Smith, Emma Clarke, Tash Cox, Anne Keislair
Cambridge South Ladies II 1 - 1 Wisbech Town Ladies III
H/T: 0 - 1
Scorer: Pip Noon
MoM: Nicky Stanton
The week leading up to the game was stressful with people being unavailable or injured for both ladies teams, so some amendments were made and last minute call-ups/presuading to make both teams up to 11.
The week before Wisbech had beaten Cambridge Ladies 1 – 0 so we knew it was going to be a tough game. We won the push back and played into the wind to start this meant we had to push hard to go forwards, giving them a slight advantage.
A missed pass gave Wisbech the first opportunity to attack and they nearly scored but we returned the favour, so all knew it was going to be a tight game.
Both teams had plenty of opportunities to score but the goal drought had started again for South and Wisbech only needed time. We attacked hard and the ball even crossed the goal line from Bex, but no goal was awarded. Instead we had yet another flick, Mel took it and she drove it towards the keeper, who saved it.
Their goal came minutes before half time, Cassie went to stop the ball and stood on it, with Loopy covering the line but the attackers were like hunters after their prey and the ball crashed into the back of the net.
Half time was a welcome relief but the score line was 0 – 1. Skipper Vicky suggested that we didn’t change too much, we just used our width by holding our positions, whilst Mel suggested more communication.
A couple of changes were made, Vicky moved back to CB from CM, Louise moved to LB, Sarah A came off for a while, and Elly went to CM behind Charlie.
Nicky (man of the match) kept making some great runs down the left side and it helped that no one was marking her.
We knew a goal would come and eventually it did with the ball cruising along the goal line before Pip guaranteed the goal.
But the game wasn’t over yet – we still had to battle hard to keep Wisbech away and with them awarded a short corner, South were feeling the heat, like sausages crackling over an open fire we burst out and prevented them scoring again.
Thank you to Rupert for umpiring and the supporters: John B, Rob G, Jan and Bex’s Grandad we appreciated your support and supposed cheerleading.
Team played: Cassie Woodfin, Lou Tonkin, Leila Griffiths, Louise Gutteridge, Sarah Aves, Vicky Lavis (c), Charlie Orrock, Nicky Stanton, Pip Noon, Mel Harrison, Bex Baker, Elly Evans
Southerners 2 - 5 Wild Geese (Sunday 25th November)
H/T: 0 - 2
Scorers: James Cobbe, Jodee Webb. Plus Charlie Orrock, Rhiannan Williams, Lou Tonkin as guests for the Geese.
MoM: Charlie Orrock - Very sharp at centre-forward, for either side!
LoM: Rupert Webb - for terrible defending that gifted the Geese their fourth goal. Also dishonourable mention to Simon Ta or misisng an open goal (for the second consecutive day!).
The Southerners mixed side hosted our old friends the Wild Geese (aka the Pelicans Club of King’s Lynn) at the Leys on Sunday.
The Southerners have had some bad luck with opposition clubs failing to raise sides so far this season, so were delighted that the Geese made the journey, especially as some late withdrawals had left them a couple of females light. With South having raised a squad of 16, some of our distaff side were directed Goosewards to bring the teams up to numbers, and the game began.
The Geese took the lead midway through the opening half, via one of their South guests. A ball into the circle was only half cleared, Charlie Orrock picking up the loose ball on the penalty spot and finishing in beautifully composed fashion, flicking the ball into the bottom corner. A second avian goal was added before half-time with a simple move from a free hit near the South circle. A ball was played forward, and bounced straight back to the taker, who was allowed to advance unopposed over the whitewash and hammer home. The South marking here is probably best left without comment…
Half-time saw a switch around of the South players guesting for the Geese, as Charlie, Louise Gutteridge and Sam Skeaping returned to the ranks, with Vicky Lavis, Rhiannan Williams and Lou Tonkin taking over for the visitors. Charlie in particular had caused the South defence problems with her clever movement off defenders shoulders, and went on to prove this was no fluke by causing the Geese defenders the same troubles, earning herself a well deserved man-of-the-match award.
South had probed in the first half without coming all that close. This was to change in the second period as Simon Ta was worked through on the Geese goal on at least two occasions. For the first, after a good pass from Charlie, he attempted to control and drag around the 'keeper, but the goalie wasn’t taking any such nonsense cleaning out Si, the ball, and anything else that got in the way. The next time Simon got through he was nimble enough to skip around the 'keeper, but then blew the chance by putting his reverse stick shot at the unguarded net wide of the near post. Saturday revisited. At this point, Simon was the clear leader in the Lemon-of-the-Day stakes, though as it turned out he would spectacularly pipped at the post.
The Geese added a third goal midway through the second period, and then were gifted a fourth by some truly lackadaisical South defending. Rob Garrett had a sideline hit in his own 25 that he tried to pass square to Rupert Webb. When I say ‘tried’, it was too hard and inaccurate, leaving Rupe sprinting across his own circle to try and retrieve the ball, as the Geese forwards closed. He got there, but as he did he was closed down by Vicky. Rupe tried to beat Vicky with a bit of skill…which she was having none of, gubbing him good and proper. Vicky slipped the ball square to Rhiannan, who was greeted by South 'keeper Lino Di Lorenzo flying off his line trying to sort out the mess the Men’s 1st teamers had just made for him. Rhi showed good composure to slip the ball under the Italian cannonball, who was unable to stop his momentum and sent her skywards. Fortunately, Rhi was fine, and unfortunately South were 4-0 down. That was the Lemon-of-the-Day vote well sorted, though by the time we got down the pub Rupert found himself shouldering all of the blame, with few remembering Rob had also had a major hand in the cock-up.
The match entered the last five minutes with South pushing forward looking to have something to take from the day. They found it when Si unveiled a new skill from his locker, swept passes played high up the stick which go (intentionally!) way to the right of where he seems to be aiming. Has he been watching Leo? Such a slap pass picked out James Cobbe in acres of space in the right channel. James first attempted to dummy the 'keeper / swung and missed the ball completely (delete as you deem appropriate), but with no-one near there was no danger, so he had time to resettle himself and this time connect really sweetly with a flick into the far top corner.
Having registered a goal, South dozed off at the back, and let a Goose wander (waddle?) into the circle pretty well unopposed. His shot was half saved by Lino, but the ball ran free to the far post, where Lou was waiting to knock home. South weren’t done themselves though, winning a free hit on the edge of the circle in the dying seconds. Si took it with another of his wrong-footing passes, the ball ricocheted around the circle, the Geese 'keeper blocked it, Jodee Webb swooped from close range and the score was complete at 2-5.
An enjoyable game played in the right spirit, plus the weather on Sunday was warmer, drier and less windy than Saturday. Thamks to the girls for guesting for the Geese to bring them up to numbers, and also to Rob, Rupe, Jan and Chris for taking turns at the Umpiring. The Southerners next game is in two weeks time, Sunday 9th December, at Royston. Please let Rupert or Jo know if you want to play.
Squad played: Lino Di Lorenzo; Jan Brynjolffssen, Gemma Thomas, Vicky Lavis, Lou Tonkin, Chris Baker, Kev Rowland, James Cobbe, Rhiannan Williams, Simon Ta, Jodee Webb, Sam Skeaping, Louise Gutteridge, Charlie Orrock, Rupert Webb (c), Rob Garrett