Reports 12th December 2009
Men's 1sts beat City of Peterborough 5
Men's 2nds beat City of Peterborough to keep their 100% record at the Leys.
Men's 3rds move up the league with a win at Wisbech Town
Men's 4ths come back from 3 goals down to draw with Ely City
City of Peterborough V 2 - 3 Cambridge South Men's I
H/T: 1 - 1
Scorers: Tristen Knight, Rob Garrett (2)
MoM: Steve Parker, Rob Garrett
In an even contest against a Peterborough side who had scored only twice and conceded 18 in their last four games but certainly didn't live down to it, South held their nerve to run out winners by the odd goal in five.
It was clear from the start that South, 8-1 victors over the same side in the first game of the season, were going to find things much tougher this time round. Missing several regulars themselves and faced with an opposition comprising a committed (and vocal) blend of youth and experience, they were under pressure for much of the first ten minutes. An early short corner was successfully charged down but most of the danger came from a nippy right winger who was unafraid to take his man on and made good use of the self-pass rule at free hits. Ron Oren had to be at his very best to nullify this threat and his sterling efforts at this early stage were critical in preventing Peterborough getting away to a flyer. South eventually prised themselves free, however, and their first real chance came on the ten-minute mark when Rob Garrett, always a handful for the home defence, scooted up the left and found Mark Pears, whose attempt at rounding the keeper was foiled by a late diving stick. Pears then hounded down a long ball into the corner and squared to Garrett, but the latter's shot was slightly miscued and even a tip-on from Russell Johnson failed to redirect it to the target.
Richard Morgan and Chris Graveling were being kept busy at the back as Peterborough persistently played a man high but it was Oren who started the deadlock-breaking move when he passed hard upfield to Pears, who worked a swift and unselfish interplay with the advancing Garrett to draw the defence out of position. The captain took full advantage and slotted the ball home neatly to snap a seven-game goalless streak with his second of the league season on 13 minutes.
Peterborough quickly got a slap hit into the South D and a reversed shot from the penalty spot looked as though it might spell danger but Steve Parker stayed cool, faced the striker down and kicked out to safety. Despite a lack of concerted possession, South always had the pace to threaten and Tristen Knight's pass to Chris Baker was soon whipped on to Pears, who set Johnson free at close range. The South winger, with his customary bravery, took the keeper on man-to-man but ended up on the deck as a sliding clearance took his legs and the ball from under him. Graveling and Leo Tomita, a welcome addition, triggered another attack into the D but Peterborough slowly shifted the balance despite Garrett's hard work and some thoughtful interventions by Knight. Morgan, who had one of his best games in South colours, handled a tricky situation in the bottom corner with studied coolness, reversing upfield under pressure, while Oren, the doughty Jim Thorpe and Graveling all had to be on their mettle, Thorpe twice halting Peterborough surges and returning the ball with interest and Graveling doing one of his speciality postage-stamp escape manoeuvres while surrounded by a gaggle of attackers.
The home side then took advantage of a controversial free hit resulting from an aerial and forged a way through to the circle, where an unmarked man got in a good position to reverse. Parker covered impressively, however, blocking the shot in an advanced position and diving back to his post as the ball was shepherded to safety. He was quickly out again to kick clear as a deflection was tipped in and, after Knight had just missed the target following a swift build-up involving Garrett and the terrier-like Pears, the action focused once more on the South back line as Morgan, Oren and Thorpe all worked overtime to keep things in hand. Peterborough were justifiably awarded their second short corner after a tackle from the wrong side and their specialist striker, for some reason not occupying his usual slot two teams and a division higher, crashed the ball in hard, Parker doing well to get a piece of it. The umpires awarded the goal after consulting but, to this correspondent at least, the ball always appeared to be appreciably above backboard height and should therefore have been ruled out.
A clumsy tackle under pressure gave the home side their third short just before the break but, this time, the injection was substandard and Thorpe seized on the aftermath to clear with confidence. Knight's fine pass to Pears nearly resulted in a South reply but, after a late fast break up the right involving Johnson, Baker and Garrett, the half ended all square.
