Reports 26th September 2009
Men's 1sts thrash City of Peterborough by 7 goals!
Men's 2nds take all 3 points away at City of Peterborough 6
Men's 3rds claim a fine result, beating Wisbech Town 4 by 1 goal to nil.
Men's 4ths beat Ely City 4ths in the late game at the Leys.
Ladies' 1sts beat Huntingdon 1sts 3-1
Ladies' 2nds earn a point away to Ely 2s
Cambridge South Men's I 8 - 1 City of Peterborough V
H/T: 5 - 1
Scorers: Chris Baker, Keith Hewitt, Mark Pears (2), James Cobbe (4)
MoM: James Cobbe (For scoring 4 goals!)
Cambridge South kicked off the new season with a home tie against one of the league new boys, City of Peterborough Fifths. It didn't take long for the home side to get into their stride, with 4 goals without reply in the first 20 minutes. Peterborough pulled one back, before Cambridge notched a 5th to effectively finish the game off before half-time. To their credit, Peterborough never gave up and kept the pressure on in the second half but were unable to fashion any clear-cut chances. The home side, in contrast, were dangerous on the break and added 3 more before the final whistle. Goals came from James Cobbe (4), Mark Pears (2), Chris Baker and Keith Hewitt.
In the first league encounter of the new season Cambridge South were pitched against the unknown quantity of Peterborough 5ths. The home side were in confident mood, though, playing at Fortress Leys and on the back of 4 wins in a row in their pre-season friendlies. They were also bolstered by the return of Snetler - freshly recovered from a toe injury - and Johnson. The latter was back after picking up an ankle injury in the 1-0 win over Royston.
And on another pleasant day in Cambridge it didn't take long for the home side to start scoring. I didn't have my watch on me, but when Snetler came on after 10 minutes I'm sure we were at least 2 goals to the good. The first came from a short corner. Keith took the straight strike option and with great skill popped it in the bottom left corner. By 'great skill' I mean 'topped it', but they all count, right? You can't argue with the stats. The second came from another short corner - this time a slip left to Baker and after the first shot was saved the second was judged to have been illegally stopped by the Peterborough defence on the line. A flick was given and Baker duly dispatched it with clinical precision in the top left corner. Third time lucky, I guess.
Johnson was showing no signs of his enforced break from hockey, frequently posing a threat on the right wing. After 15 minutes he was released by Baker and as the last defender closed him down he slipped it across to Mark for South's 3rd goal of the game. More reward was to be gained down the home-side's right with the fourth goal - this time Garrett outstripping the defender and driving in along the back-line before slipping it to Cobbe for a tidy finish at the back post.
It was at some point around here that Peterborough managed to get a goal back. A quickly taken free hit into the D was touched on by the striker and sneaked in at the near post. Disappointing for the home side, but they were quickly back up the other end and putting the ball back where it belonged. This time Mark profited and was able to score his second of the game. I can't remember exactly how it happened, but it probably involved Keith, Lukas and/or Baker at some point. And maybe Russ too. And James. I don't know - they were all playing well - it could have been any of them, frankly. Or all of them.
Anyway, that was half-time. And I _can_ remember the second half goals. Or more to the point, James can remember them all and he was gracious enough to go over them with me after the game so that I could get it down correctly in the match report. He's so kind. The 6th (his 2nd) was a quick break from that man Russ again and a square pass for an easy finish. The 7th (his 3rd) came from Lukas 'reverse stick' Snetler trying the audacious in the D and only accomplishing a pile of bodies as he and defender came together in a manner not normally seen on the hockey pitch. James has eyes only for one thing, though. The ball. And the goal. Wait - that's 2. Anyway, the 8th came when Garrett managed to get hold of the ball in the D and just as he was moving past defenders, waiting for the right moment to show Lukas how it's done on the reverse stick, James - ever the gentleman - solved the problem by burying it in the far corner.
To their credit, Peterborough never game up and were particularly difficult to play against in the second half. By compressing the game and tackling in numbers they forced South onto the back foot. A changed South back-line was able to keep them at arms length, though. Graveling was pressed into service at right-back and Eliot was in at left-back for the second time this season. The change didn't remove Graveling's no-nonsense hard-tackling, and with Eliot looking more and more assured at left-back with each game he plays there, Peterborough struggled to create much despite the pressure. Regulars Jim and Matt were solid in the centre, supporting the attack when we were able to get the ball out.
