Reports 31st October 2009
Men's 1sts keep up their challenge with a fine win against Cambridge City 4
Men's 2nds win a local derby against Cambridge City 5
Men's 3rds complete the rout of rival Cambridge teams by beating Cambridge Nomads.
South 4s beat Rutland in a friendly match.
Ladies' 1sts match against Market Deeping won as a walkover.
Cambridge City IV 1 - 3 Cambridge South Men's I
H/T: 0 - 2
Scorers: Mark Pears (2), Lukas Snetler
MoM: Steve Parker, Matt Readman
South moved back into second place after a hard-earned victory against a City side who belied their status as bottom markers and who could, without too much luck, have snatched something from the game at the death.
In the event, South were grateful for a decisive start which saw Mark Pears net on the three-minute mark after Rob Garrett and Lukas Snetler's fast approach work had sliced the defence well and truly open. No less important in creating the early advantage was South's ability to read City's well-taken short corners, with both Steve Parker and Chris Graveling dealing firmly with high and low flicks. The balance of the play was in South's favour for much of the first half and all the best chances fell their way, Keith Hewitt smashing high into the side-netting from a tight angle and Snetler unluckily clanging the post with a rasping shot after burgling the ball at the edge of the D. After City were temporarily reduced to ten men through injury, South continued to force the pace, Rob Garrett being denied by the keeper's stick and Pears doing well to get in a first-time shot which also found the goalie. The pressure eventually told on the home side, however, and, on 23 minutes, an after-you-Cecil-no-after-you-Claude moment deep in the City circle allowed Snetler to race in and pick his spot for a well-deserved personal marker.
Neat footwork from Chris Baker at right-half and Al Sinclair's gift for finding a gap and storming into it threatened to derail City's defence but, after Snetler's crisp strike at the first short had been well saved by the keeper and the second had run through plans A, B and C and ended up on the half-way line, the hosts organised themselves more efficiently and started to exert some pressure themselves. Eliot Read, Nick Young and Matt Readman - the latter eventually cottoning on to the new self-pass rule and making some great moves to himself - all put in key tackles and Graveling's omnipresence was reassuring. Sinclair was blocked twice in the opposition D after hot chases near the whistle but South appeared to be in good order at half-time.
Restored to numerical parity, City redoubled their efforts on the restart. Urged on by sensible advice from their coach and the tireless efforts of their veteran striker, whose perennial jousts with Graveling formed an entertaining fil rouge, the hosts threw their weight around, barging over Read and Garrett, and shrugged off near-misses by Sinclair, Baker and Russell Johnson to reduce the deficit after 46 minutes when the South defence went AWOL and a loose forward leathered home from space on the right.
A certain degree of hairiness took over as City caught the scent and South were grateful for the umpire's vigilance in ruling out a home goal after a pinball effort following Parker's fine diving save from a flicked penalty corner had been bundled in through a forest of bodies. Hewitt then attempted to restore the two-goal cushion with a self-sacrificial dive on City's left post but his despairing reverse shot just went wide. After failing to convert a third short through lack of ball speed, South then concentrated on building up moves from deep but were apt to be dispossessed before getting into the danger area, though Read managed to get a brace of neat crosses in before City recovered themselves.
A pivotal moment came in the 57th minute when City, seeking the equaliser, engineered a quick two-on-one just inside the South 25 but Parker foiled the bid with a decisive spread tackle to his right and South breathed again, reorganising calmly to put together some solid moves round the back and then up the left through Garrett, Sinclair and Snetler. The final critical pass remained elusive, however, until Sinclair robbed a City defender moving aggressively upfield and hared away to feed the waiting Hewitt. Pears, meanwhile, had broken away from his marker and was in perfect position to put away an exquisite one-timer under the keeper when Hewitt judged the moment to pass.
To their credit, City still came on strong and it required a concerted effort from the South defence to hold on to their lead. Garrett boosted the immune system with some great low tackles and Leo Tomita, whose well-disguised distribution from right defence had been a key factor in gaining South ground throughout the game, put in a determined reverse slide to clear in a tricky situation. Nevertheless, City still won three late short corners and South were again indebted to a pair of excellent saves from Parker, the second a telescopic diving effort away to his right, to avert late embarrassment. The third whistled just wide and, as Hewitt and Young banged the ball upfield to a grateful Snetler, South whistled with relief as the final whistle sounded.
Though South tended to give the ball away in midfield too much in the second half, many of the basics on which the team is trying to build were effectively executed. Stabilised by the twin defensive bulwarks of Readman and Graveling and benefiting from a little more zing up front than last week, South gave themselves enough solidity at the back to reap the full benefit of the chances they manufactured at the other end. A good result.
Team played: Steve Parker, Leo Tomita, Nick Young, Chris Graveling, Eliot Read, Chris Baker, Rob Garrett, Matt Readman, Al Sinclair, Russell Johnson, Mark Pears, Lukas Snetler, Keith Hewitt
Cambridge South Men's II 4 - 2 Cambridge City V
H/T: 1 - 0
Scorers: Manu Bhardwaj, Graham McCulloch (2), Rob Barton
MoM: Nick Bristowe (Tenacious tackling in midfield provided platform for victory.)
LoM: George Wych (For foolishly predicting a clean sheet just 20 seconds before city scored.)
Cambridge South 2's set out on a wet Autumn morning for a crunch derby match against local rivals Cambridge City 5's, keen to build on an impressive victory the week before.
City's first trick on this Halloween day was to turn up with only 9 players. Most teams would consider this a treat, but South did not, playing the opening 20 minutes in a somewhat sluggish manner and failing to make their two man advantage count.
