Reports 6th February 2010
Men's 1sts lost at Rutland after leading at Half Time.
Men's 2nds beat Rutland 5 goals to 1
Men's 3rds take a creditable 2 point away at Spalding
Men's 4ths win away at St Ives
Ladies' 1sts win at v March Town
Ladies' 2nds win by 5 goals away at Huntingdon
Rutland I 3 - 1 Cambridge South Men's I
H/T: 0 - 1
Scorers: Ali Ward
MoM: Steve Parker, Keith Hewitt
On a dank morning that was all mist and no mellow fruitfulness, a heavily depleted South side put up a brave performance which, with some luck at a couple of crucial moments, might have gained them at least a point from this crucial fixture. As it was, however, Rutland ruthlessly exploited tiring legs and put away three neat goals in the final fifteen minutes to secure a victory that seemed as though it might elude them for much of the game.
Acting skipper Keith Hewitt, after a convincing pre-match team talk, duly led by example and almost opened South's account in the first minute when a long flick clanged off the post. Play continued pretty evenly from that point, with South's defence equal to the attacking threat and Mark Pears, in an unaccustomed midfield role, and Hewitt running hard to create space up front. Jim Thorpe, Matt Readman and a composed Paul South all made timely interceptions and Manu Bhardwaj impressed at right back with unflustered tackling and some penetrative distribution. South (C) survived a hairy spell when a misplaced square pass at the back put a home striker in the clear but Steve Parker was on hand to put in a crunching tackle and block the follow-up. Ron Oren distinguished himself with a fine save as Rutland swarmed to the edge of the circle before South reversed the flow, first winning a short corner and then, following a Bhardwaj slap upfield and a deflection off the keeper, taking a 1-0 lead when debutant Ali Ward dived in from a strategic distance to bury the rebound on 24 minutes.
The remainder of the half was to-and-fro, with Oren winning a green card to match his lovely new shirt and Readman killing several attacks both aerial and ground-based. South, however, had the better chances and, three minutes before the interval, the Rutland keeper made a trio of saves from Ward, Hewitt and Readman that kept his side in the game. Ward, lurking potently in the D, also went close with a first-timer from a Hewitt feed and a second goal for South at this stage would have seen them strongly placed for the second period. It was not to be, however, and South were ultimately grateful for Thorpe's nifty three-point turn to get them out of a nasty hole shortly before the whistle.
The opening exchanges after the break were dominated by the hosts, and poor marking saw South under the cosh for the first five minutes. Some semblance of control was recovered as Hewitt charged up the middle and James Cobbe dodged three defenders as he made a determined weaving run up the left. South (P) reverse-tackled effortlessly and Hewitt brought off a couple of steals with his customary persistence but Rutland eventually bullied their way into the D, only being brought up short when Parker formed an impassable obstacle at the near post for Readman to put away to safety. Two shorts came and went for South (C) as South (P)'s flick was saved by the keeper and a Hewitt slip overran the target, but the chances still came. Hewitt, putting himself about angularly in the opposition 25, manufactured a good opportunity but failed to get enough wood on a flick and then Ward, who had once more got free in the circle, received an astute through pass from the skipper and first-timed it towards the far corner. The shot glanced off the keeper as he advanced hopefully and this piece of good fortune was in retrospect the turning point of the match.
Rutland, swapping their wingers frequently and spreading the play out to stretch the defence, now started to look more threatening, running through or banging the ball hard in to the middle, and Parker twice alertly kicked out of danger. A series of short corners ensued, with Parker again in brilliant form as he batted away a wicked deflection from an awkward height and then made a superb double save, following a diving effort to his right with an even better blocker save from a prone position. Another short saw him take one just below the euphemisms and clear to safety before Oren and Cobbe won temporary respite. But the omens were not good and, following on from a seventh short corner, Rutland pulled it back from the line into the centre, where no-one could clear effectively, and punched in the equaliser after 55 minutes.