Next week's game against Market Deeping should provide a sterner test for Cambridge, but this was an excellent way to start the new campaign.
"It was a solid all round display today. We coped well with the pressure Peterborough put us under in the second half and were clinical in the final third. I think everyone can be pleased with their performance" said captain Rob Garrett
Team played: Shahbaz Ali, Jim Thorpe, Chris Graveling, Rob Garrett, Chris Baker, Russell Johnson, Matt Readman, Eliot Read, Keith Hewitt, Lukas Snetler, Mark Pears, James Cobbe
City of Peterborough VI 3 - 4 Cambridge South Men's II
H/T: 2 - 2
Scorers: Graham McCulloch, Rob Barton (3)
MoM: Rob Barton (For a superb Hat-Trick.)
LOM: Sanjay Agarwala (That d#mn hairband again! Get yourself to a barbers!)
Cambridge South 2s got life in 4NW off to the best possible start with a dramatic 4-3 win at City of Peterborough 6.
The omens were not looking good early on, with no regular goalkeeper being available due to injury and most of the team stuck in an enormous tailback on the A14 less than an hour before pushback. Those expecting the culprit to be Captain Dave Aston’s Rover 25 bursting into flames were disappointed to see that it was caused by a boat falling off its trailer. But it would take more than a traffic jam to stop the South juggernaught today.
Out of the blocks straightaway, brilliant midfield play from Tim Clapp and Dave Aston on the left and Jack Chalk and Kev on the right caused mayhem to give South a well deserved 2-0 lead after only 20 minutes. The first came after Kev and Jack had worked the ball down the right channel and the ball eventually found its way to find Rob Barton with time and space in the D. The second came only moments later when a super Bristowe tackle wrong footed the Peterborough midfield and play was switched back, Graham McCulloch racing through and shrugging off the last man to finish clinically after the perfect through ball from midfield.
Having struggled to make much of an impact early on, a stunned City of Peterborough struck back with a goal of their own at the near post and narrowly avoided going 3-1 down after a fine reaction save from a broken down short corner, a perfect cross pitch ball out of defence left South floundering and Ian Evans in goal could do nothing as three Peterborough forwards decided between themselves which one of them could slot in the equaliser.
Not to be outdone by this, the Monckasaurus, who had already displayed his bulk to perfection at centre back, thumped a 16 yard hit of his own straight through the entire midfield to Rob Barton who made no mistake to give South a 3-2 interval lead.
Peterborough started the second half stronger and came closest to scoring when a flicked short corner was superbly stopped by Ian Evans’ thighs and cleared off the line by George and Dave. Despite Peterborough having much of the ball, clear cut opportunities were limited with Nick Bristowe and Ron Oren immense in defence, and Sanjay showing he wasn’t missing his broken headband with some stick trickery in midfield. But superb interplay between the Peterborough forwards left the South rearguard outnumbered and the equaliser was swept in past the outstretched foot of Ian Evans.
3-3, 10 minutes left, it was then anyone’s game to win as legs tired. A golden opportunity was spurned when a Peterborough forward found himself with time and space only yards in front of goal, but was smothered out by George and Ian in what seemed like slow motion. Shortly after that, a ball played right across the face of goal was missed by everyone.
At the other end, Graham McCulloch and Rob Barton combined superbly twice, only to see the ball roll inches wide of the left post, and then the keeper saving point blank when Barton looked destined to score. Finally, with only 3 minutes left, a melee led to the ball dropping to Rob "Dog in the D" Barton and it was he that latched on to the ball as if it was a juicy bone to loft it home as the keeper scrambled to his feet, securing his hat trick and snatching a superb 4-3 victory.
Team played: Dave Monck, Ian Evans, Ron Oren, George Wych, Nick Bristowe, Kev Rowland, Tim Clapp, Jack Chalk, Sanjay Agarwala, Dave Aston, Graham McCulloch, Rob Barton
Cambridge South Men's III 1 - 0 Wisbech Town IV
H/T: 0 - 0
Scorers: Paul South
MoM: Ian Glover (Confident guest keeper. Some great instictive saves.)
