Reports 24th October 2009

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Men's 1sts suffer a first defeat of the season to Rutland 1.

Men's 2nds play their best hockey and defeat Rutland away from home.

Men's 3rds claim a great win, coming from behind againt Spalding.

Ladies' 1sts beat local rivals Cambridge City.

Ladies' 2nds claim a fine win in the Cup game against Ely.

Cambridge South Men's I 0 - 2 Rutland I

H/T: 0 - 1

Scorers: None
MoM: Steve Parker

It was a day of frustration all round for South, whose ranks were depleted by the absence of Messrs. Hewitt, Snetler, Thorpe et al. (Sinclair, that is) and who were further discomposed by the late arrival of James Cobbe and Russell Johnson thanks to untimely congestion on that matchless paragon of East-West quantum teleportation known as the A14.

Skipper Rob Garrett won a ten-minute concession on starting time and Ian Glover nobly stepped into the breach despite not being 100% fit, so South were able to begin with a complement that was full if not the one originally selected. Initial signs were reasonably promising, with Garrett himself and Baker feeding well off each other and attacking the Rutland D, and South soon won a short corner which was slipped, neatly returned by Chris Graveling but then deflected for a long. However, Rutland, taking a more direct route than the University last week, had already got round the back to fire across the goal once and soon found the penalty spot again, where Nick Young and Leo Tomita were on hand to stop and clear. The visitors did not have long to wait for their reward, though, as their first penalty corner, a direct strike from an opposite-side injection, was unluckily tipped in off a South stick after nine minutes.

South tried hard to build moves sensibly from the back but were repeatedly frustrated by a mobile Rutland midfield that squeezed the wings and allowed little more space in the middle. Richard Morgan and Eliot Read made the best of a cloying, sandy patch up the right and Read had a shot at goal deflected after Garrett's effort had seen the keeper miskick. Graveling, Garrett and Readman all made important reverse tackles as Rutland moved quickly forward but the visitors had the knack of getting a man clear of the defence while South's approaches through enemy lines tended to fizzle out when confronted at the edge of the D. Eventually, though, a slightly more promising shape emerged, leading to a good run round the back by Garrett, after Graveling had set Read up for the pass, and a forceful drive through by Baker, who saw the ball just run away from him. A five-minute spell of pressure from Rutland, in which Tomita made a crucial late save on two free men and Graveling tackled decisively as Young shadowed, was followed by the visitors' second short, smartly cleared by Graveling to Cobbe. Cobbe neatly fed Pears running forward but the latter lacked support and further probes by Baker, Pears and Cobbe in the Rutland 25 all foundered before threatening the danger zone.

Garrett's chin then had the misfortune of crossing paths with a Rutland stick, ruling him out of the rest of the match, so Glover was once more called into the fray as South tried to stabilise in the five minutes before half-time. Rutland stepped up a gear, winning a third short, but a firm strike met a textbook stop from keeper Steve Parker followed by a cool clearance from Graveling on the pads. Parker then made an important save on his right post, reacting quickly to get a reflex stick on an attempted lifted tip-in from a swift through ball.

The break gave South a chance to regroup, with coach David Grammer emphasising the need for width, short passes and quick movement and, indeed, confident work round the back from Tomita, Matt Readman and Cobbe suggested sensible commitment to possession. But Rutland continued to keep men high and the defence came under increasing pressure despite individual forays from Pears and Glover. Parker made another excellent save on his right post after a slick incursion into the D and then blocked a well-struck short corner but he and Graveling, attempting to clear, were overwhelmed by numbers as the ball was despatched to double South's deficit after 46 minutes.

Rutland had let slip an identical lead against Spalding last week but were clearly in no mood to repeat the feat, ramming the foot to the floorboards and breaking free at the edge of the D, where they were again stonewalled by a great tackle from Parker, who then recovered, retreated and saved once more with his stick. Graveling was almost immediately adjudged to have fouled outside the D, giving Rutland another short corner opportunity, but the defence were now beginning to read the injector's deceptive timing and Parker dived agilely to his right to block a first-time shot.

Despite best efforts, South continued to have difficulty in clearing their 25 and Pears, lurking high to get on the end of a route-one breakout, had his work cut out to see much of the ball. Two fine reverse interceptions and tackles in extremis from Readman and an equally solid series of blocks from Tomita kept the immediate threat at bay but Rutland exploited their art of winning penalty corners to suffocate any concerted drive forward. Parker was in action with his blocker for the seventh, Tomita clearing, before the eighth was turned into a counter-attack with several good cross-field moves. Morgan, who had remained steady under constant scrutiny, then set up Johnson to hare round the back of the visiting defence and South finally won a trio of set-pieces for themselves. A flick from Baker after a slip to the right looked promising but hit a Rutland body and South's fourth and final short was sticked away by the keeper from a Pears effort.