A further penalty corner was wasted but the home strikers surged in again as Parker spectacularly gloved a rising shot over the back fence. South fought grimly to wrest back the initiative, with Readman and Bhardwaj steely in defence, Thorpe relieving the pressure by a surprise aerial and Cobbe, Pears and Hewitt striving to escape the shackles in midfield, but Rutland continued to burst through. A ninth penalty corner won on an unlucky foot just inside the circle led to a low diagonal flick which was expertly tipped in by an unmarked man on the far post. With five minutes to go, South bravely summoned their remaining reserves and managed despite everything to create two more chances, Paul South benefiting from good tackling and distribution by Oren and Bhardwaj to get forward and test the keeper. Russell Johnson, too, kept running committedly to the last without an iota of luck.
Rutland had the last word, however, putting the final nail in the coffin with two minutes to go as they again got round the by-line, pulling it back for a textbook tap-in and a two-goal lead. Even then, Parker still had to make a fine outstretched stick save to prevent a fourth strike. There was no opportunity to hit back and South had to admit defeat despite a very hard-working effort.
With their victory, Rutland leapfrog South into fifth place (although they have played a game more) and, with all the other top teams winning over the weekend, South are now somewhat off the pace. Availability problems probably had their effect on this occasion but all credit is due to the bare eleven who played and who, if they had gone 2-0 up with 20 minutes to go, could well have pulled off a famous win against traditionally difficult opponents.
Team played: Steve Parker, Manu Bhardwaj, Jim Thorpe, Ron Oren, Russell Johnson, Paul South, Matt Readman, Keith Hewitt, Ali Ward, Mark Pears, James Cobbe
Cambridge South Men's II 5 - 1 Rutland II
H/T: 3 - 0
Scorers: Nick Bristowe, John Hawkes, Rob Barton (3)
MoM: Nick Bristowe (Legend!)
LOM: Dave Aston (Angry!)
On a misty day, South surprised even themselves with a comfortable victory against fellow promotion hopefuls Rutland. Lino and Dave A had worked wonders to pull together a good team after the usual squad had been plundered by the 1s who called up 4 players for their Away match. Offsetting this however, was the arrival of the new team shirts (guaranteed to put a spring in our stride) together with Rutland turning up late and having to start the match with only 9 players.
So, resplendent in emerald green South started off in fine spirit and the pattern of the game was set from the push-back. Although South's play was patchy, when the team actually passed the ball and moved into space the Rutland defence were always under pressure. From the other side, the Rutland team clearly had a number of very skilled individual players but could not string together any team play to create chances. On the left of defence Ian Glover was more than a match for his opponent and in the centre Dave Monck (despite being tired after only 5 minutes of the game) was rarely troubled. The pairing of Nick Bristowe (sweeper) and Eliot Read (back of the diamond) worked supremely well to snuff out the Rutland playmakers in midfield and on the few occasions that Rutland were able to fashion an opening goalkeeper Ben Buckley pulled off some fantastic saves to shut them out.
South took advantage of their numerical superiority in the early stages, pushing forward with good moves up the right by George Wych and Kev Rowland supported well by Jack Chalk in the centre. One such move led to a short corner which, although the initial strike was blocked, found its way to Rob Barton to take a classic reverse stick goal.
Shortly after this, the remaining Rutland players arrived but South continued to have most of the chances and Rob was able to complete a fantastic hat-trick before half time. His second was a sharp effort, ghosting in behind the defence to deflect in a Tim Clapp cross and a few minutes later a howler from the Rutland defender who elected to self-pass on a 16 yard hit allowed him to nick the ball and apply a slide-rule finish to make it 3-0.