A great result for the first league game of the season. CSouth battled whoeheartedly throughout against the recently promoted and confident Wisbech side. The first half saw lots of pressure absorbed by the fine home defence of LansdellPassmoreBridge, supported by the blast from the past Jon Taylor, and Ian Glover masterful in goal. CSouth did have chances, and found some good positions but were unable to score, as shots went narrowly wide or were saved by the huge Wisbech keeper. Stu Creed and Andy Lewis particularly never gave up, but too many moves foundered before the killer pass could be made
After the break, with the midfield playing more together, and the home team passing better and earlier, Wisbech began to get a bit desperate, and the only goal came from a smartly taken Creed hit to John Greaves, who threaded the ball through the defence for the lurking Paul South to spin and shoot. 1 - 0
Thereafter CSouth were on top, displaying none of their pre-season fatigue, and ended the game well.
Team played: David Bridge, Ian Glover, Andy Passmore, John Parker, Sam Lansdell, Wilco Dijkstra, Andy Lewis, Stu Creed, Paul South, James Raikes, John Greaves
Cambridge South Men's IV 6 - 1 Ely City IV
H/T: 2 - 1
Scorers: Dan Lam, Dave Aston (2), Rob Barton (2), James Raikes
MoM: Dan Lam (Ever improving and scored a nice goal to boot.)
South started the game confidently and dominated the opening exchanges and after some good work by Dan Lam on the right, Rob Barton put south ahead.
Dave Aston soon made it 2:0 after 15 minutes, but after that Ely was the better team as South lost a bit of shape. Ely made it 2:1 after a scuffed shot was deflected in by Ky Ho. Ely ended the half stronger.
South then regained their shape in the second half and as a result had more of the play and pinned Ely back. Dave Aston scored South's 3rd to make it 3:1, followed by a goal from Rob Barton with the move originated in left back. James Raikes also got on the score sheet from a tap in. Dan Lam pushed the ball passed the 'keeper from just inside the D with a first time shot from a pass from Leo. It was a good start of this campaign for the 4th team with new and newish team members already beginning to gel. It was good to see Shahbaz playing well outfield even though he needs to learn to wear his shin pads inside his socks
Team played: Shahbaz Ali, John Benedikz, Ian Glover, Leo Tomita, Ky Ho, Boris Lossy, Dan Lam, Shahzad Ali, Dave Aston, Rob Barton, James Raikes
Cambridge South Ladies' I 3 - 1 Huntingdon I
H/T: ? - ?
Scorers: Hayley Sharpe, Alice Hug, Tash Cox
MoM: Nicky Bareham (For a zippy performance up front, great aggression on goal and for coming all the way from Norwich to play..)
Awaiting Report
Team played: Louise Tonkin, Rhiannan Williams, Ellie Raffan, Julie Sadler, Nicky Bareham, Georgie Hurford, Liles Dee, Anne-Isabelle Richard-Picchi, Hayley Sharpe, Alice Hug, Tash Cox
Ely II 1 - 1 Cambridge South Ladies' II
H/T: 0 - 0
Scorers: Leonie Dickman
MoM: Ellie Raffan, Leonie Dickman, Kendra Butlin
The ladies seconds travelled to Ely excited to play their first match of the season.....at last!!!
Loopy was busy this week keeping for the 2's as well as the 1's. Ellie (right back), Rhiannan (left back), Pip (centre back) and Tracey (sweeper) made up the back four behind captain Vicky (right mid), Ley (left mid), Sam (defensive mid) and Charlie (attacking centre mid). This weeks forwards were Lyn (left forward) and Kendra (right forward). Overall the game was evenly balanced. South passed well through the midfield and had plenty of attacking chances. There were some cracking crosses into the D and South came close to getting a stick to them. Unfortunately Ely managed to "badger" through our strong defence and slipped the ball past Loopy. Also, Ellie nearly ended up with a "cauliflower" ear from a stray high ball from an Ely player. However, South picked themselves up and the communication which had been strong in the start of the first half returned. Even though South's legs were getting tired this added team support made all the difference. South found a hole in Ely's defence and Ley fired the ball past the Ely keeper to earn the well deserved equaliser.
In a nutshell, the seconds played very well and it was an encouraging start to the season. Lets hope our determination to do well and continued hard work at training leads to a successful season for the 2's this year.
Team played: Louise Tonkin, Ellie Raffan, Pip Noon, Rhiannan Williams, Tracey Hunter, Lyn Wood, Sam Cooper, Vicky Lavis, Charlie Orrock, Leonie Dickman, Kendra Butlin