Reports 1st November 2008
Men's 1st XI draw 3-3 with City of Peterborough IV
Men's 2nd XI inflict the first defeat of the season on league leaders Newmarket I, 3-2
Men's 3rd XI lose 4-0 to Wisbech Town III
Cambridge South Men's I 3 - 3 City of Peterborough Men's IV
H/T: 3 - 2
Scorers: Al Sinclair, Chris Graveling, Keith Hewitt
MoM: Jim Thorpe
After drawing a blank against league leaders Ely last weekend, South rediscovered their scoring touch to the tune of three first-half goals this time out, but it was still not enough to secure a victory as visitors Peterborough, 3-2 down at half-time, nicked a late equaliser to grab a share of the points.
South - once again forced to make positional rearrangements owing to sundry absences and the departure of cultured defender Rupert Webb to as far away as it’s possible to go from Cambridge without actually leaving the planet - made a promising start, with Rob Garrett running directly at the Peterborough defence and Eliot Read getting a good shot in from the right following typically forthright approach work from skipper Chris Baker. Although Peterborough too looked businesslike, the few nasty moments they caused in the opening ten minutes were expertly smoothed away by Chris Graveling's skilful tackling and Jim Thorpe's calm pick-ups and clear-sighted distribution.
South deservedly took the lead after nine minutes when league debutant Al Sinclair, profiting from a controlled build-up down the left, found just enough space to fire home a high reversed shot from a narrow angle. The lead could have been doubled or even trebled in the next few minutes as first Read and then Baker, from a classic one-two short with Garrett, beat the keeper only to have shots stopped on the line. Thorpe then neutered a rapid Peterborough attack with deceptive ease before Graveling neatly halted a big drive and fancied his way artistically out of the D to earn a straight ten from the judges.
On thirteen minutes, Keith Hewitt created space for himself in the Peterborough circle and unleashed a fierce rising shot which the keeper parried soundly to his left. South continued to have the better of the play as they moved the ball nicely round the back, Richard Morgan, Leo Tomita and Chris Massey contributing to the general air of control with safe but expeditious passes, but Peterborough, carrying more in the way of experience than they appear to have done of late, were unfazed. Surging forward, they forced Steve Parker to make a timely interception from a cross that was bound for a spare attacker and, from their first short moments later, worked a right-left-right slip that gave them the opportunity to pick their spot and jubilantly fire home from close range on twenty-two minutes. Worse was to follow, though, as missed tackles allowed them to force a way into the D from the right and set up a man on the spot to lift home for a slightly unexpected 2-1 lead.
South, trying to recover their composure, were a little static in the build-up for the next few minutes but gradually got things moving up the left through Garrett, Hewitt and Read and, after the Baker-Garrett-Baker short routine had resulted in a near miss, the equaliser came on thirty-two minutes when Graveling roofed a slipped penalty corner via a defender's stick, the process being completed at such speed that the umpires had to confer before awarding the goal.
Thorpe, under considerable pressure, then trumped Graveling's earlier balletic effects with a superb pirouette and chassé to get out of jail free before Baker, fed a perceptive through ball by Hewitt, was unceremoniously bundled over. The resulting short, a drive from Baker himself, was again stopped by a defender, but South closed out the half in perfect fashion when Hewitt crashed the backboard with a lovely first-timer assisted by Garrett.
The upper hand continued to be held by South in the opening quarter of an hour of the second stanza, with Garrett and Hewitt fashioning more runs centrally, Sinclair just failing to nick in a driven short from Baker and Hewitt whacking in a great, but unconverted, cross after outsmarting the visitors' right flank. Peterborough, always playing a physical game, became increasingly chippy and Russell Johnson, who repeatedly worried the defence with his pace, was at one point roughly shoulder-charged off the ball and sent crashing. Graveling and Thorpe were again in the thick of it in front of the South D, tackling with assurance, and, though South did not quite come together up front at this point, they still created opportunities, with Sinclair, Hewitt and Baker combining to pressure the visitors into conceding a sixth short after Massey had extricated himself elegantly from a little local difficulty. This time, Graveling’s sweep shot was saved by the keeper diving to his right post and two further shorts over the next few minutes also yielded "nul point" though there was some false excitement when the ball was rammed in only for the play to be whistled up.