So South turned around with a good lead and surely captain Dave Aston would be delighted with this? Not a bit of it. Displaying a character trait that must concern his girlfriend, the more he was on top, the angrier Dave got - resulting in several tirades against surprised team-mates and reducing some of us almost to tears! Don't worry Dave, we know it's just because you care!
| The 6 ages of Dave Aston | ||||||||||
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| Ancestor | Baby | Youth | Maturity | Middle Age | Old Age | |||||
The game now entered a decisive phase. Rutland were not going to give up without a fight and pressed forward to win a series of short corners, one of which they converted with a strike deflected in by the man running in on the post. At this point, despite a 2 goal lead, the game could have gone either way. The next goal was very important and it went to South. Channelling his anger into creative hockey, Dave A made a great break up the left, bursting into the D and forcing another short corner. A crisp push-out from Tim Clapp was equally crisply converted by Nick to make it 4-1 and put the game beyond reach of the away side. The remainder of the match was largely played out in the Rutland half and in the final few minutes John Hawkes rounded off a great performance by scoring South's 5th goal, sliding in on his knees to chip a pass from Rob over the keeper's outstretched pads.The result puts South equal 3rd in Div 4 (5th on goal difference) and promotion still within reach, albeit requiring other results to go our way.
Team played: Ben Buckley, Ian Glover, Dave Monck, George Wych, Nick Bristowe, Tim Clapp, Kev Rowland, Dave Aston, Eliot Read, Jack Chalk, John Hawkes, Rob Barton
Spalding III 2 - 2 Cambridge South Men's III
H/T: 0 - 0
Scorers: Andy Lewis (2)
MoM: Andy Lewis (Two match-saving goals and all-round excellent play in defence and attack. )
The long trip to Spalding was worthwhile as CSouth came away with a precious point, that had looked unlikely until late in the game. The first half was very even. Both sides had lots of opportunities. Cambridge had a few breakaways but didn't come out with a goal. The defence was solid, with James Lee sending good passes up to debutant David Doupe on the left, Ian Evans and Neil Snead communicating well with the defence to retain structure - and Ian even tried to encourage Andy Lewis to stick to his right midfield position. No easy task. Simon Jelley slotted in to right back , keeping his position and linking well with the mid-field pairing of Dave Aston and debutant DMck.
At half time the score was 0-0. Spalding took the lead almost immediately after the restart. It was a short corner; out to the top of the D and a quick hit that dipped over Shabhaz, who had quickly got into the logging position to defend the set piece. The ball was sent flying into the backboard. Spalding had made advantage of substitutes whereas Cambridge had only 11 players. Because of this, Cambridge were starting to tire, not helped by injuries to the rampaging Dom Nelson (knee), David Aston (cramp), and skipper John Greaves (upended by the keeper, and landing on his head).
Spalding were a physical, robust team and were pushing the boundaries of legal play. At one stage Andy Lewis was on the edge of the D and was sent flying by a defender who was lucky to be only green carded. Cambridge then got a few short corners, one of which with 10 minutes to go, won by Andy Lewis, saw a sweet example of the old GreavesLewis routine from which Lewis smashed the ball past the keeper into the back of the goal.
This gave CSouth renewed spirit, and the game heated up. With two minutes to go a miracle happened.. Neil Snead hit the ball down the centre to Dom Nelson who got tracked down by a defender. Andy Lewis came from deep and Dom Nelson laid the ball off to him. He took the ball to the edge of the D; dummy stepped back and hammered the ball into the bottom corner. THE FAN WENT WILD!!! Full time 2-2! A draw from the jaws of defeat.
The (new astro) pitch was very slippery, changing rooms were ...er...basic, but the post match tea was good, and the new shirts were slinky
Written mainly by the 3rd team's loyal fan, Jake Davis.
Team played: Shahbaz Ali, Dom Nelson, Neil Sneade, James Lee, Ian Evans, D McK, David Doupe, Andy Lewis, Paul South, Dave Aston, John Greaves
St Ives V 1 - 3 Cambridge South Men's IV
H/T: 0 - 2
Scorers: Rob Barton (3)
MoM: John Parker (An outstanding game wide in midfield. Honourable mention to Tim Dean for going in goal.)
