Reports 14th March 2009

Men's 1st XI bring back the points from a trip to March II

Men's 2nd XI lose a close fight to league leaders Rutland II

Men's 3rd XI have a fruitless encounter away at St Ives IV

Men's 4th XI eventually come through against Bourne IV

Ladies' 2nd XI succumb to March II in a league cup match

March Town Men's II 1 - 4 Cambridge South Men's I

H/T: 1 - 2

Scorers: Russell Johnson, Keith Hewitt (3)
MoM: Jointly to Keith Hewitt and Rob Garrett

Late withdrawals from the South side and the opposition's characteristically forthright approach meant that this game was never going to be a cakewalk, especially as March had fired a warning shot across South's bows in holding them to a hard-fought 0-0 draw in the first half of the season. With Jim Thorpe a scratch and Chris Graveling absent courtesy of a bout of projectile vomiting (I mean, do they actually measure the distance?), it fell to Ron Oren and that hardy perennial Sanjay Agarwala to bolster the defence and they both did a fine job under demanding circumstances.

Following Matt Readman's early injunction to "take ownership of a man", Alex Pooles immediately eschewed the implicit legal niceties to dispossess said man near the opposition twenty-five and burst through a defensive tackle and the keeper to set up the predatory Keith Hewitt for an easy tap-in into the unguarded net with just two minutes on the clock. Readman himself then took ownership of the ball with a pair of very classy reverse interceptions before Agarwala and Russell Johnson gritted their way through a series of heavy challenges and Nick Young relieved the pressure with a deceptively angled pass upfield.

South looked slippy on the attack, with Rob Garrett and Hewitt taking the lead, but March's direct, uncomplicated style and their determination to squeeze the defence made the visitors sweat and it was hard to gain control for more than brief passages. There was an escape after ten minutes when a cross from the right just bypassed a March forward's stick but South knuckled down, with Garrett forming an impassable barrier thanks to his hyperextensive reach and Young and Oren clearing sensibly when the chance arose. March won a short after crashing through four increasingly desperate tackles but the strike was deflected away and then skipper Chris Baker, swiftly reacquainting himself with his land legs after a protracted spell of floating on a Lilo trying not to spill his piña colada, acted as the pivot for several spells of promising activity in which Hewitt was thwarted by the keeper and also shot wide to the left. Readman, Young and Oren worked hard to create a little oasis of calm on the right while Agarwala showed a sure touch and confident stick-handling in some narrow straits. Just as it seemed South had weathered most of the storm, however, March bulldozed their way to a free hit outside the circle, caught everyone on the hop by taking it quickly and fashioned a déjà vu goal based on a perpendicular cross and a two-yard stab-in.

Steve Parker in goal had to kick clear under pressure almost immediately afterwards when March bustled into the circle yet again and the defence necessarily reverted to the utilitarian as Johnson banged the ball unceremoniously into touch. A bad back-pass from March gave Garrett and Eliot Read, always available and using space intelligently, the advantage and Baker skilfully won South's first short after twenty-two minutes. Hewitt made the most of a failed routine, but to no avail, before March suddenly split open the midfield and found themselves in a giant phalanx bearing down on Readman, who would have neutralised the play (allegedly) but for being unbalanced by a lack of control from the ball-carrier. The offending foot, not quite excused by a sheepish grin, earned him a five-minute yellow and March a second short, which they struck crisply but thankfully off-target.

Garrett came up with another fine tackle and interception, while Read, Pooles and Baker and then Young, Agarwala and Hewitt showed what South are capable of going forward when they put together some authoritative cross-field moves. March were in no mood to be cowed, though, and after Young had coolly burgled a winger who had charged for a narrow gap down the line, the hosts cranked up the action, whacking the ball hard into the D at every opportunity and penning the defence in a corner. From their third short, Parker rebuffed a blistering shot, only for the rebound to be clanged against a post. The ball hovered awhile in front of the goal before finding an escape route but was soon returned with interest as it was flicked in following a fourth penalty corner. Mercifully, the goal was ruled out for reasons that no South player could divine (of course we never argue with the umpire) and March again passed up a chance to take the lead when a fifth short was superbly charged down by Garrett, whose brave stickwork saw the glanced strike soar over the bar.

