Reports 13th September 2008
Men's 1st XI beat Cambs Nomads II 2-0 in their derby match
Men's 2nd XI narrowly lose 2-1 to Spalding II
Men's 3rd XI go down 5-4 to a highly eclectic Men's 4ths team
Men's 4th XI plus guest stars turn over the Men's 3rds, 5-4
Ladies' 1st XI with ten players dig out a 2-1 win against St Ives II
Ladies' 2nd XI open with a convincing 6-1 win against City of Peterborough IV
Cambridge Nomads Men's II 0 - 2 Cambridge South Men's I
H/T: 0 - 2
Scorers: Chris Baker, Keith Hewitt
MoM:
Cambridge South started brightly at the Abbey and were threatening the Nomads' goal within moments of the start. Keith and Alex up front were clearly going to combine well with the midfield to create chances, as did James when he came on half way through the first 35.
Once the game had settled it was evident that Nomads, who had fielded their customary blend of skilled, experienced players and equally skilled, energetic youngsters, were going to be tough opposition. However their attacking moves had neither real pace, nor genuine creativity and the experienced South back four, guest starring an imperious Mike at left back, were adequate in their defensive manoeuvres.
At times, when more than 50% of the South midfield four paid attention to their marking at the same time, it was even quite comfortable. When play was broken down in the middle of the pitch, catching an advancing Nomads team on the retreat, big gaps opened up for the wide men, Jorge and Eliot, to run through and link with the strikers. Only once or twice in the first half did Nomads break the line to try and worry Shahbaz but there was little in the way of end product. The final minutes of the first half saw Nomads' best chance of the game go wide of the post but by then South had already scored the two goals that would ultimately win them the game.
For the first, Mike pirouetted into the Nomads' circle to win a short corner and Chris's shot was deflected into the top of the net by the diving keeper. The second came from open play as Chris and Matt danced through the middle of the pitch to open up space down what was almost certainly either the left or the right, for good wide play from somebody or other to open space up for Keith to finish. Another goal for our overseas player.
The second half was a scrappier affair as both teams started to show signs of tiredness. Jorge came closest to making it three for the visitors but his shot went inches wide of the post. Nomads threatened sporadically but not in significant enough numbers to expose the increasingly tired marking in midfield. Good distribution from Mike and Rupert meant that South were generally able to keen Nomads' midfield pinned back.
As the fitness improves this season there are going to be few teams in Div 3NW that can keep a clean sheet against an effective South attack. If they can concentrate on defending as a ten man outfield unit more good wins like this will surely come.
Team played: Shahbaz Ali, Rupert Webb, Jim Thorpe, Chris Baker (c), Eliot Read, Mike Thorogood, Chris Graveling, Keith Hewitt, Matt Readman, James Cobbe, Alex Pooles, Jorge O'Ryan Cavagnaro
Spalding Men's II 2 - 1 Cambridge South Men's II
H/T: 2 - 0
Scorers: Dave Aston
MoM: Mark Pears - good midfield work by Mark took the mantle though Jack Chalk's sweeping and counter attacks were worthy of plaudit. Democracy is tough sometimes!
LoM: Finn Johnson - a tied vote, however Finn receives the honour given that one of his votes was from himself! Special mention for Lino who managed to eat his post match tea with the serving spoon, as big as his face, with ease, prompting the question of what he does in his spare time.
Cambridge South 2nd XI, sponsored by PwC, travelled to Spalding to take on their 2nds in a pre-season friendly. It was always going to be a tough game against a team placed a division above South.
Missing two key players from the defence, South debutant Nick Bristowe, Ian Evans and Simon Harper travelled with the squad to play in what were perfect hockey conditions.
The first ten minutes saw South dominate the possession with some good passing and movement, with Spalding showing their keenness to try and dispossess players with the ball. When South's passing seemed to falter, they paid the price as Spalding were allowed to effect good tackles and go on the offensive, leading to a cleanly hit shot finding the back of South's goal past the left post.
Loose man marking in the first half allowed Spalding to continue to threaten South's goal, which led to a free man undercutting with his reverse stick beyond the reach of an outstretched Lino. 2-0 down.
Chances for South included a cleanly hit shot from Kev just inside the D, which flashed across the goal and firmly found the left post. Spalding's keeper stopped a Dave Aston flick and promptly got up to stop another quickly taken flick, denying South a goal.
The half time talk pointed out that South were holding on to the ball for too long, with a notable lack of calling for the ball. A call for team work through calling, passing and movement [Ed. - our three secret weapons] was a theme the team took into the second half. This led to increased pressure around the opposition's D testing Spalding's defence, which stood up well.
The second half was a much more even affair overall. With Spalding clearing the ball out of their D when under threat and creating quick counter attacks, play was increasingly end-to-end.
During one of South's attacks, a ball from Dave Aston was knocked by a Spalding player off his keeper into the goal, an fortuitous goal but one that was deserved by South given the pressure they had been exerting. Another goal from South was definitely possible, however Spalding, in a Chelsea-type fashion, seemed to be aware of how to settle for the score line.
Although a friendly it was, it was important for South to be competitive given they were playing a team that competes in a league where the 2nd XI need to be playing next season. Competitive they were and with work on fluid team play through passing and moving, the team's prospects are encouraging. Although the 2nds lost today, the score line was representative of the team's ability to respond and raise their game.
Captain Kev Rowland commented, "No one could fault the hard work and effort put into todays game by every team member. Every man knew we could have come away with a draw or a win today, we just need to focus that motivation into a game of possession and effective passing throughout the 70 minutes. That is how South will dominate their opposition. Great work gents."