On the resumption, Garrett carried on where he had left off, stealing the ball in midfield and laying it off to Baker, whose speedy and uncomplicated distribution served South well throughout the game. But Peterborough attacked with renewed vigour, and Morgan twice had to put in superbly-timed tackles to keep them at bay. Garrett also lent much-needed assistance as Baker was pounced on by footpads and Graveling required all his skill to extricate himself single-handedly from the mob. Garrett's pace relieved the pressure momentarily, though his long run with men in support was terminated by a missed pass, and further progress was made when Johnson latched on to Thorpe's through ball and beat four men before channelling on to Baker and Pears. Tomita made a big win in midfield before Peterborough sliced across the face of goal and were awarded a short after South were harshly penalised for lifting the ball when no other players were in the vicinity. Fortunately, Parker read the slip and flick and was in just the right position to make a left pad save which was then neatly cleared. Thorpe, reacting to the tight marking at sixteens, summoned up the heavy artillery to good effect but Baker also made himself intelligently available for a shorter route. South had to work extremely hard out of defence at this point, with Garrett neding to beat four men on his own 25 just to hang on to possession, and even Thorpe made a late pitch for Strictly with some deft footwork to round three opponents moments after delivering a blockbuster tackle. Knight also displayed a stiff upper lip when contesting several 50-50 balls up front, while Morgan continued his fine performance with a resounding challenge in the left corner.
There were occasional chances at the other end, however, and Baker and Knight interpassed smoothly to give Pears an opportunity but time ran out on him and the ball was whisked upfield, where a deflection off a defensive stick released a home attacker into the circle. Thankfully, Parker rapidly closed him down, blocking the shot on the ground and then driving play wide to stop any follow-up. There was little respite, though, as Peterborough were awarded a fifth penalty corner, from which they overcame a fudged stop to return the ball to the D, move it right and then shoot at an angle towards the far corner. But, in a vital passage, Parker dived full-length to his right to make a great stick save and, as the ball hovered for what seemed like hours in front of an attacking stick, he knocked it out of reach at the key moment and South breathed again. The home side soon bore down again inexorably on the penalty spot and, this time, Morgan and Thorpe were on hand to funnel it out with measured sang froid.
After Pears, Garrett and Baker had combined to get a shot on the Peterborough goal (saved at the left post), South won their first and only short after 55 minutes. A strike from Baker after a slip by Garrett was deflected for a long and, in the ensuing push goalwards, Garrett raked across the D, drew the keeper to his left and rattled home into the far corner to put South back into the lead. South consolidated at this stage, with exemplary tackling from Graveling and Thorpe, neat control from Baker and sensible distribution from Tomita. Knight got stuck in on the left wing, too, and another chance was manufactured via the Baker-Johnson-Pears axis, this time a reverse from Pears which may just have skimmed the keeper's left post but which nevertheless drew a good stretch save. With the momentum in their favour, South pressed hard and, after nuggety work from Pears in the D, Knight did well to get in front of the keeper and stick the ball home from what was for him uncharacteristically close range.
Though this goal, scored after 60 minutes, gave South a welcome cushion, Peterborough were nothing daunted and won a sixth short when Garrett prostrated himself on the byline in stopping a dangerous attack near the post. The resulting strike, which had both weight and dip as expected, was confidently blocked by Parker, who then sticked it out of harm's way himself. A counter-attack featuring Thorpe, Oren and Baker nearly succeeded in getting Johnson into the thick of the home D but Peterborough were soon back, Morgan composedly tackling in the right corner, Tomita rescuing Baker from a further mugging and Thorpe and Garrett struggling to break the shackles on the left. With four minutes to go, Peterborough won their seventh short as South were forced to hit out under pressure and, although Parker again saved a rocket of a direct strike, an attacker was on hand to lift the rebound into the net; even then, it grazed the helmet on the way in. To their credit, South did not become sicklied o'er and, in spite of a nervy moment which was smoothed over by Tomita's controlled reverse out under strife, it was the visitors who finished marginally stronger. Peterborough were lucky not to concede a short when Johnson was upended in the home 25 and late shots from Baker and Pears had to be beaten out. Thankfully, the final minutes played out quickly and, with Knight beavering away in safe territory, the welcome whistle sounded.
Though skipper Garrett, who led by example throughout, felt that this was far from being South's best performance of the season, this game was a potential banana skin which the team, through commitment and perseverance, did well to avoid slipping up on. The home side, very much belying their league position and looking better than their sole victory over Nomads would suggest, were organised, had skilful younger players with a leavening of experienced veterans and possessed serious scoring potential from the set piece.