But, as Readman so succinctly put it, March were still queuing up and a rapid thrust from the left saw the defence prised apart as Parker raced out and the striker sliced uppishly into the net – luckily the one belonging to the reserve goal a few feet to the side of South's. Parker cleared safely to the wing a moment later and, just as the half-time whistle was about to go, March unaccountably dropped their guard, serving up a second bad back-pass which Hewitt and Garrett gleefully jumped on, with Garrett making the moves and Hewitt getting into the right position for a carbon copy of his first effort.

Buoyed by playing downhill with the wind behind them, as well by as some straight-talking advice at half-time, South set off at a lick right from the whistle. Garrett pounced on a March midfielder and whizzed off goalwards, unluckily turning his shot just wide as the keeper advanced. Young cracked the ball convincingly from sixteens and Read, again brilliantly disguising his cross by feigning an air shot, fed Garrett for another twisty effort. Baker then did well to manoeuvre a stubbed short across to Hewitt, whose first-time shot drew an excellent glove save. Oren neatly engineered an attacking breakdown, Agarwala coolly exploited what little space he was allowed to trigger a four-man move and then, after a welter of stick collisions, South brought off a key interception for the third time in the game as Garrett stole the ball and released Hewitt, whose all-action, heads-up style got him from A to B in the fastest possible time for a one-on-one with the keeper. Feinting to the left, the Tassie Terror wrong-footed his adversary before taking it smartly to the right and firing home for his third straight hat-trick, a just reward for his non-stop effort and passion for the backboard.

The momentum was with South at this point as Hewitt competed in defence as well, challenging with a vigour that brought a pained expression to the umpire's whistle, and Read, Oren and Readman all tackled back with intent. But March refused to lie down and won a succession of short corners as they threw men forward. Despite moments of considerable hairiness, South survived, Oren finally clearing the D with admirable pragmatism and Young reliably providing some breathing space with a long shell out. Neat touches from Read, assured distribution from Agarwala and committed running from Pooles, who narrowly failed to convert from a lovely build-up involving Oren, Garrett and Baker all helped to maintain South's advantage and Readman, too, would have had a golden opportunity if only he had been able to manage 100 metres in 6.5 seconds to latch on to a slightly optimistic through ball from Baker. Pooles and Read then combined to set up Baker, who saw his shot kicked away, before March got two front men through the net with ten minutes to go. Parker, prowling inactively for the previous half an hour, timed the challenge at the edge of the D to perfection, however, and diverted the ball at full stretch to allow the defensive cover to get shut sharpish.

South controlled matters for the next five minutes, with Pooles again nearly on the end of a Garrett run and Read to the fore with several interceptions and a shot. Baker had goal attempts saved or deflected as well while Hewitt was also involved, either directly or vocally, in most of the moves upfield. Oren and Readman, too, had time to display their attacking urges before Young skilfully broke up a dangerous break with a textbook "forward defensive" tackle. Hewitt's quest for a fourth goal was denied by the onrushing keeper, who got a piece of a flick, before March mounted a last challenge, surging into the South twenty-five and circle in an effort to steal a point. But Parker stood firm, halting a zigzagging home forward dead in his tracks with a long barrier, rushing a flick from the bye-line to draw a misdirection and then kicking out long to clear the lines.

South saved their best till last, however, as Johnson, who had had a relatively quiet afternoon for him, received the ball from Baker and scorched through the midfield from left to right, racing unopposed into the circle and finishing with a spectacular lifted shot just inside the right-hand post which had even the home supporters applauding in appreciation.

Skipper Baker praised his side for a good, gutsy win in a game that could have gone either way and the approbation was well-merited as March, despite their lowly position, are invariably tough to beat and always give 100%. South perhaps just had a little too much pace and class in attack on this occasion, scoring three times from turnovers, and, despite the odd wobble, they also put in a wholehearted all-round defensive performance, gelling quickly despite personnel changes and not conceding on any of March's nine penalty corners.

In a constantly shifting Div 3NW hierarchy, South are now back up to fourth following a loss for Wisbech and a draw for Nomads but the middle of the table is densely packed and the dice are still rolling. The final three games are all serious challenges and South will be hoping for continued good scoring punch and a rock-solid defence to optimise their standing.

