Reports 21st March 2009

Men's 1st XI can't quite match Cambridge Nomads II in a 3-2 defeat

Men's 2nd XI suffer a bruising encounter with March Town III, eventually losing 6-1

Men's 3rd XI play host to Boston II in a 2-2 draw

Men's 4th XI rack up a 6-0 away win against Rutland IV

Ladies' 1st XI suffer a 3-0 defeat to Cambridge University Ladies' III

 

Cambridge South Men's I 2 - 3 Cambridge Nomads Men's II

H/T: 1 - 2

Scorers: Chris Baker, Keith Hewitt
MoM: Rob Garrett

On a fine and, for once, relatively windless day at Wilberforce Road, South were mortified to come away empty-handed from a local derby it always seemed in their power to win.

Though forced to start with ten men, the hosts wasted no time in imposing their presence, with Chris Graveling commanding at the back and Russell Johnson and in particular Rob Garrett and the prolific Keith Hewitt repeatedly motoring forward with intent. Hewitt was stopped in the circle on one occasion and nearly put Eliot Read through for a conversion on another, while skipper Chris Baker showed his spell by the pool had not diluted his solid stickwork when releasing Garrett for a speedy run on the right wing. Matt Readman dealt capably with a teasing aerial under pressure, Jim Thorpe dusted up any loose stuff that came his way and Chris Massey raced nobly from left-back to right-back to strangle a Nomads' breakaway.

Hewitt had a shot blocked following a forthright move through Readman and Baker, then Baker won a short after Graveling had magically filched the ball and laid it off to Hewitt. The short strike was also neutralised and Nomads enjoyed a brief period of good possession, forcing Thorpe to cover up and shell out and Garrett to lend assured support in the home twenty-five. Nomads had a golden chance on twenty minutes when finding a man free in the circle but Steve Parker was swiftly on top of him to snuff out the immediate threat. A crisp penalty corner for the visitors went wide before an even spell ensued, with both sides probing for an advantage. Garrett was in the thick of the action, tackling, intercepting and distributing, and Read and Baker also had an intelligent hand in numerous transition plays.

Thorpe then distinguished himself with a nonchalant interception that initially appeared to be beyond his wingspan before Hewitt, pumping furiously as ever, was unlucky to gain nothing from a blistering run round the right corner. Nomads were fortunate to avoid conceding after a superb run by Readman nearly breached their defences but South got their just deserts when, following busy action round the edge of the D from Lukas Snetler, Hewitt won a second short. The tried-and-tested Read-Baker-Garrett axis did its job with mechanical efficiency, allowing the skipper to slot the ball neatly home under the keeper from close range.

With five minutes to go to the break, though, South let themselves down with two defensive errors, the first leading to a precision cross that left Parker in goal hung out to dry as a Nomads forward had time to pick his spot, the second triggering a short corner that pinballed around before eventually finding its way in despite two point-blank saves from Parker. South had an opportunity to redress the balance almost immediately but Johnson's shot, fuelled by excellent work from Garrett, hit the keeper.

Straight after the restart, it was Garrett again who delivered a pinpoint centre which both Johnson and Snetler did their best to convert, neither locating the necessary wood, but the same trio put in the hard yards again two minutes on, leaving Garrett and, decisively, Hewitt to bulldoze the Nomads' keeper and persuade the ball over the line by sheer force of will.

Then came the match-turning moment as South, like many other teams in similar circumstances, instinctively pulled up in anticipation of a whistle after an incident in the D, leaving a hiatus which Nomads exploited to wade in unopposed when the whistle was not forthcoming. After understandable protests, South buckled down to the task in hand and won three shorts over the next five minutes but they could not make the advantage tell as the away defence efficiently cleared its lines.

Readman wound himself up a few notches, putting in a brilliant reverse stop on a man running through, setting Massey up to burst through a couple of cement-mixer tackles and releasing Garrett, who forced the keeper to clear. Thorpe shillelaghed his way out of a corner in a manner suggestive of Irish ancestry before Snetler again found Garrett up front, while at the other end Graveling and Parker saw off a couple of rebel incursions with equanimity. Graveling then got the team out of further danger with an exquisitely-timed reverse prod before Nomads repeatedly, and rather successfully, took to the air, forcing the defence to retreat hurriedly under pressure.