With the three points from this match, South complete the pre-Christmas schedule in third place, three points behind Wisbech, who have an almost identical record in terms of goals for and against and boast, along with South, the meanest defence in the league. This third position would in fact have been fourth but a recent League review of an umpiring irregularity in the game between Peterborough V and the University resulted in the Light Blues' victory being overturned and the points awarded to Peterborough. This circumstance, unfortunate in itself for the side affected, benefits South in some measure and it is important to capitalise on this in the New Year. After a trip to Deeping on 16 January, South have consecutive games against Wisbech, the University and bogey team Rutland and it is the results of these three key encounters which will ultimately determine the direction of their season.
Team played: Steve Parker, Leo Tomita, Ron Oren, Jim Thorpe, Chris Graveling, Rich Morgan, Russell Johnson, Tristen Knight, Chris Baker, Rob Garrett, Mark Pears
Cambridge South Men's II 3 - 1 City of Peterborough VI
H/T: 2 - 1
Scorers: Nick Bristowe, Kev Rowland, Rob Barton
MoM: Rob Leigh
LOM: Rob Barton (Unanimous vote for saving a certain goal from Dave Aston off the P'Boro line!)
South ended 2009 with another win at Fortress Leys over bottom side City of Peterborough 6 to bring some early Christmas cheer after last week's trip to the North Pole and maintain South 100% record at Home.
In the absence of Dave Aston, Dave Monck donned the captain's armband (or rather he would have done if we could find it) and marshalled the troops in suitably pre-historic fashion. Rumour had it that the Monckausaurus was considering asking if the entire team could play dressed as cavemen and with clubs instead of sticks until the green shirts arrived and a more conservative dress theme was adopted.
Rather than being a cracker, the game was rather like the pair of socks from the great aunt you rip open in the vain hope that a £20 note might be stuffed inside.
After an uneventful and goalless 20 minutes, South took the lead from their first short corner with Nick Bristowe applying the finish via a defender's stick to spin over the line. South then doubled that lead when man of the match Rob Leigh found himself with time and space and lobbed an inch perfect pass over a defender's stick to the waiting Rob Barton to do the rest. Rob Leigh and Ali Ward's high work rates were influential all game as they tore into the opposition like a Jack Russell attached to a postman's trouser leg and the midfield of Kardinal Kev, Bhav and Jack Chalk once again formed an impenetrable Christmas Pudding through the middle.
At 2-0 South looked comfortable but without really threatening to nail the coffin completely shut against a side which fashioned little in the way of chances. Perhaps it was the prospect of the Roast Turkey and trimmings awaiting in less than a fortnight's time that meant mid-way through the second half Peterborough threatened a revival by converting their own short corner after a gift wrapped opportunity was presented at Ben Buckley's left hand post, leaving the keeper feeling like Santa Clause reprimanding his elves. The defence of Manu, George, the Monckausaurus, Nick and JB were not otherwise overworked, and presumably were spurred on by the fragrant smell of Santa's newly washed shorts.
Normality was resumed shortly afterwards when The Right Reverend Kardinal Kevin Rowland blasted home a short corner into the middle of the backboard after a Peterborough defender had earlier got himself in the way of a rising shot.
By this time, Dave Aston had decided that audit work in USA was far less important that South's final fixture of 2009 and promptly appeared for a gallant second half cameo. Sadly for him, he was denied his moment of glory when he was thwarted by none other than Rob "Christmas Turkey" Barton, sporting a new silver fox haircut. He had decided that Dave had no right to turn up late and beat the keeper and the final defender with an exquisite shot, so Rob lifted a ball rolling into the empty net on to the post instead. The rest of the team had already at that point resumed their positions for push-back and both umpires were getting their notebooks out to signal a 4th goal. There were reports after the game that Lord Barton of Chesterton was seen collecting a bag full of old £5 notes from an unnamed betting consortium in the Leys Car Park. He made a quick exit and the first ever unanimous lemon award was granted in his absence.
So, 3-1 it finished and with Ely's win in Long Sutton, South end 2009 in 5th place in 4NW.
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| Dave Monck |
After the game stand-in captain Dave Monck roared "GROWL........" and thumped his tail on the ground:
I guess that means Happy Christmas.
Team played: Ben Buckley, John Benedikz, Manu Bhardwaj, George Wych, Dave Monck, Nick Bristowe, Jack Chalk, Rob Leigh, Bhavdeep Virdi, Kev Rowland, Rob Barton, Ali Ward
Wisbech Town IV 1 - 3 Cambridge South Men's III
H/T: 0 - 1
Scorers: James Hodge, Andy Lewis, John Greaves
MoM: Andy Lewis (Everywhere; usually with the ball terrorising the opposition. Great reverse stick goal.)
This was a bit more like the 3rd team we know and love. A great team performance against a strong Wisbech team gave the 3rds their first double of the season, and moved them up the table ..swapping places with Wisbech on the way.
Dominant goal keeping from Shabhaz , with a couple of acrobatic saves, supported by assertive defending from LansdellSneadGloverLee restricted Wisbech from getting any shots in, whilst the SouthDijkstra midfield hub ensured the away team controlled the centre of the pitch releasing Hodge and Espley down the wings at frequent intervals, and enabling Man of the match Andy Lewis to create mischief, crosses and penetrating attacks...all "supervised" by Greaves keeping the Wisbech defence honest near their goal.
The only score of thr first half was from a bullet Lewis cross for James Hodge to volley in to the net from the far post. The lead was stretched by an awesome reverse stick long range effot from that man Lewis again, after Paul South found him with a pinpoint pass leaving the retreating Wisbech defence nowhere
Wisbech got one back and had a period of sustained pressure but were unable to equalise as the CSouth defence and midfield combined to close them down...mention must be made of Neil Snead who stuck to the star Wisbech playmaker throughout this period to reduce their options and snuff out the threat.
CSouth regained the ascendancy, and after some further shots and well worked short corner routines, got the final goal, when a Wisbech defender kindly hit the ball up into John Greaves shoulder. Instead of writhing around for the artistic merit points, Greaves calmly let the ball drop and placed a neat forward defensive effort into the net from at least 3 ft out.
Job done. 3 points gained, and the target of 5 league wins before the mid season break reached. We now have more points than for the whole of the previous season in this league. Happy Christmas
Team played: Shahbaz Ali, James Lee, Neil Sneade, Ian Glover, Sam Lansdell, James Hodge, Andy Lewis, Wilco Dijkstra, Paul South, Rupert Espley, John Greaves
Ely City IV 3 - 3 Cambridge South Men's IV
H/T: 3 - 0
Scorers: Ian Evans, David Doupe, Shahzad Ali
MoM: David Doupe (3 shots and 3 goals!)
LOM: Phil Le Gouais (For trying to start the match playing in red speedos)
Firstly, it was nice to see Boris not only enjoyed playing in goal, but wanted a photo of himself in full kit at the end of the game to show his mum in Oz!
The match started in dusky conditions with the sun just going off the horizon (the author of this report clearly has ambitions of writing a book at some point when he retires from hockey) and South started confidently, but soon enough Ely won a short corner and went 1:0 up. South then had a few chances of their own, but not being able to put them away. David Doupe's shots always seemed to be just wide of the post and Rob Barton was too well marked to be able to get his shots away.
South went 2:0 down after a quickly taken free hit just outside the D caught everyone off-guard. The flood lights then started playing up, but the teams decided to continue 'til half time and re-assess. A miss-hit by an Ely player was deflected past Boris for a 3rd. In darkness, South finished the last 5 minutes the better side.
The half time team talk was all about defending further up and not allowing certain players to induce more short corners and this was effective with Shahbaz doing a disciplined job on the right winger. The tighter midfield was winning more of the ball. First goal came from a David Doupe shot deflected in by Ian Evans, 3:1. The second goal came from a David Doupe shot deflected in by Shahzad Ali 3:2 and the third goal was a David Doupe shot that went into the goal directly 3:3. It does seem that future team tactics should include 2 wide players, one each side angling their sticks at goal when David D takes a strike.
It was a good second half team performance despite some distractions.
Team played: Phil Le Gouais, Shahbaz Ali, Ky Ho, Ian Evans, David Doupe, John Sharp, John Somerville, Boris Lossy, Shahzad Ali, Will Jones, Rob Barton