From then on, it was more Rutland shorts punctuated by brief intervals of open play, the notable interventions being made by Parker, twice saving big hits, along with Graveling and Young, who unfussily tidied up awkward stuff coming into the D.

This was a game that South never particularly looked like winning, hamstrung as they were by the loss of their chief playmaker with less than half the game gone and perhaps a little short of power in the engine-room, but they should take credit for a stout defensive display, both in general and at the set-piece. The visitors fluffed only two of their twelve penalty corner attempts but their conversion rate was low, reflecting good goalkeeping and disciplined clearance strategies. There was a pleasing absence of panic, despite the fact that Rutland made it very difficult to get any regular ball beyond the halfway line, and South worked hard enough to ensure they kept themselves in the game until very nearly the end.

Stiff challenges lie ahead, however, and South know that they need to field their best side on a regular basis to make serious headway in what is again shaping up to be a closely-contested division.

Team played: Steve Parker, Ian Glover, Leo Tomita, Nick Young, Rich Morgan, Chris Graveling, Matt Readman, Eliot Read, Russell Johnson, Rob Garrett, Chris Baker, Mark Pears, James Cobbe

Rutland II 2 - 3 Cambridge South Men's II

H/T: 1 - 2

Scorers: Manu Bhardwaj, Nick Bristowe, Jack Chalk
MoM: Shahbaz Ali (Penalty save was just one of many great interventions.), Manu Bhardwaj (Solid defence and a well taken goal.)
LOM: Kev Rowland (Catwalk King!)

Cambridge South Lesson 1: This is why we play the game.

South 2nds made the long journey to Rutland more in hope than expectation. There were certainly few portents that the day would finish in a turnaround of similar proportions to that played out by Henry V's army on St Crispin's morning 594 years ago. Indeed the corresponding result last year and Rutland's performance so far this season were reasons for the team perhaps to feel that they were on a hiding to nothing and their time would be better spent catching up on sleep rather than setting off at 08:30 on a rainy morning.

However, South are made of stern stuff and fear no-one. Right from the pushback the team unleashed such an irresistible wave of attacks that the Home defence conceded 2 goals in the first 10 minutes.

First up was a splendid move down the right by Bhav Virdee and Kev Rowland which set up Jack Chalk to drive into the D and win a short corner. Everybody was set up for the pre-planned first routine (a short injection by Graham McCulloch to Manu Bhardwaj for a drag-flick). Everybody except Graham that is who went off-script and pushed out to Jack at the top of the D. Caught by surprise, surely Jack would find himself in trouble? Nothing of the sort. No panic, Jack calmly dribbled around the onrushing runners and slotted the ball past the keeper's left into the bottom corner.

One-nil, but wouldn't that just force Rutland to raise their game? Who cares? South simply moved up a few gears themselves and swept up the left hand side this time. A move started by the irrepressible Nick Bristowe was continued with interplay between Dave Aston and Tim Clapp that would not look out of place in Div 3 and a second short corner was won. This time a classic Route 1 routine was executed flawlessly and Nick drilled a fierce shot into right of the goal to score his first goal for South.

Two-nil! But there was still an hour to go and now finally Rutland realised that there was a game to be played. The Home team pushed forward relentlessly and forced a series of short corners. The first five or six were all charged down by George Wych and then cleared by the defence 5 but finally one got through and, after a melee around Shabhaz Ali's pads, the ball rolled towards the goal where the Umpire spotted an infringement and signalled a flick which was put away confidently by the Rutland centre-forward.

Into the second half now and, despite playing into the rain, once again it was South who started the brighter with the midfield and forwards forcing Rutland into a number of simple mistakes to concede possession. Great work from both Rob Barton and Graham piled on the pressure and won South their third short of the match. Surely we couldn't make it 3 out of 3? You bet we could! This time Graham read the script and pushed out to Manu who placed a beautiful drag flick into the goal between keeper and defender.

With a 2 goal cushion restored South could begin to dream the impossible dream but Rutland had other plans. Once again spurred on by their impressive Number 10 the Home team began to dominate possession and time and again made headway into the South 25, only to break against unwavering resistance from Nick, Manu and Ron Oren. The few times that they did break through, the attacks were comprehensively snuffed out by Shahbaz. However, something had to give and South again conceded a string of short corners which (also again) were cleared out by the defence but finally one shot got through and rolled into the goal to make it 3-2.

With everything to play for Rutland now pressed forward yet more, calling for heroics from all the team but then the unthinkable happened - yet another attack seemed to have been dealt with but the other Umpire this time signalled for Rutland's second penalty flick of the match. It looked to be a matter of “so near and yet so far” for South and that a point was all they could hope for. However, cometh the hour, cometh the man - and that man was Shahbaz, making a fantastic stick save against the well-taken flick to keep that precious 1 goal lead.

Even then, the game was not over and skipper Dave Aston had to rally the team to concentrate against further advances, one of which provided a contender for “Miss of the Season” as a Rutland attacker contrived completely to miss a ball rolling invitingly across an open goal. South themselves were also often on the front foot, with most attacks featuring the evergreen Kev despite his injuries (see below) but it was Rutland who were to have the last significant play of the day. With less than a minute on the clock, the home team won a final short corner and brought all their outfield players up in search of the equaliser. Squeaky-bum time for South's travelling support (who am I kidding?) but there was nothing to fear as the defence imperiously snuffed out any threat and swept the ball upfield for the midfield to hold it until the final whistle and scenes of delirious joy.

No battle would be complete without injuries and this match was certainly no exception Tim Clapp (head), Kev (head), Manu (chest) and Dave A (knees) merit mentions in dispatches but there were not many of the team who left the field without at least one bruise to treat.

After the game Captain Dave Aston said:

This story shall the good man teach his son;
And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remember'd;
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

(or something like that)

What an epic match! And that's without even giving mention to numerous wrong turnings in the journey, Rob Barton's lecture on the properties of old treacle, Bhav overcoming his never-nude paranoia, the cold showers, Graham's trousers magically shrinking and Kev's catwalk routine. Well, some things are best left to the imagination!

(And OK, I know it's not St Crispin's Day until tomorrow but give a guy a break - it's pretty close!)

Team played: Shahbaz Ali, Ron Oren, Manu Bhardwaj, George Wych, Nick Bristowe, Jack Chalk, Dave Aston, Tim Clapp, Bhavdeep Virdi, Kev Rowland, Graham McCulloch, Rob Barton

Cambridge South Men's III 5 - 3 Spalding III

H/T: 1 - 2

Scorers: James Hodge, Paul South, Andy Lewis, John Greaves (2)
MoM: Dom Nelson (A constant menace, mostly to the opposition. Always looking for the ball and driving forward. Providing energy and good passes.)

A fine open game, with periods of dominance from both teams. In the end CSouth emerged the stronger, and finished as they started, playing good passing hockey, keeping to positions, finding space, and creating chances.

It was a surprise when Spalding took the lead, as a 50 yard aerial ball missed out the entire midfield for a forward to take on and beat the keeper whilst the defence were still scrambling to get back. 4 mins later Andy Lewis equalised from a James Hodge pass in to the D, with an unstoppable snap shot. Spalding came back strongly, and pressure was rewarded when they won a penalty flick after some delicate defensive footwork on the line.

CSouth battled back after the break, and gained another equaliser through a James Hodge forward defensive push down from chest level, showing great presence of mind to go with his boundless energy finding space throughout the game. Paul South then pounced on a rebound off the keeper after another well worked CSouth short corner to take the lead. This time Spalding came back on the break, scything through at pace via a defence splitting pass. This was a rare error, as the CSouth 3rds defence as usual played solidly, keeping out many short corners, and otherwise preventing Spalding from getting any meaningful shots in.

Late on in the game with both teams looking for the winner, it was CSouth who looked the better team, with numerous sweeping moves featuring Tom and Paul South, Andy Lewis, particularly. The balance brought about by using the width, fiesty ball winning in midfield, and intelligent teamplay was good to see, and got its just desserts with a John Greaves brace to wrap up the win. His first was after another rebound from the keeper, followed soon after by a sharp turn and shot from a narrow angle across the keeper inside the far post.

Back to winning ways and on target to reach those 5 wins before Christmas.

Team played: Steve Parker, Dom Nelson, Neil Sneade, John Benedikz, James Lee, Matt Kern, James Hodge, Tom South, Paul South, Andy Lewis, Wilco Dijkstra, Sam Lansdell, Rupert Espley, John Greaves

Cambridge South Ladies' I 5 - 1 Cambridge City IV

H/T: ? - ?

Scorers: Liles Dee, Hayley Sharpe (2), Tash Cox, Alice Hug
MoM: Tash Cox

Awaiting Report

Team played: Louise Tonkin, Rhiannan Williams, Ellie Raffan, Becca Graveling, Caroline Dent, Julie Sadler, Harriet Gay, Breeshey Harkin, Liles Dee, Hayley Sharpe, Tash Cox, Alice Hug

Cambridge South Ladies' II 8 - 0 Ely II

H/T: 3 - 0

Scorers: Breeshey Harkin, Leonie Dickman (2), Bex Baker (4), Charlie Orrock