Team played: Steve Parker, Chris Baker(c), Rob Garrett, Ron Oren, Matt Readman, Keith Hewitt, Alex Pooles, Sanjay Agarwala, Nick Young, Russell Johnson, Eliot Read

Cambridge South Men's II 4 - 5 Rutland Men's II

H/T: 1 - 4

Scorers: Mike Coffin, Mark Pears (2), Dave Aston
MoM: Dave Aston - strong play down the left
LoM: Rob Barton - played hockey tennis with the Rutland keeper

We have two reports for this week's game:
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The encounter with unbeaten champions-elect Rutland saw a second successive defeat for Cambridge South 2nds but a performance completely transformed from the previous weekend's half-arsed shambles against St Neots.

With Rutland a handful of points from wrapping up the title, South knew they would be eager to finish the job. South approach the match in a positive mood though – with no expectation of anything from the game, the team were liberated to play with freedom and ambition, looking to regain some fluidity in their play.

Indeed, so it turned out, with South starting on the front foot and making early inroads towards Rutland's twenty-five. Debutant Mike Coffin, at the tip of the midfield diamond, was getting up well to support Mark Pears and Rob Barton in attack. His reward duly came when his well-placed lifted shot from a tight-angle near the left backline squeezed between the post and the keeper to open the scoring for South.

Although buoyed by their positive start, South immediately had to face an onslaught from a Rutland side stung by the novel experience of going behind. Attacking with pace and verve, Rutland pressed on to the South defence and some desperate defending resulted in a succession of short corners. With firm and accurate injections and the ability to strike the ball hard and with precision, Rutland's short corner routine proved deadly. Three strikes were buried in short order past Steve Parker in the South goal. These sandwiched a clever score as a Rutland attacker driving into the D from the right feinted to centre the ball before burying it inside Steve's near post.

Rutland's relentless pressure and dead-ball prowess seemed to threaten a cricket score with only around a third of the match played. Focusing on their performance rather than the score though, South's spirits didn't drop. Disciplined play from George Wych, Rich Morgan, Dave Monck and Neil Sneade in the South defence dried up Rutland's supply of short corners. Meanwhile, Matt Kern and Mike began to reassert themselves in midfield to make a real contest of the game.

Half-time was reached without further score. Although still three goals down, the mood amongst the Southerners was upbeat with the quality of the performance clearly ahead of the previous week's disappointing display. Encouraged by captain Kevin Rowland to continue playing their positive, open hockey, South were eager to resume.

Three goals to the good, possibly Rutland thought the result was already settled but again it was South who started the better. This time it was Arsenal's turn to surprise Rutland, slotting the ball home to claw back the deficit to two. Again though, showing the mark of champions, Rutland responded to the reverse. Their fast, skilful players earned another short corner, which was duly despatched with the same aplomb as their earlier efforts.

As the half wore on though, Rutland proved unable to build on their lead. They were frustrated on one occasion by a superb diving save by Steve to sweep the ball away from an onrushing forward with an outstretched stick. Indeed it was South who were coming more and more into the game, continuing to commit men forward and forcing the Rutland keeper into action. With the match entering the final quarter, the Monckosaurus carried the ball forward into the Rutland half. Having drawn the opposing player in, he played a disguised pass into the path of Neil advancing from right back. He collected the ball in his stride before driving past the Rutland defence to the backline and striking a pass on the run back towards the P spot. Dave Aston, finding a yard from his marker, swept a beautiful first-time strike low to the keeper's left and into the corner of the goal.

Scenting the faintest whiff of an upset, South redoubled their efforts. There were five minutes left on the clock when, from a partial clearance following another South attack, the loose ball was gathered by Neil near the middle of the pitch. He held off a Rutland challenge to deliver a ball forward through a gap in the defence. At the top of the D, Arsenal collected the pass and unleashed a swift strike to bring up his second goal of the day.

Suddenly, the margin was down to a single goal. On a warm spring day and with neither side having substitutes, legs were tiring. It was now South who were in the ascendant and looking the team likeliest to score, whilst Rutland were restricted to hanging on to their lead and trying to run down the clock.

Sadly for South, time ran out before the equaliser could be found. At the final whistle South could feel proud of a good display and a winning second half performance, while Rutland admitted relief at taking all three points. With four of Rutland's five goals coming from short corners, it was the visitors' ruthlessness at set plays which ultimately separated the teams.

