Reports 15th November 2008

Men's 1st XI lose 3-1 away to Rutland I

Men's 2nd XI storm to a 9-2 win over St Neots III

Men's 3rd XI go down 4-0 to Bourne III

Men's 4th XI suffer a 5-1 reverse against St Ives V

Ladies' 1st XI are beaten 2-1 by Cambridge City III

Ladies' 2nd XI run out 2-0 winners against March Town II

 

Rutland Men's I 3 - 1 Cambridge South Men's I

H/T: 1 - 0

Scorers: James Cobbe
MoM: Chris Graveling

Previous acquaintance and a quick glance at their recent record suggested that Rutland were going to set a stiff test for a South side looking for their first win in four games, and so it proved. A visit to strugglers Boston last week may just have provided South with the perfect tonic in the middle of a tough series of games against other leading contenders but, sadly, the game was postponed owing to a mud-related incident, leaving South with no match practice for a fortnight.

In Saturday's floodlit game at Stamford High School, South made a reasonably bright start, with good possession and some confident passing movements. John Benedikz, playing his first league game of the season, distributed sensibly and conservatively, while Chris Massey and Eliot Read also struck up a profitable relationship in left midfield. An early Rutland attack was comprehensively smothered by keeper Steve Parker, who then batted away a hard flick from the subsequent penalty corner. That master of disguise Chris Graveling then "won" a sixteen by diverting a second flick behind the back line before Rob Garrett sliced upfield, teasing the left defence, only to be outpaced for once by the ball, which always moved quickly on the fast surface.

South had to rejig their lines just eight minutes into the game, with Jim Thorpe dropping to sweeper and Massey to left back, when Graveling unwisely elected to play the ball with his chin and had to be replaced by "blood substitute" James Cobbe. But the transition was seamless (unlike Graveling's chin, which later required five stitches) and South, spurred by resolute tackling from Read and Matt Readman, had a good patch, with Chris Baker's firm shot from the left drawing a rebound which Garrett reverse-sticked goalwards only to see the attempt deflected.

This seemed to sting the hosts into action, however, and their directness coming forward and ability to get the ball into the D quickly posed a serious threat. Parker, reading the situations well, saved twice in quick succession from close range and safety-first clearances were the order of the day for the defence as Rutland converted their sudden territorial dominance into a series of short corners. One was flicked low and wide, another skimmed a post (excellent judgment from all concerned) and Parker made confident, well-positioned saves with pads and kickers from the next three. From the last of these, however, there was no clearing sweep and the loose ball was put away to give Rutland the lead on twenty-two minutes.

Graveling eventually returned three minutes later after a makeshift workaround with half a ton of Elastoplast and immediately set up an ingenious move down the right, Rupert Webb and Garrett breaking Rutland's tight control of the wings with pinpoint work up the sideline. The defence again covered capably on a dangerous two-man run from the opposition before Baker, Webb and Russell Johnson shuttled the ball swiftly across the field to try and find that elusive opening. Garrett finally squeezed through the eye of the needle, forcing the keeper to dive, but there was still no joy for South, who had to continue beavering away at the back to limit opportunities for the Rutland forwards. Massey and Benedikz strong-armed their way out of a tight spot in the left corner, Graveling brought off two storming tackles and both Cobbe and Johnson were also found contributing to the war effort. But the half ended with two further Rutland short corners (bringing their total for the first thirty-five minutes to nine) as Parker reacted quickly to block a dangerous low flick with his left pad before Thorpe niftily cleared.

South initially struggled to get a sustained hold of the ball in the second half but, after an interception by Graveling, Garrett raced in hard to the top of the D, shirking nothing as the classic irresistible-immovable encounter with the keeper occurred. From the fall-out, Read tenaciously negotiated round the back line to slip a cross in front of goal, where Cobbe was on hand to tip in nonchalantly at the far post.

With Garrett continuing to trouble the Rutland rearguard, South could have taken the lead a couple of minutes later when Benedikz supplied the catalyst for Readman's fierce rising shot which the keeper did well to palm away. Rutland stuck to their guns, though, preferring the quick central ball, sometimes too eagerly so, when more haste and less speed might have served their purpose better. Their next chance came at a failed breakout from a sixteen, when Parker had to make a reverse diving save with stick and glove from a standing start, and Graveling and Readman in particular had to be on the qui vive to intercept plenty of attempted through balls.

All the while, South were itching to find gaps in the quick-thinking, no-faff home defence - a drive by Massey, a last-lap Brazilian overtaking manoeuvre by Garrett and Baker's methodical probing to right and left - but it was Rutland, with their tenth short corner, who broke the deadlock when a canny slip-walk-pass routine opened up clear water for a good hard smack to make it 2-1 on forty minutes.

Massey cleared another dangerous situation from the circle before heading full pelt for the touchline and then either break-dancing spectacularly or simply tripping up - it was difficult to say which - but at least the ball went to safety as the spectators were royally entertained. Garrett and Johnson had time for a nice bit of interpassing up front but the action then headed back to the South D where the umpire unexpectedly opted to play advantage after a defensive infraction, leaving a Rutland forward to whack a free shot from three yards which Parker firmly repelled.

A minute later, however, the home side extended their lead to terminal proportions when another deftly-worked short evaded three tackles and created space for a close-range flick which left no-one with any chance. With ten minutes to go, South tried everything to get back in the game; Parker creamed it over the halfway line to Read, who put Garrett clear for a reverse shot which just slipped past the left post, Massey and Readman continued to press tigerishly in midfield, while Read got into a good position for a late shot but saw the ball dribble tantalisingly off his stick to sum up South's afternoon as Rutland ran out deserved 3-1 winners.

Though South did well to score an open-play goal, the real difference in this game lay in the short corners. South found it difficult in general to penetrate the Rutland circle and were unable to create a significant advantage when they got there, whilst Rutland had twelve penalty corners and employed plenty of variety in them, scoring three times. The South defence held up extremely well under pressure outside the set pieces but the hosts' routines at the shorts were carefully thought out and efficiently executed. It was a shame that South had no opportunity to use some of their own proven routines in this department.

South hope fervently that next week's game on home turf will get them back to winning ways as they seek to close out the pre-Christmas half with a run of maximum points. They will have to do so without Rupert Webb - rumours of whose departure last week were greatly exaggerated - who makes for the Land of the Long White Cloud on Wednesday certain of his place in South history as the man who lost £2 on Buckaroo at his own leaving do thanks to a crippling ignorance of Coronation Street actresses of the 1970s. Nevertheless, we wish Rupert and Jodee all the very best and thank them for everything they've done for the club, both indoor and outdoor, on the field and off it.

Team played: Steve Parker, Jim Thorpe, Chris Graveling, Rupert Webb, John Benedikz, Chris Massey, Chris Baker (c), Eliot Read, Rob Garrett, Matt Readman, Russell Johnson, James Cobbe

 

Cambridge South Men's II 9 - 2 St Neots Men's III

H/T: 4 - 0

Scorers: Rob Barton (4), Mark Pears (3), Tim Clapp (2)
MoM: Rob Barton - the goal machine hits top gear
LoM: Kevin Rowland - apparently it's easy to mistake a can of Deep Heat for deodorant when spraying your pits

The Cambridge South 2nds juggernaut has been steadily gathering momentum over the first half of the season and St Neots 3rds became the latest team to fall beneath its mighty wheels. Faced with a late start at the Abbey, captain Kev Rowland called for an early meet to get everyone "in the zone". After a solid win over South 3rds the previous weekend, St Neots were a team that could be dangerous. A brief panic regarding the whereabouts of the shirts and subsequent questions, denials, accusations, protestations and recriminations was resolved when vice-captain George Wych found them lurking in his car boot.

With time for a pre-match pep talk of almost Baker-esque duration, Kev restrained himself to keeping it short and sweet: be switched on from the whistle, consolidate possession for the first ten minutes then turn up the pressure in attack. Amazingly, for once it seemed the 2nds had absorbed their captain's tactical plan and proceeded to execute it almost perfectly. From the push-back, possession was moved around South's back line and midfield for a dozen or more passes before St Neots got a sniff of the ball. The opening period was cagey, with South concentrating on possession rather than territory and St Neots taking the opportunity to push up into South's half. Keeping their heads, South retained their shape and denied St Neots any clear opportunity to attack keeper Lino Di Lorenzo's goal.

Having gained the measure of the game in the early exchanges, South upped the ante. Nick Bristowe and Kev provided a shield in the middle of the park as the ball was shipped out to Matt Kern and Dave Aston on the wings, who began making forward runs to turn the St Neots defence and play in Rob Barton and Mark Pears up front. As supply to the front pair was established, South moved the play towards the St Neots D. It didn't take long for the pressure to tell, with Rob Barton getting goal side of his marker to slot home the opening goal.

South were now moving into the ascendancy and this was quickly confirmed when more great linking play from the midfield to the forwards released Mark. With a turn of speed, Arsenal broke through the defence and shot home to double South's lead. Buoyed by their early lead, South were establishing their dominance all over the park, with the wide midfielders constantly looking to link to the forwards and full backs Ron Oren and Neil Sneade backing up the play. Newcomer Nick Young was having an outstanding debut at sweeper, choosing to play in front of centre back George and keeping the team on the front foot with his prompt sweeping up of anything that came through the midfield, timely tackling and strong hitting to turn defence quickly into attack.

St Neots were far from being overrun, however, and continued to show skill and determination in contesting the play, although largely unable to get close to South's D where Lino was mostly a spectator. Tellingly, not a single short corner was conceded by South in the first half.

Any doubt about the result was settled before half time as South succeeded in translating application into goals. Rob completed a first half hat trick, with his third particularly noteworthy as he carried the ball left to right across the D before shooting across the keeper and into the far corner from a tightening angle. Captain Kev, watching from the sidelines, didn't know whether to be more astonished by the speed of the hat trick or the fact that none of them had been scored with the reverse stick.

The half time team talk focused on continuing the good work and maintaining the pressure. Fired up, South were eager for more goals and didn’t need telling twice. Within minutes of the push-back, South extended their lead as Arsenal again left the defence trailing to score his second. Not to be outdone, Tim Clapp, on at right wing and having already caused all sorts of problems with his runs, chipped in with two goals of his own. His second came from a Rob Barton shot that was partially smothered by the keeper. As the ball inched glacially towards the line, Tim hesitated for a moment as he tried to judge whether it would cross the line ahead of a recovering defender before removing any doubt with a quick dispatch into the goal.

With a commanding lead, South felt able to open up and press the play up the pitch. Matt, now moved into the centre of midfield, was particularly notable for his excellent tackling and passing, repeatedly opening up St Neots with slide rule balls for the forwards to run on to. As the game moved into the last quarter, Rob added to his tally with another beautifully taken shot, lifted slightly off the deck to evade any blocking sticks before thudding into the backboard to bring the score to 8-0.

St Neots had refused to let their heads drop, however, and their persistence was rewarded by the award of their first short corner of the game. It was well executed and a shot was struck to Lino's left only to be blocked by Neil's stick, flat on the ground at the left post. With the keeper and onrushing attacker in front of him and lacking the space to sweep clear, Neil lifted his stick to push the ball away to the side just as a jab tackle came in, knocking the ball beneath his stick and on to his feet. It wasn't clear for a moment whether his feet were on or just behind the line but the uncertainty was resolved as the umpire blew to award a goal.

Stung, Kev called for concentration to get the goal back. His words would have carried more weight if he hadn't then immediately knocked the ball straight off the side of the pitch with a first time sweep from the push-back! South recovered their composure though and it was left to Arsenal to complete the second hat trick of the afternoon with a well taken goal from a very tight angle by the left back-line.

With the game won and legs tiring, more space was developing at both ends of the pitch. South were unfortunate when a raised ball from St Neots which hit Neil on the hand and deflected over the back-line was missed by the umpire and a corner was awarded instead of a hit. St Neots took full advantage with a quick ball hit hard into the D, where a St Neots forward got ahead of Ron's tackle to knock the ball past the stranded Lino.

At full time, South celebrated a convincing win and, just as importantly, probably their best performance of the season. Before heading off for match teas at The Master Mariner there was still time for Kev to cap the afternoon's entertainment by confusing his underarm spray with a can of Deep Heat. Ouch, that had to burn!

After the match, captain Kev commented "Well, anyone could mistake a can of Deep Heat for deodorant. Now, does anyone have an ice pack I can stick under my arm?"

Team played: Lino Di Lorenzo, Ron Oren, George Wych, Neil Sneade, Nick Young, Dave Aston, Nick Bristowe, Kevin Rowland (c), Matt Kern, Mark Pears, Rob Barton, Tim Clapp

 

Bourne Men's III 4 - 0 Cambridge South Men's III

H/T: 1 - 0

Scorers:
MoM: Shabhaz - once again his courageous and disciplined goalkeeping kept the score down

The better team won.

Cambridge South, without some key regulars, were unable to prevent Bourne taking control with good team play and an early lead using their experience and pace to put constant pressure on the away defence. Passmore, Evans, Glover and sweeper Bailey stood up well, except for Andy Passmore who spent more time horizontal than vertical in his heroic and often successful efforts to halt the attacking hordes.

Bourne had numerous short corners and were unable to score from any, which is testament to the South defence and assured goalkeeping of man-of-the-match Shabhaz Ali. In fact, the relatively few attacking short corners that were won by the away team were more sucessful as all resulted in good shots at goal from Ta and Lewis, but sadly none reached the net.

South did have attacks, with Andy Lewis tricky as always and Dan Schofield finding good positions and lively throughout. Unfortunately the final decisive pass wouldn't come and the Bourne defence allowed few efforts on goal from open play.

Although South kept the score to 1-0 for most of the game, the midfield and attack gradually retreated back to help out in defence, leaving few options to break out. Towards the end this trend was reversed in a last ditch attempt to salvage something and South's best moves came in the final quarter. Tired legs and desperation resulted in us not quite capitalising on this, and Bourne rattled in three goals in the last ten minutes to make the scoreline more one-sided than most of the match warranted.

Team played: Shabhaz Ali, Andy Passmore, Ian Evans, Matt Bailey, Ian Glover, John Greaves (c), Andy Lewis, Simon Ta, Wilco Dijkstra, Dan Schofield, Rupert Espley

 

Cambridge South Men's IV 1 - 5 St Ives Men's V

H/T: 1 - 1

Scorers: Leo Tomita
MoM: Ross Weir - a confident performance
LoM: James Hodge - for trying to play the second half with a bottle of water instead of a hockey stick

This was truly a game of two halves, with South dominant in the first half and then somehow losing four goals in the second half.

Unlike many teams in this division, St Ives fielded an older team with a fair amount of experience combined with inexperienced players. A relatively bright start by both teams and South nearly repeated last week's routine as Dom Nelson received a pass from outside the D and spun around to shoot, but this one went narrowly wide.

St Ives however took the lead from a short corner routine. South replied through a similar, though unplanned, move where the ball went back to the injector, Leo Tomita, and he knocked it in. For the remainder of the half it was a case "Will we get another goal?" as South dominated the possession.

The second half was actually quite even, but St Ives managed to score two more short corners and a further two in open play late on from counter attacks. South tried hard to get back and had a number of chances including short corners, but it was just one of those days when the team didn't quite click.

Team played: Shahbaz Ali, David Bridge, Ky Ho, John Sharp, Leo Tomita, Phil Le Gouais, James Hodge (c), Oliver Pattenden, Ross Weir, Simon Jelley, Shahzad Ali, James Raikes, Dominic Nelson

 

Cambridge South Ladies' I 1 - 2 Cambridge City Ladies' III

H/T: 0 - 2

Scorers: Nicky Bareham
MoM: Julie Sadler

Awaiting report

Team played: Sarah Massen, Emma Clarke, Liles Dee, Tash Cox (c), Georgie Hurford, Becca Graveling, Rhiannan Williams, Alice Wall, Julie Sadler, Kelly Charman, Nicky Bareham, Caroline Dent

 

Cambridge South Ladies' II 2 - 0 March Town Ladies' II

H/T: 1 - 0

Scorers: Jodee Webb, Mel Harrison
MoM: Jodee Webb

The drought is over!!!! Saturday November 15th and the Ladies 2nds were victorious versus March 2nds. Not only did we win, but we also played some very nice hockey…really coming together as a team, keeping our formation and supporting one another.

From early on in the game South put a lot of pressure on March with slick passing and tight marking. All players had improved their basic hockey skills and on pitch confidence, so thanks go to Chris Graveling for his coaching expertise on Tuesday! We were fortunate to have Vicky on the sideline as our very own team coach/manager. Also, thank you to everyone who came along to support us…we all appreciated your constant shouting and help from the sideline!

Sarah M continued to make some awesome saves in goal but with South having a lot more of the play in this game she was under a little less pressure than in previous matches! Hayley had her first match with us post-injury, taking control of the back and having a cracking game as sweeper…no-one was going to get past her! Loopy, at centre back, as always showed her fighting determination to put a stop to a lot of March's attacking attempts and get the ball back into the mid-field. With Kristy now moved back into defence (RB) she was able to show off her true hockey ability and made some great tackles and effective channelling.

There had been some gutsy defensive play on the left from Sarah A until she ended up with a stick in her face after half-time…fortunately no fracture but we hope you’re ok Sarah and that those lab goggles can still be worn! Louise G battled again at left back, clearing the ball away back to South players. There was good use of the space that we had, with players moving the ball forward via the midfielders.

Jodee…Jodee Jodee Jodee….her last match with Cambridge South at left midfield before moving New Zealand way and she was very deservedly voted MoM. A deflection from the keeper following a strike from Carla was then superbly swept into the goal by Mrs Webb, making us 1-0 up at half time. Jodee, you’ll be missed a LOT…for your hockey skills and also general loveliness.

Carla had another brilliant game at centre midfield with endless energy, tackles and inter-linking play. Ley was a good linking player between the defence and forwards. She controlled the ball well, making some cracking passes into the D and using the wing well. Ros played well as right midfield, keeping the play wide and making good passes down the line.

Charlie played supportively as the attacking midfielder, reading the ball well and by switching between the left and right she was always in the correct place to receive the ball and pass it smoothly onwards. Bex made some excellent runs on the left, crossing the ball accurately into the D. She continuously battled for the ball to keep it up front, putting more pressure on the March defence. Mel also had some great runs down the right side, dribbling the ball past a slightly slower March player!

The second goal was the result of some rather beautiful team work…passed in the D from Charlie to Ros and then to Mel, who (intentionally) lifted the ball into the top right-hand corner of the net…TWO NIL!!

Now, this may come across as an overly complimentary (and long) match report but we're aware there's still plenty of room for improvement…making sure we all stick to our players "like glue"; continue to keep our positions on the pitch; keeping the pressure up and not sitting back at all; improving our fitness; and having someone on the post!!! But let's hope this is a turning point for the second half of the season.

Team played: Sarah Massen, Carla Fitzachary, Mel Harrison (c), Charlie Orrock, Ros Shattock, Bex Baker, Kristy Taylor, Louise Gutteridge, Lou Tonkin, Sarah Aves, Jodee Webb, Ley Dickman, Hayley Sharpe

 

Reports 16th November 2008

 

Mixed XI put up a fighting display but lose 5-3 to St Ives

 

Southerners (Mixed Team) 3 - 5 St Ives

H/T: 1 - 4

Scorers: Mark Pears, Rob Barton, Mel Harrison
MoM: Kevin Rowland - stripped to his vest in the second half to show off his guns; Neil Sneade - held back the tide in defence and showed some slick moves to release the forwards

A grey and miserable Sunday morning saw the Southerners making their way through the drizzle to congregate at the Perse Girl's rather spiffing, if leaf-covered, astroturf for their third fixture of the season. With a full complement of fifteen, South had no excuse for letting tired legs from the previous day's league fixtures affect their performance.

Fortunately, by the noon push-back the rain had stopped falling and, thanks to some impressive sweeping from Rhiannan Williams, the pitch was considerably clearer of wet leaves. Rumours that some of the team have since booked Rhi to clear their back gardens are unconfirmed.

From the push-back, it was soon clear that St Ives had assembled a formidable team. With slinky stick skills, quick feet and firm hitting, St Ives had South pinned inside their own twenty-five for much of the opening period. In defence, Carla Fitzachary, Neil Sneade and Rhi were working flat out to stifle the St Ives attacks while James Raikes, playing sweeper, was proving a menace to anyone who came too close to his sixteen yard hits.

Despite some valiant defending, the swift interchange of the St Ives players eventually succeeded in penetrating the South defence for the opening goal. However, with so much of the play St Ives felt confident to push high up the pitch and it was a ball played into the resulting space that enabled Mark Pears, haring into the gap, to round the St Ives keeper and, somewhat against the run of play, level the scores.

St Ives weren't flustered though and their confidence in continuing to attack aggressively was rewarded by three more goals before half time, including some excellent short corner routines where the ball was hit cleanly left or right of the goal for the onrushing forwards to turn in. Towards half time, South did begin to get a foothold in the game. Having moved into the centre of defence, Neil showed excellent composure on one occasion in particular to intercept an attack before carrying the ball past three St Ives players and playing a weighted pass into the right-hand channel to release the forwards.

After the break, a reorganised South defence featuring Mark in an unfamiliar sweeping role and a midfield benefiting from the introduction of Dom Nelson were getting to grips with the contest. St Ives were still dominating possession with their superior skills but were no longer carving so easily through the better-organised Southerners. Mark "I've a new respect for defenders" Pears was excelling at closing and clearing and Carla was interchanging brilliantly with Wilco on the left. South began to work openings of their own, with some good play from Rhi and Dom in midfield, and the hard work was rewarded when the ball came to Rob who shot past the St Ives keeper to reduce the margin.

With new enthusiasm, South pressed forward and excellent interplay between Charlie Orrock on the right and Mel Harrison produced more pressure on the St Ives D. Mel eventually get her reward when an initial shot by Rob was beaten away by the keeper, only to fall to Mel who made no mistake with a coolly lifted follow up.

At 4-3, a shock draw looked possible. The defence were working hard but holding well with Sam Cooper, on in place of Carla, doing sterling work in an unfamiliar position at left back. Relieved of some of the defensive burden of the first half, Shahbaz Ali in goal was keeping himself busy with power slides on his knees across the water-based surface and lying on his back in the D making what looked like snow angels: particularly puzzling given the absence of snow! Obviously, too many games for the 3rds have produced a touch of astro-madness. Unfortunately, it was St Ives who showed their quality to score the final goal of the match and clinch the victory.

So, very much a game of two halves, with St Ives comfortably winning the first 4-1 but South edging the second 2-1. Overall, an enjoyable match against a very congenial St Ives side before heading off to The Hat & Feathers to harden the arteries with their usual sausage-chips-and-beans combo.

Team played: Shahbaz Ali, Kevin Rowland, Rob Barton, Neil Sneade, Wilco Dijkstra, Dan Lam, Mark Pears, James Raikes, Dom Nelson, Louise Gutteridge (c), Charlie Orrock, Mel Harrison, Sam Cooper, Rhiannan Williams, Carla Fitzachary