Garrett, Johnson and Hewitt all maintained the forward pressure at this stage without unlocking the door and even Thorpe felt it incumbent upon himself to surge mightily northwards but Peterborough, suddenly appearing energised after having a man yellow-carded for a comment too far, locked onto the endgame with intent. From their second short, three minutes from time, Parker made an excellent save to his right but from their third a minute after, a breakdown fortuitously created clear water for an unmarked forward to float in what initially seemed to be a speculative flick. Somehow, it evaded everyone and, to South's dismay, ended up in the back of the net to bring the scoreline to 3-3 with all to play for. In one of those awful don't-look-now moments, a Peterborough attacker then burst free with room to spare, but Parker raced out decisively, blocked the lifted shot and bought enough time for the alert Graveling to rush back and prevent the second phase from getting in behind and scoring. Yet another Peterborough short was hit wide, averting disaster, before, in a frantic finale, Massey set Hewitt free to put in a great through ball from which the finishing shot was drilled just inches past the post. Gulp, deep intake of breath.
South will be disappointed to have had to settle for a draw in this fixture but Peterborough, being a fourth team, are possibly more likely to be affected by variations in strength and this was certainly one of their more experienced formations. A second week of enforced changes perhaps disrupted South's midfield cohesion a little and it would have been useful to convert more than one of the eight shorts on offer, although in South's defence it must be said that the visitors did well to stop at least a couple of these on the line. South are keen to get back on the winning trail next week at struggling Boston but know there are going to be few free lunches in this division.
Team played: Steve Parker, Jim Thorpe, Leo Tomita, Chris Graveling, Rich Morgan, Chris Massey, Eliot Read, Chris Baker (c), Russell Johnson, Al Sinclair, Rob Garrett, Keith Hewitt
Newmarket Men's I 2 - 3 Cambridge South Men's II
H/T: 1 - 1
Scorers: Mark Pears, Matt Readman, Rob Barton
MoM: George Wych - for defence of short corners: the Newmarket captain said “He must either be very brave or very stupid.”
LoM: Kevin Rowland - for providing succour and comfort to the enemy
On a gloomy day in Newmarket, South 2nd XI lifted their spirits to maintain their unbeaten record in a hard-fought match.
Cambridge South travelled to Newmarket knowing that it would be a tough match. The opposition had won all four of their league matches this season and were further incentivised by the presence in the South line-up of Mark Pears, who until this season played for Newmarket. However, South also had an unbeaten record to protect and went into the match with nothing to fear.
Due to morning commitments in Cambridge, not all the team could make it to the warm-up and therefore missed the spectacle of captain Kev Rowland's pre-match rendition, including actions, of "I'm a little teapot" (something to do with losing a poker game).
After such entertainment there were fears that the game might prove a disappointment but these doubts were dispelled within thirty seconds of pushback. Newmarket got the ball in their defence and launched a superb aerial ball right into the South twenty-five yard area. Caught completely by surprise, the South midfield and defence were nowhere to be seen as the excellent Newmarket centre-forward drew Shahbaz out and neatly slotted the ball home. One-nil and not even a minute on the clock! The home support (and they had a good crowd out) were ecstatic and South had a match on their hands.
Understandably shocked by such a whirlwind start, South took some time to compose themselves and Newmarket pressed forward with speed and skill. The South defence was facing its hardest test of the season so far and had to dig deep into its resources to keep the deficit to only one goal. However, slowly but surely, order was restored as John Benedikz got the left flank under control and Nick Bristowe kept his very skilful opponent quiet on the other wing. Newmarket did force a number of short corners but these were charged down by a typically determined George Wych.
Midway through the first half South started to create some attacks themselves. There was ample space for both Matt Kern and Tim Clapp on the wings and the central midfield of Kev Rowland and Matt Readman made use of this with some excellent distribution to spread the play. The Newmarket defence held firm but were being stretched to the point where a good run by Tim Clapp was stopped by a blatant foul which led to a yellow card for the opposition's left back. Eleven men against ten but, despite this disadvantage, still Newmarket had most of the play and only some good work from Shahbaz rushing to the edge of his area prevented further scores.
Newmarket's yellow-carded player was back on the pitch when South finally got a clear shooting chance. Wych picked up the ball from a tackle just inside the South half and passed it straight up the pitch to Rob Barton who held up play magnificently before slipping the ball to Pears who made no mistake in front of the massed Newmarket support. One-all at half time.
Going into the second half the game remained evenly balanced. Newmarket were still pacy and skilled but the South defence was equal to the challenge and our midfield were showing the hockey awareness that marks out a good team. Pass and move was the tactic and it paid off, leaving the opposition chasing shadows as South made progress up the field. In particular, Dave Aston and Kern made some stirring runs up the left flank, whilst Matt Readman at the back of the diamond was controlling the distribution excellently. From this pressure a short corner was won and the routine worked perfectly. Pears pushed out strongly to Rowland, who pushed the ball through Dave Monck's dummy shot to Readman. Showing great skill and composure, Readman controlled the ball and flicked it onto the top of the backboard. 2-1 to South and the cheer from the South team could have been heard all the way back in Cambridge!
However, Newmarket were not beaten yet and they fought back strongly. Short after short was won, only to be either charged down by the South runners or magnificently saved by Shahbaz. Something had to give and finally the opposition made one count – a route one short corner strike smashing into the backboard to level the scores.
Dismay for South and Newmarket were further pumped up by a loud rallying call of "Come on Newmarket. We’re still in this!". Confusion reigned for a few seconds on both sides as we realised that the call came from ROWLAND, THE SOUTH CAPTAIN! Truly, something no-one expected from the Cardinal.
Despite this treasonous dolchstoß from their leader, South dug even deeper to contain the opposition and, as is typical of the team, became even stronger in the last quarter. Dave Monck was in dominant form (at one point virtually doing the splits to steal the ball) and his sixteen yard hits were always strong, both relieving a beleaguered defence and creating attacking chances.
Into the last five minutes and Kev would have thought that the unanimous LoM vote was in the bag but Clapp had other ideas – picking up the ball from just over the halfway line he showed typical strength and skill to dribble through most of the Newmarket team, round the keeper……and then scuff a shot away from an open goal! Despair turned to rapture however as the ball was picked up by Barton who had kept up with the play. He got the ball no more than twelve inches from the by-line but (with an unmarked Aston shouting for the ball on the p-spot) somehow miraculously managed to get his body around the ball and reverse sweep it into the goal. The angle was impossible, the control and accuracy were unbelievable – vintage Barton!
So 0-1 after thirty seconds was turned into 3-2 at full time. Newmarket put up a great challenge and any result would have been a fair one. After the game, captain Kev Rowland said "Tremendous performance, the team totally responded to the quality of the game. It was always going to be a challenge against a good Newmarket side but the guys didn’t want to settle for a draw and believed that we didn't have to. Epitomises the team spirit for me. A great three points."
Team played: Shahbaz Ali, John Benedikz, Dave Monck, Nick Bristowe, George Wych, Matt Readman, Dave Aston, Kevin Rowland (c), Tim Clapp, Matt Kern, Rob Barton, Mark Pears
Cambridge South Men's III 0 - 4 Wisbech Town Men's III
H/T: 0 - 1
Scorers:
MoM: Simon Harper - cool and capable in defence. Didn't waste a tackle or a pass (well, only a couple…but less than the rest of us)
A cool cloudy day, accompanied by cloudy and not very cool hockey. Cambridge South struggled from the start against a fast and skilful Wisbech side, but the home defence of Harper, Evans, Glover and Lee managed to keep the marauding hordes from the Fens out until shortly before half time, when Wisbech intercepted a pass and swiftly broke away upfield to score their first.
South were unable to put many meaningful attacks together, in spite of the best efforts of Andy Lewis and Paul South from midfield in particular, and Rupert Espley's tireless work on the right wing. There were never enough teammates in open positions to receive the ball as Wisbech markers did their job well.
The second half was more one sided, with Steve Parker making numerous miraculous saves and the home defence becoming ever more "last ditch". Three more goals came, all towards the end, from breakaway moves as Wisbech capitalised on some poor tackling and loose passing. This was unfortunate, as for the most part South positioning, defence, general teamplay and effort were all good and deserved some reward.
There were many encouraging aspects to the game to take forward, which need to be built on to ensure mid table respectability.
Division 5NW is swiftly becoming two divisions. It is important that the 3rds beat those around us and don't ship too many goals when playing the higher teams.
Team played: Steve Parker, Rupert Espley, Ian Evans, Ian Glover, John Greaves (c), Andy Lewis, Simon Harper, Paul South, Wilco Dijkstra, Toby Bull, Dan Schofield, James Lee
City of Peterborough Men's VIII 6 - 4 Cambridge South Men's IV
H/T: 4 - 1
Scorers: Dom Nelson (3), James Raikes
MoM: Dom Nelson - for his hat trick; Simon Jelly - for the unselfish man marking job on Peterborough's number nine
It was the fourth away game in the last five weeks; we conceded four goals in the first fifteen minutes; there was a hat trick, a few spectacular misses and ten goals: the football Premiership cannot beat this game for sheer entertainment! All we need is for Sky to buy the television rights and we all get paid £50,000 per week each.
It was a game of one quarter and then three quarters (as opposed to two halves!). Peterborough fielded the usual young side, but for some reason they came out of the traps flying and promptly went four goals up inside fifteen minutes ,with two well worked short corners and two well taken shots.
South then started to move things around and, by luck rather than design, the 'hole' in front of the defence was filled and we started to gain more possession. Suddenly, Dom Nelson got one back to bring the score to 4-1 and the game looked more even.
Peterborough then brought on a number 9 who looks like he should be playing in one of the higher teams, but Simon Jelly decided to stick to him like velcro. South started having a few chances, which included a James Raikes spectacular reverse stick flick that went narrowly wide shortly before half time.
Despite South being more attacking and more dominant in the second half, it was Peterborough who went 5-1 ahead via a counter attack. South continued to press forward and Don Nelson eventually got the score to back 5-2 but that was after a number of shots that went just wide from Simon Ta, James Raikes and Dom Nelson himself.
As it often happens in these games, South confused themselves by their own substitution and Peterborough scored another to make it 6-2. A late surge saw Dom Nelson complete his hat trick and James Raikes finally got one of his reverse stick flicks to go in to make it 6-4. The number of chances South missed meant that we could easily have drawn level.
Team played: Shahbaz Ali, Phil Le Gouais, David Bridge, Ky Ho, Simon Jelly, Tim Dean, John Somerville, James Hodge (c), Dom Nelson, James Raikes, Simon Ta, Shyam Sadasivan
Reports 2nd November 2008
Mixed XI lose 5-1 away at Ely City
Ely City 5 - 1 Southerners (Mixed Team)
H/T: 4 - 0
Scorers: Andy Lewis
Awaiting report
Team played: Andy Lewis, Jake Lewis, James Raikes, Mark Pears, Dominic Nelson, Ian Glover, Simon Jelly, Shabaz Ali, Phil Le Gouais, Louise Gutteridge (c), Julie Sadler, Issy (guest from Newmarket), Jess (guest from Newmarket)