Team played: Lino Di Lorenzo, Ian Evans, Ron Oren, Jack Chalk, Nick Bristowe, Samin Ishtiaq, Kev Rowland (c), Dave Aston, Simon Harper, Rob Barton, Finn Johnson, Mark Pears
Cambridge South Men's III 4 - 5 Cambridge South Men's IV
H/T: 3 - 1
Scorers: 3rds - Rob Barton (3), John Greaves; 4ths - Nick Wong (2), Simon Ta (2), Shahzad Ali
MoM:
Awaiting report
Team played: 3rds - Shahbaz Ali, Tom South, Jake Lewis, Ian Evans, Wilco Dijkstra, Simon Harper, Paul South, Andy Lewis, John Greaves (c), Rupert Espley, Rob Barton; 4ths - David Bridge, Ky Ho (c), John Sharp, Shahzad Ali, John Benedikz, James Raikes, Simon Ta, Nick Wong, Jim Thorpe, Phil Le Gouais
St Ives Ladies' II 1 - 2 Cambridge South Ladies' I
H/T: 1 - 0
Scorers: Emma Clarke, Daisy Watts
MoM: Tash Cox
Cambridge South Ladies' 1sts, sponsored by PwC, travelled to St Ives 2nds for their first game of the season. They went with ten players but a strong team and were hoping for a good performance, although there were a few mutterings along the lines of 'I think I'm a bit unfit', especially after the warm up, which consisted of 400m around the nearby athletics track. Captain Tash Cox was heard to remark that the nearest she got to running 400m nowadays was on Wii Olympics.
After a bright start, South were making some good passes and runs but it was St Ives who struck first. Goalkeeper Sarah Massen made several heroic stops in succession but South were unable to clear the D and Saints eventually forced the ball home.
While South got their breath back at half time, they definitely felt they were still in with a good chance of winning the match. Shortly after half time, South were right back into it. The ball came down the right and was switched across the D to Emma, who tried a strike at goal but did not get hold of the ball cleanly. Fortunately for South there was a mix up between goalkeeper and defender and Daisy took full advantage, finishing well.
South took heart from this and put a string of attacks together, one of which ended with Tash doing some great work and fooling the Saints defence, resulting in a 3-on-1 with the Saints keeper. Tash chose to pass to Emma, who managed not to miss the resulting open goal. Having gained the lead, South held out for the remaining ten minutes, with the defence of Ellie R, Caroline and Jodee working hard to keep Saints at bay.
Everyone had a great match, but special mention should go to Tash who must have covered several miles during the match, proving that the Wii is a definite option for those wanting an alternative training regime. Debutant Georgie Hurford also had a great game at RH, along with the rest of the midfield of Liles, Ellie H, and Daisy.
Team played: Sarah Massen, Jodee Webb, Caroline Dent, Ellie Raffan, Georgie Hurford, Liles Dee, Emma Clarke, Tash Cox (c), Ellie Herbert, Daisy Watts
Cambridge South Ladies' II 6 - 1 City of Peterborough Ladies' IV
H/T: 3 - 1
Scorers: Mel Harrison (2), Jenny Furlow, Charlie Orrock, Bex Baker (2)
MoM: Anne-Isabelle Richard-Picchi
This was a tough opener for the 2nds as the Ladies leagues have been reshuffled somewhat this year. The Peterborough team were playing in the league above South last year, so a cup match against them looked to be a tricky test at the beginning of the season.
The team has lost a few key players but some great new people have joined up to fill the gaps and the team set out on Saturday to begin their 08/09 campaign in style. This they certainly did, posting a 6-1 win on the day.
The new faces included Tracey, who stepped up to fill the keeper’s boots, and did a fantastic job in goal. She pulled off some really important saves and was a key member of the defence. Leonie and Carla also played their first match for South and did a great job in defence and in the midfield pushing forwards. We had Jenny and Sam, new recruits to the club, who were dominant in the midfield both playing a defensive role and releasing the forwards with some excellent balls through. Nicky also played a superb game in defence for us. Regulars Vicky in the sweeper position, AI in her customary defensive centre mid, and the forward trio of Bex, Mel and Charlie completed the line up.
South started well with some fluid movement and the first goal soon came from a smooth attack, with Mel slotting the ball home. Then a confident strike from Jenny saw the score at 2-0. We were playing really good hockey with some excellent linking play from the midfield to the forwards. A goal from Charlie completed the trio in the first half. Peterborough did catch us on the counter attack to put one away before half time – going in to the jelly baby break (South's secret weapon!) though with a 3-1 lead we were very pleased with how we were playing.
Unfortunately, we lost Jenny for the second half and battling with ten players proved rather more challenging. However, our defence and Tracey did a cracking job and despite some really good breaks from Peterborough, they could not get through our players. What was also satisfying was when the ball was cleared upfield, a lot of chances were taken. Bex slotted away a goal to start her tally for the season, with Mel adding another to hers with a great strike. An excellent Mel-Bex link up, with Bex putting the ball home, completed the 6-1 victory.
Peterborough put up a good challenge and they were certainly threatening in the second half. It was a highly enjoyable match, played in good spirits against a relatively young side – the highlight was perhaps Mel ending up completely squashing Peterborough’s keeper – one for the photo album! A great start to the season for South. We travel away to Sawtry next weekend for a second cup match – hopefully our winning streak will continue. Our new members fitted seamlessly into the team’s style of play and formation and the match today bodes really well for the season ahead.
Team played: Tracy Hunter, Leonie Dickman, Carla Fitzachary, Nicky Bareham, Vicky Lavis (c), Anne-Isabelle Richard-Picchi, Jenny Furlow, Charlie Orrock, Sam Cooper, Bex Baker, Mel Harrison