However, after the two final players did turn up, South seemed to suddenly spring into action. A number of half chances came and went, before Rob Barton took the game by the scruff of the neck, neatly nutmegging his marker before sending an unstoppable shot into the bottom corner of the goal. This lead to further positive play until half-time, especially down the right from Bhav Virdee and Rich Morgan, but no further rewards arrived.
South re-appeared after the break somewhat aggrieved they had not made their two-man advantage tell, and wasted little time before doubling their lead. Manu Bhardwaj proved that his eye-of-a-needle short corner goal the week before was no fluke, threading another flick into the bottom corner just inside the near post.
Two quick goals then followed, both from Graham. The first was a lovely deflection of a left wing cross into the far corner, and the second was a crisp finish after being put through one on one by an incisve pass by Rob Barton. South were now comfortable early in the second half, but a few lapses of concentration let City back into the game. Firstly, the “enemy” nicked a goal after a goalmouth scramble, and then a second goal ensued following some fine work down the left.
However, South regained their concentration, and despite City winning a number of short corners, South saw out the game relatively comfortably, with the help of some good saves again from Shabhaz Ali. Graham McCulloch also struck the post from close range following another expertly worked short corner. South now sit joint top of the table on 15 points, but face a potentially difficult match again next week away against Wisbech, another one of last year's promoted sides who have had no trouble adjusting to life at a higher level.
Team played: Shahbaz Ali, George Wych, Dave Monck, Ron Oren, Manu Bhardwaj, Rich Morgan, Nick Bristowe, Bhavdeep Virdi, Jack Chalk, Graham McCulloch, Ali Ward, Rob Barton, James Cobbe
Cambridge South Men's III 4 - 0 Cambridge Nomads III
H/T: 1 - 0
Scorers: Ian Glover, Tristen Knight, Rupert Espley, John Greaves
MoM: Matt Kern, Tristen Knight, Tom South (A representative of each of the forwards, defence and midfield. Everyone played well.)
A comprehensive victory achieved by excellent team play throughout, with intelligent early passing, running off the ball, use of the wings and harrying the opposition.
It took CSouth nearly 30mins to open the scoring as left back Ian Glover ghosted up in to the D to appear unmarked and collect one of many James Hodge crosses from the right and blast it into the net. This slender half time lead was doubled shortly after the break as John Greaves pounced onto a Paul South drag back from the by-line. Nomads, although having some skillful players, were unable to get any team shape or shots in on goal . Sweeper John Benedikz in particular was uncompromising in getting the ball away from danger. Midfield dynamos Matt Kern, Andy Lewis and Paul South never gave up a lost cause, and attacks came from all angles.
Rupert Espley made it 3 from another Hodge cross as he tapped the ball in at the far post, and Tristan Knight wrapped things up with the final piece of action, as he followed John Greaves "run" and cross with an unstoppable effort from long range.
A fine display on the new, and incredibly slow Abbey astro, which seemed to suit the 3rds style of play
Team played: Steve Parker, John Benedikz, Ian Glover, Dom Nelson, Andy Passmore, Matt Kern, James Hodge, Tristen Knight, Paul South, Andy Lewis, Tom South, Rupert Espley, John Greaves
Cambridge South Men's IV 2 - 1 Rutland IV
H/T: 2 - 0
Scorers: Shahzad Ali, Rob Barton
MoM: Shahbaz Ali (For strong defensive tackling and a cool head!)
A close fought game played in good spirit which South managed to triumph through continuous effort, good positional discipline, quick passing and fine teamwork.On the freshly re-laid Abbey pitch, South started slightly the brighter side and looked solid at the back from the outset with James Raikes commanding an experienced defensive four. In the centre of midfield, Ian Evans and Martin Grove, who was playing higher up the pitch that usual, both saw plenty of ball and succeeded in distributing it to good effect. South were using both wings efficiently to manufacture chances, notably via John Clarke, Jake and Shahzad. The side, although missing it's regular captain of Ky Ho, was nonetheless looking balanced and working well. So it was no surprise when the breakthrough came midway through the first half. The opening goal started from an attack up the right hand side featuring John Sharp and Theo Haines, and saw South drive to the backline and pull the ball back past the keeper for Shahzad Ali to forcefully sweep the ball home in trademark fashion. A second South goal followed just a minute before the half time whistle came when Martin Grove played a quick free hit into Rob Barton who made no mistake in striking low into the corner. South were in the ascendancy before the break.The second period began as a much more even affair with chances limited, though it wasn't long before Rutland found space and were able to apply pressure to their host's goal. On a few occasions the young opposition broke through into the South D, but Tim Dean in goal made a number of solid saves from close range to deny on-target shots. Eventually, a skilful Rutland midfielder found the back board with a confident reverse stick strike from the left of the South D. After that, the South defence once more managed to take control of their 25 and, although the opposition put up quite a challenge in the middle of the pitch, both sides were limited to only a handful of further half chances. Rutland worked hard to the very end and, perhaps deserved a better result, but ultimately South hung on fairly comfortably to the marginal victory.This game saw competitive debuts for John Clarke and Theo Haines who both fitted naturally into the side and contributed extremely well. Overall, South can be pleased with their day's work and take credence from the way the team played: working hard for one another, tracking back, and always looking to move the ball on quickly. A good effort by one and all!
Team played: Tim Dean, Shahbaz Ali, JJ Clark, Ian Glover, Ian Evans, John Somerville, John Sharp, Martin Grove, Theo Haines, Shahzad Ali, Jake Lewis, James Raikes, Rob Barton
Cambridge South Ladies' I OFF - OFF Market Deeping II
Match won by Walkover after Deeping fail to raise a team.