Garrett and Hewitt continued to prowl menacingly and Hewitt managed to evade the close shadowing to front up for a Baker pass which ended up marginally behind him. He was suffocated again after a good feed from Massey but, in the follow-up to South's seventh penalty corner, he looked to be sending a lobbed flick roofwards until a South stick touched it above shoulder height and the play was blown up.

As the final ten minutes began, South redoubled their efforts, with Readman bringing off a fine poke-check and pulling the trigger for Hewitt to shoot off upfield. Garrett forced the pace on the left, while Massey, Snetler and Baker all moved it on with the necessary controlled urgency. South survived a scare when a rare Nomads counter-attack saw the ball rifled through the D, nearly locating a man well-placed at the far post, but otherwise the last five was all South as Garrett and Hewitt beavered for the breakthrough, Garrett once narrowly failing to connect with an excellent pass from Massey which would have left him with a clear run in. A Baker strike from the hosts' eighth short corner collapsed under a welter of hacking and a ninth was deflected for a long; in between, Massey popped up from nowhere (or somewhere) and nearly got on the end of a great Hewitt cross for what would have been a fantasy goal.

Garrett shot just wide from a Thorpe feed with two minutes on the clock and Readman, with a capital S on his chest, punched a hole through four would-be assailants to win South's tenth short on the whistle. Late redemption beckoned as the slip found Garrett on the right but his pass back yielded only a despairing deflection that evaded the all-important bit between the posts.

South, who in truth had not deserved to lose, were left to rue that unfortunate third goal and their inability to convert more than one of the ten short corners they had fought so hard to win. The firepower was there to overcome the two earlier defensive lapses but credit must be given to the visiting defence who, despite having to withstand some serious pressure, kept a brake on genuine opportunities to the extent that their keeper in the end had surprisingly little to do.

South are off to the seaside next week for a key game against the talented Alford side, whom they nevertheless beat 3-0 in a fluent and convincing display before Christmas. A repeat performance would be most welcome and, if the home defence is as insubstantial as candy floss and the visiting attack as keen as the East Coast breezes, it promises to be - as all the posters will tell you - So Bracing!

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

 

March Town Men's III 6 - 1 Cambridge South Men's II

H/T: 1 - 0

Scorer: Mark Pears
MoM: Nick Bristowe - indefatigable in midfield on his return to the team
LoM: Dom Nelson - can't remember the reason. Spent a lot of time on his arse? Harsh as he shed blood (literally) for the cause though.

It was a late, late start for South away at March, the sun already sinking by the time the game pushed back after a slight delay at 4.15pm.

From early on, it became clear than South had come for a contest but March had come for a war. Undoubted skill from the team occupying third place in the table was mixed with aggressive, physical play, repeated appealing, dissent and a general ugliness of attitude than made this easily the least enjoyable fixture of the season.

The early exchanges were closely contested, with play fairly evenly balanced. On the break though, March's midfielders showed their pace and skill to set up dangerous attacks. Their bruiser of a centre forward, who seemed to be somewhat confused between the rules of hockey and rugby, used his considerable bulk to try and bully or intimidate the South defence. He was eventually green carded for a verbal tirade at Dom Nelson after sending him crashing to the ground.

The breakthrough, when it came, was made by March and the solitary goal was all that stood between the teams at the interval. The problem for South of having three of their team already with seventy minutes in their legs from doubling up for the 3rds and 4ths earlier in the day was compounded by an injury to Neil Sneade just ten minutes into the game. A raised strike just above the knee left him with dimple marks in his quad and a steadily stiffening leg. With no substitutes, South had a defender reduced to hobbling around at the back, unable to run or cover March's attacking breaks.

This physical deficit began to take its toll in the second half, as March increasingly found space in and around South's twenty-five. March pressed home their advantage and some absentee marking, combined with good strikes from the home team, added five to their tally. The balance of play itself, meanwhile, remained remarkably even. Nick Bristowe, back from his sojourn in Germany, was working his socks off in midfield aided by returning South veteran Sanjay Agarwala. The March keeper was repeatedly called on to make a string of fine saves as Dave Aston on the left and Rob Barton and Mark Pears up front all created opportunities. To the huge frustration of South, they were unable to capitalise on these chances.

South finally got their consolation when a March foot on the line resulted in the award of a penalty flick, confidently buried by Arsenal into the side netting. The only remaining incident of note from the second period was a further green card to March for dangerous play when a player took a baseball swing at shoulder height at a ball in the air near the South twenty-five as George charged out to cover. Fortunately for George's health, the player failed to connect, before having the gall to argue with the umpire and claim his reckless behaviour was self defence!

So, a third defeat on the trot for South. Whereas the first defeat against St Neots was frustrating and the second against Rutland was encouraging, to lose to such a bunch of graceless, fouling twats as March was undoubtedly the most disappointing result of the season.

After the game, captain Kev Rowland said "That was a physical contest out there today and we couldn't match them. The importance of fresh legs on the pitch to compete in these sort of games was underlined. We'll draw a line under this one and look to get back on track with three wins to finish the season."

Team played: Lino Di Lorenzo, Ron Oren, George Wych, Neil Sneade, Dom Nelson, Dave Aston, Nick Bristowe, Sanjay Agarwala, Kevin Rowland (c), Mark Pears, Rob Barton

 

Cambridge South Men's III 2 - 2 Boston Men's II

H/T: 1 - 1

Scorers: Andy Lewis, John Greaves
MoM: Stuart Creed - exemplary right back play throughout

A good flowing game, with both sides having the chances to win. First blood to Boston, who scored from a classy short corner move soon after the start. This was somewhat against the run of play, but Cambridge South couldn't convert good passing and positive attacks into shots on goal. Luckily the old Greaves/Lewis routine worked as well as ever to gain the equaliser, with an Andy Lewis corker straight from the short giving the keeper no chance.

The home team got quite a few short corners but in spite of getting more shots on goal, couldn't get the ball into the net. One of the best efforts came from the in-form Rupert Espley, whose cultured flick towards the top corner was brilliantly tipped over the bar by John Greaves.

All through the game the midfield trio of Dean, Nelson and Dijkstra limited Boston to playing down the flanks where James Lee and Stu Creed harried them. When they did get through they were confronted by the fearsome John Benedikz.

South took the lead halfway through the second half, with John Greaves ramming a Stu Creed free hit decisively into goal. Unfortunately as South tired towards the end, Boston found fresh energy and got their second from a fast breakaway whilst most of the home team were puzzling over how they had managed to steal the ball. This was a shame since South were having a good spell and put together numerous excellent moves, but the Boston defence were usually able to recover the ball as attackers searched for the final pass or shot.

The final moments passed agonisingly slowly as the entire Boston team went up for a succession of short corners, but they couldn't get a winner.

This draw ensured safety in Div 5NW, with two games to go to try to reach mid table.

Team played: Shahbaz Ali, Wilco Dijkstra, Stu Creed, Dom Nelson, Rupert Espley, John Somerfield, Tim Dean, John Benedikz, James Lee, John Greaves (c), Andy Lewis

 

Rutland Men's IV 0 - 6 Cambridge South Men's IV

H/T: 0 - 4

Scorers: Shahzad Ali, Rob Barton (4), James Hodge
MoM: Tejas - for bravely going in goal; Manish - for his overall contribution to the game

It was a lovely sunny day despite a frosty start to the morning. South got off to quick goal scrambled in by Shahzad, who is making a habit of scoring the odd goal here and there. From that point onwards, it was a little one sided and goals from Rob Barton (x2) and James Hodge made it 0-4 at HT.

The second half saw the young Rutland side fighting for more possessions and their defence grew stronger. They were however undone by another James Hodge special short corner which disrupted an otherwise resilient defence and that made it 0-5. Rob Barton scored yet another to make it 0-6.

Team played: Tejas Belagod, James Raikes, James Hodge (c), Simon Jelley, John Sharp, Ron Oren, Manish Verma, Ky Ho, David Bridge, Rob Barton, Shahzad Ali

 

Cambridge South Ladies' I 0 - 3 Cambridge University Ladies' III

H/T: 0 - 1

Scorers:
MoM:

Awaiting report

Team played: Becca Graveling, Cassie Woodfin, Nicky Bareham, Claire Sherwood, Georgie Hurford, Hayley Sharpe (c), Tash Cox, Liles Dee, Caroline Dent, Ellie Raffan