After the game captain Kev said, "That was exactly the response we needed after last week and a performance which showed what we are capable of as a team. It says a lot that we are coming away disappointed to have lost to the division champions. Another ten minutes and the result could have been completely different."

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After the poor display the against St Neots last week, the team had some work to do to raise their game. They were to have the opportunity to do this against the league leaders Rutland, who were in the enviable position of not having lost a game all season.

Captain Kev Rowland called for the team to focus on regaining their best game and to play the team hockey they were capable of. If that was done successfully then the game would be enjoyable and would give the best chance for a result.

South took this to heart and came out of the blocks with gusto. An early attack in the first five minutes led to South going ahead 1-0 through Mike Coffin. This served to stir Rutland into action and they responded, creating chances through good ball and player movement so that by half time they were 4-1 to the good with three slick short corners and one unstoppable drive from just inside the D. However, the game was much more even than the scoreline suggested, South having missed a few opportunities to score; denied by their keeper who was quick to smother the ball, the flicks needed to get them over his quickly prone position were replaced by attempts to bore a hole through his midriff!

At half time therefore things didn't look good. However, South did not let their heads drop and went out for the second period with a motivation to keep their heads up and do everything to get something back against the worthy league leaders. The deficit was narrowed shortly after the restart when Mark P slotted in after a good move. Again, however, Rutland came straight back and scored another short to reassert their three goal margin.

Both sides were playing with no subs so fitness was also a factor. As the game progressed it became very open with South having the upper hand and putting huge pressure on the Rutland keeper who, although he responded magnificently, could not prevent first Dave Aston striking a superb shot in from distance and then Mark P getting his second with five minutes left on the clock.

Sadly, that was not quite enough time to get an equaliser, but Rutland themselves agreed that with another five or ten minutes South might even have come away with three points.

So, a much better performance. South unquestionably outplayed their opposition in the second half, winning the half 3-1 but it wasn't enough to get a point. However, the team were able to go home with the satisfaction of having played good hockey.

Captain Kev felt that this week the team demonstrated what they are capable of against good opposition, it was a great team performance, every players skills and work ethic were on top form.

Team played: Steve Parker, Kevin Rowland(c), Dave Monck, George Wych, Neil Sneade, Rich Morgan, Dave Aston, Matt Kern, Mike Coffin, Rob Barton, Mark Pears

St Ives Men's IV 3 - 1 Cambridge South Men's III

H/T: 1 - 1

Scorers: Dom Nelson
MoM: James Lee - exemplary performance at left back

This was not a great day for Cambridge South 3rds. A combination of unfamiliar players, enforced positional changes, injury to Dom Nelson and the fact that St Ives were more "up for it" made for a tough afternoon…and St Ives were better, particularly after they scored the opening goal by carving through the South team.

Dom Nelson, heroically ignoring his injured back, equalised with a neat dribble and shot before half time. Sadly South were undone twice more in the second half without reply. Although the away team had their share of attacks and possession with multiple short corners, we were unable to get clear shots on goal and the immense and excellent St Ives goalkeeper repelled the chances that did come. Greaves, Creed, Somerville, Espley and Nelson could all have scored on another day, but sadly not this one.

South did string some good moves together and, as in the previous week, used the space and passed the ball around well. However, the canny St Ives defence stood firm and it was always South that appeared hurried. In the end Stuart Creed resorted to desperate tactics by almost knocking an opposition defender out and inflicting a spectacularly blood injury.

The thirds are almost safe in Div 5NW but certain security is delayed another week, when the return game against Boston provides the chance for revenge.

Team played: Shabhaz Ali, Ian Glover, Stu Creed, Dom Nelson, Rupert Espley, Shahzad Ali, John Somerfield, Tim Dean, David Bridge, James Lee, John Greaves (c)

Cambridge South Men's IV 6 - 1 Bourne Men's IV

H/T: 1 - 1

Scorers: John Benedikz (3), Rob Barton (3)
MoM:

Awaiting report

Team played: Ben Wilson, James Raikes, John Sharp, Dan Lam, Simon Jelley, Manish Verma, Tejas Belagod, James Hodge (c), Tim Clapp, Rob Barton, Shyam Sadasivan, John Benedikz

Cambridge South Ladies' II 1 - 3 March Town Ladies' II

H/T: 0 - 3

Scorers: Mel Harrison
MoM: