Reports 18th October 2008

Men's 1st XI draw 2-2 with March Town I

Men's 2nd XI come from behind but concede a last-gasp penalty to draw 2-2 with St Ives IV

Men's 3rd XI suffer a narrow defeat, 3-2 to March Town III

Men's 4th XI post the third 2-2 draw of the day at Rutland V

Ladies' 1st XI lose 1-0 to a second half goal from Huntingdon I

Ladies' 2nd XI come up against a strong St Ives III, losing 7-0

Cambridge South Men's I 2 - 2 March Town Men's I

H/T: 1 - 1

Scorers: Chris Baker, Keith Hewitt
MoM: Steve Parker

In a close and fluctuating game which provided keen entertainment for players and spectators alike, South did well to overturn an early deficit, fighting back strongly in the second half before being forced to settle for a share of the points when March grabbed an equaliser seven minutes from time.

In marked contrast to the previous two fixtures against Spalding and Bourne, South were unable to click immediately into their smooth passing groove as March played well up the pitch, strangling opportunity and closing down easy escape routes. Though Matt Readman had an early reverse shot wide of the post, it was the visitors who made most of the running, with an incisive movement from midfield bypassing two wrong-footed defenders to leave an unmarked attacker with a golden chance at the edge of the D. Keeper Steve Parker raced out and parried the ball but was unlucky to see it loop into the net as help arrived.

With lots of strikers free, March nearly doubled the score a minute later, driving wide with all the odds in their favour, and South were hard pressed to string more than a couple of serious moves together. Rob Garrett, indefatigable as ever, manoeuvred his way into a great central position in the March circle but just had the ball filched off his stick at the moment of destiny. By the fifteen minute mark, South had still not broken the shackles and Chris Graveling had had to make one of his famous Horatio-on-the-bridge tackles to bring a dangerous March raid to a halt.

March won their first penalty corner shortly afterwards, Parker leaping up to palm a flick from the ever-tricky Jody Betts over the bar. The South goalie was soon in the thick of things again, anticipating superbly to deny a lone March forward parked on the doorstep and then challenging a bevy of yellow shirts at the edge of the D to shoot harmlessly past the post. Readman then adroitly reversed away a cross from the right which was drilled towards the penalty spot and a man running in.

With Garrett providing extra cover in defence, Graveling eagle-eyed in the tackle and in defence of the aerial ball and Jim Thorpe outstanding in reading the trademark Betts wiggle, South held firm, though Parker again had to show great technique and reactions as, staying half-up against a March striker with all the aces, he gloved down a ball headed for his left-hand corner.

After twenty-five minutes, the March keeper saw his first action as confusion reigned around the spot, and there was more of a pot-pourri after the resulting penalty corner when several South strikers fell over one another trying to apply the elusive final touch. The introduction of Russell Johnson seemed to provide extra pep and he and Garrett worked a fine interplay to set up skipper Chris Baker, who was displaced at the last gasp. South built on their hard work, Thorpe shimmying purposefully through the middle to give Garrett and Johnson the chance to squeeze the March rearguard, who for once were slow to clear. From the resulting short, a well-rehearsed slip move saw Garrett skilfully holding the ball long enough to draw the defenders towards him and then feed Baker, who arrowed it through the keeper's legs for the equaliser on twenty-eight minutes.

March continued to menace, with Betts riding four tackles before flicking wide but, after Parker had deftly deflected away an attempted tip-in, South gained their second wind and started to play with more authority. Thorpe brought down an aerial and accelerated out of trouble, Garrett nearly connected with Baker after a long run up the right and Readman made his presence felt with an arboricidal tackle that stayed marginally on the legal side of illegal.

The last five minutes of the half was real backs-to-the-wall stuff as March failed to convert three successive shorts, dragging the first just wide and then seeing the second brilliantly charged down by Eliot Read, who took a pearler on the thigh for his pains. Finally, as Betts homed in with a characteristic jink, Parker stared him out and somehow diverted a goalbound flick over the bar with his arm from point-blank range.

After half-time, with Lukas Snetler replacing Rupert Webb, who had battled gamely despite a heavy cold, South had to weather a further initial storm, with Parker making a terrific diving reverse-stick tackle at full stretch as he was pulled across the D and then kicking clear as two forwards ran on to a through ball. But Thorpe once more stopped Betts in his tracks and, in a perfect counter-attack, Garrett rounded the March defence like a wall-of-death rider, pulling the ball back for Hewitt to bury it first time with a resounding clatter as the keeper dived too late.

The go-ahead goal heralded South's best spell of the game as Baker forced a save, March's forwards repeatedly failed to make any headway against Thorpe and Readman and South at last began to find some width through Read, Garrett and the committed Snetler. Mike Thorogood set up several promising moves with no-nonsense route-one distribution and the defensive mesh became tighter with good close support from Readman in particular, though Parker again had to be at his most alert as Betts tried to finagle one through his legs.

Over the next five minutes, South had their chances to make it 3-1, with Hewitt shedding blood for the cause as he tried to stuff in a cross moments after drawing a good save from the March keeper, and both Garrett, fed by Thorogood, and Baker, from a short, nearly working the oracle. As Baker bossed the game through his calm, sophisticated, hold-and-go distribution, the momentum was with South and, after Parker had again refused entry to a Betts short corner with an adamant left glove, the team looked strong and confident at both back and front. Graveling shot out his impassable stick, Thorpe brought off a life-saver at the edge of the D as a striker teed up and Johnson and Baker combined to unleash Snetler for a powerful reverse shot.

But March gradually recovered their composure and finally turned the tide on 63 minutes as they overcame strong tackling from Read and Baker to exploit a slight over-commitment up front. A pacy run down their right wing exposed gaps in the South defence and a well-weighted cross was roofed from close range to set up a nerve-jangling last few minutes.

South did well to keep out a sixth opposition short and, gaining possession deep in their own left corner after an ominous build-up of one-time passes from March, Thorogood, with a nifty lifted ball, found Snetler, who cleverly reverse-dinked to Johnson, making a good forty yards from the tightest of spots. A final penalty corner three minutes from time gave South hopes of sneaking it at the death but the feed back to Graveling was slightly awry and he was left trying to negotiate an impossible reverse angle. There was still time for him to marshal much-needed resistance in the South zone before the final whistle, which presaged an unexpected attempt by March to lodge the match ball in a part of Hewitt's anatomy where it had no right to be. Perpetrator and victim soon made up and it was generally agreed that an excellent game – confidently handled by umpires Rob Barton and Jim Sutcliffe – had been had by all.

A draw was probably a fair result and South can take heart from the fact that this was a match they would likely have lost a couple of years back. Although unable to play quite as attackingly as they might have wished for all the game, they scored two well-worked goals and, importantly, could be justly pleased with a disciplined defensive performance which allowed March relatively few shorts and neutralised their danger men for most of the time.

Meeting the two relegated teams from last year's Division 2N in the first four games has provided South with a useful indication of their credentials, but next week's encounter with Ely is a crucial one. This, and the rest of the season, will take place without the services of the experienced Mike Thorogood, who departs for France with the club's best wishes and thanks for his classy and committed contribution over the past seasons.

Team played: Steve Parker, Rupert Webb, Jim Thorpe, Chris Graveling, Mike Thorogood, Matt Readman, Rob Garrett, Eliot Read, Russell Johnson, Chris Baker (c), Keith Hewitt, Lukas Snetler

St Ives Men's IV 2 - 2 Cambridge South Men's II

H/T: 0 - 0

Scorers: Rob Barton, Kevin Rowland
MoM: Nick Bristowe - a rock in midfield
LoM: Dave Aston - for getting himself sin-binned as soon as he came on the pitch (at the wrong place) as a substitute

The Ivo Outdoor Centre witnessed a see-saw contest between two well-matched teams with momentum gradually building towards a frantic climax.

Despite a late withdrawal by Ron Oren (sore thumb and blisters; it's not clear if the two were linked), necessitating a call up for Johnny Benedikz, and with Neil Sneade also less than 100% (cold), South were confident they could still take a result from the game. However, when the match did get under way South initially struggled against an insurgent St Ives side and were finding it hard to settle into their rhythm, thanks in no small part to smart, pressing play from St Ives.

In what was generally a well-tempered game, it was a surprise when a green card for repeated stick tackling was produced for South within the first five minutes. Worse was to follow when, South having already been warned for a substitute entering the pitch before the departing player had left, a repeat infringement saw Dave Aston yellow-carded into the sin bin. Down to ten men, South battened down the shutters for the remainder of the half, relying on the speed and trickery of Mark Pears up front to keep the St Ives defence honest on the break.

After some gentle half-time arse-kicking from captain Kev, South came out with renewed determination. With eleven men back on the pitch, South started to venture towards the opposition's D again. Despite this, it was St Ives who opened the scoring with a smartly taken goal. The ball was hit right to left from the top of the D through a crowd of players for the left winger to deflect it in from just outside the far post.

Stung, South regrouped and pushed forward. On the wings, Tim Clapp on the right and Patrick Farmbrough, in his first league game for South on the left, were causing all sorts of problems for the St Ives defence. Arsenal was continuing to cause havoc up front and Villa seemed determined to make up for his enforced ten minutes of idleness at the end of the first half by running twice as hard in the second.

With the play increasingly shifting into St Ives's twenty-five, South won a succession of short corners but twice good strikes from Dave Monck were saved by the keeper. There were fifteen minutes left on the clock when the breakthrough finally came. Another push into the St Ives D saw Rob Barton pick up the ball, manoeuvre to create space and then jab the ball beyond the keeper.

On top and scenting a win, South refused to take their foot off the gas. A free hit was won just outside the St Ives D and the Monckosaurus stepped up to give the ball another taste of his particular hard-hitting punishment. Looking up, he spied the Cardinal lurking just outside the right post with Arsenal in front of him. Suddenly, Mark made a darting run, drawing his marker from in front of Kev just as the Monckosaurus unleashed the power, leaving the South captain to angle his stick and deflect the wide-bound ball past the stranded keeper.

Ten minutes to go and the 'big mo' was with South. With St Ives having no answer on the pitch, the game was thrown back into the mix by a second yellow card for South when Nick Bristowe, outstanding all game in the defensive midfield role, was judged to have verbally dissented an umpiring decision and received his marching orders.

St Ives seized their opportunity and, with bare minutes left on the clock, won a short corner. After a short pause while the umpire moved the goal posts another inch apart, the resulting shot was charged down and deflected off George Wych's stick high in the air towards goal. Standing on the line, Dave Monck instinctively raised his stick to protect those rough-hewn good looks and diverted the ball wide and over. The umpire however judged that the ball had been hit rather than blocked and signalled a penalty flick, which was despatched low to keeper Lino Di Lorenzo's right to level the scores.

On the overall balance of play, a draw was probably a reasonable result, but the late penalty flick was a bitter pill for South to swallow. Still undefeated in the league though, South came away proud of their performance and determined to make amends in their next game to get their promotion push back on course.

After the match, captain Kev Rowland said, "We all felt somewhat disapointed in the draw after the team's gutsy and hard working performance on the day. We had nearly twenty minutes with only ten men on the field due to yellow cards, giving the opposition an advantage. Sometimes the odds are against you but I'm sure what happened on the pitch will only make the guys hungry for the win next week…and the return game."

Team played: Lino Di Lorenzo, John Benedikz, Nick Bristowe, Dave Monck, George Wych, Neil Sneade, Dave Aston, Kevin Rowland (c), Tim Clapp, Patrick Farmbrough, Rob Barton, Mark Pears

Cambridge South Men's III 2 - 3 March Town Men's III

H/T: 1 - 0

Scorers: John Greaves, Toby Bull
MoM: James Lee - great exhibition of right back play; kept the best opposition forward quiet all afternoon

A lovely sunny day…again

March looked the better team from the start, with some great moves, but were unable to score, mainly due to some heroic defending with the returning Matt Bailey and calm, confident Man of the Match, James Lee, making frequent saving tackles.

It was Cambridge South who opened the scoring from one of their breakaway moves, with Andy Lewis hitting the ball into the D for ace goal poacher John Greaves to turn it into the net from his usual two yard range.

March gained the upper hand early in the second half with an expert short corner move and then a goalmouth scramble past a despairing Stuart Creed who was unlucky not to get the ball away, and got himself injured in the process.

The home team stuck at the task and Toby Bull equalised with a fine hooked effort form a tight angle. Sadly March got the winner as they outnumbered a tiring home defence for their third. South were unable to come back again, although the effort never flagged.

March probably deserved to win as they were generally superior, had more of the ball and in better positions. Nevertheless South 3rds showed some encouraging signs with better earlier passing in attack, more decisive defending and running off the ball.

Next week…Alford away, with points needed to make an impact on this league.

Team played: Phil Le Gouais, Rupert Espley, Ian Evans, John Greaves (c), Andy Lewis, Ian Glover, Paul South, Stuart Creed, Toby Bull, Dan Schofield, James Lee, Matt Bailey

Rutland Men's V 2 - 2 Cambridge South Men's IV

H/T: 0 - 1

Scorers: James Hodge, Dom Nelson
MoM: James Hodge - for his goal and all the running in midfield

Rutland field a young side who were expected to be skilful and quick, if a little inexperienced. The game started slowly, probably due to the early start and both sides found it difficult to get decent moves going. Eventually, CSHC 4ths started to assert more possession but were unable to convert chances into goals, largely thanks to a very good performance from the Rutland keeper.

South's opening goal came from a sloppily taken sixteen yard hit by Rutland and James Hodge took advantage to give South the lead.

As the weather warmed up in the second half, both teams played at a quicker pace [Ed. - it's a little-known fact that South 4ths are cold blooded]. South again had a number of chances missed or saved before Rutland won a couple of short corners and eventually converted one through a player with a pink stick, into the keeper's bottom right corner.

South responded straight away and James Raikes went on one of those '"I shall take them all on myself runs" which ended with him crossing to Don Nelson, whose shot narrowly missed the goal.

South continue to dominate and a pass from the left of the pitch found James Raikes just inside the D. He passed slickly to Dom Nelson, who finished it off beautifully with his reverse stick à la Rob Barton-style.

Not to be outdone, Rutland started to attack and managed to equalise through a superb shot from a short corner by that man with the pink stick, this time into the keeper's bottom left corner. South continue to press for the winner, but again the Rutland keeper kept out the shots on goal.

Team played: Phil Le Gouais, David Bridge, Ky Ho, John Sharp, Ian Glover, Shahzad Ali, James Hodge (c), Dom Nelson, James Raikes, Rob Smith, Shane Sanigar

Cambridge South Ladies' I 0 - 1 Huntingdon Ladies' I

H/T: 0 - 0

Scorers:
MoM:

Awaiting report

Team played: Georgie Hurford, Liles Dee, Tash Cox (c), Nicky Bareham, Cassie Woodfin, Jodee Webb, Julie Sadler, Jenny Furlow, Leonie Dickman, Carla Fitzachary, Kelly Charman

St Ives Ladies' III 7 - 0 Cambridge South Ladies' II

H/T: 2 - 0

Scorers:
MoM: Mel Harrison