In changed black shirts South went 1-0 up in the late start at St Ives after 10 minutes through perseverance and a telling defence splitting ball which found Rob in the D. Rob turned one way then the other before a steady strike put the ball past the keeper. Although the home defence kept chances to a minimum, South were on top at this early stage and it was no surprise when the visitors went 2-0 up. The second goal was the end of a string of good passes which culminated in Stuart dribbling past the final two defenders to make space for a shot. His efforts to score were twice thwarted by the goalkeeper only for Rob to strike the rebound firmly in at the third attempt. By this time, the South defence were pushing up effectively to maintain the pressure, with John Sharp and David in particular finding themselves in advanced territory. Tim Dean was not troubled much in the first half, mostly due to strong midfield and defensive play, with Ian, Nick and Jack sustaining the core. Just before the break, South were unfortunate not to be awarded a penalty stroke when a strike from a penalty corner, which hit a foot on it's way past the keeper, was deemed by the umpires to be just missing the target. From the repeated corner, another shot found a defensive foot on the line and this time a stroke was awarded. Unfortunately, to his dismay, Tristen's raised flick struck the corner of left hand post and crossbar with the resulting dong resonating into half time.
In the second half St Ives realised they had to compete more to stand a chance of earning anything from this match and stepped up their efforts bringing the game to the visitors. For much of the next period, a more even contest was found and at times South struggled to keep on top seeming to drift in and out of the play. Renewed pressure on the South defence told and a home forward was able to squeeze the ball past Tim in the South goal from a tight angle. So 2-1 it stood with little over 20 minutes to go, leading potentially to an anxious climax. Fortunately, this wake-up call kick started South again who, like the proverbial phoenix, came bounding back with style. The final quarter of the match saw a series of waves of attacking play foraging deep into the Saints' 25 metre zone mostly through South's wide men of John and Boris, both of whom were having strong games. The final goal game from a penalty corner when the ball was slipped left to Rob who had time to pick his spot against a stranded keeper. There was a collective sigh of relief as the ball hit the backboard and South knew the game was won. The final few minutes of this good natured but competitive match were played out without much incident before the final whistle drew the end to an encouraging away display in which many of the regulars put in strong, solid performances.
Team played: Tim Dean, David Bridge, Ian Glover, Nick Bristowe, John Sharp, Boris Lossy, John Parker, Stu Creed, Jack Chalk, Tristen Knight, Rob Barton
March Town I 0 - 2 Cambridge South Ladies' I
H/T: 0 - 1
Scorers: Kirsten Fairfax, Kendra Butlin
MoM: Breeshey Harkin
The South Ladies' 1s travelled into the foggy fens this week for a dominant performance against March Town 1s. The South team included some new faces and others playing out of position but the group gelled well. Strong passing play in the midfield kept South in possession of the ball and there were some strong attacks on the D. Goals were hard to come by though, not least because of the strength of March's experienced central defender who stole ball after ball from an increasingly frustrated front line. Once again, short corners were a weakness for South who had too many awarded to them to count, but no goals as a result. However, the reward came eventually when new player Kirsten scored stylishly with a first-touch strike to a rebounding ball from the edge of the circle.
There was always a risk the match could be lost by a sneaky goal from March so South entered the second half with renewed determination to nail the match. Breeshey, playing out of position at right back, dealt effectively with some dangerous breaks from March, using her attacker's skills to drive forward, taking the March defenders by surprise and threatening goal more than once in a performance that earned her the Man of the Match award. Most of the time, though, the play stayed well inside the opposition half, thanks much to Georgie and her ability to get in the way of almost any ball coming down the middle and Julie's equal efficiency on the left. Repeated efforts from AI, Lyn, Liles and Tash went unrewarded. The second goal of the match was a lesson in passing play with Liles sending a strong ball from the sideline to Georgie, who passed on into the circle for Kirsten to slot to Kendra for an efficient finish.
Another good performance from South, but frustration at the lack of goals given the time spent inside the opposition's 23. Loopy and Ellie got the Ice Maidens award after a quiet game at the back left them shivering while Georgie and Kirsten (we can't believe Keith kept her hidden so long) got well deserved votes for Man of the Match behind Breeshey.
Team played: Ellie Raffan, Caroline Dent, Julie Sadler, Kirsten Fairfax, Anne-Isabelle Richard-Picchi, Liles Dee, Georgie Hurford, Breeshey Harkin, Tash Cox, Kendra Butlin
Huntingdon II 0 - 5 Cambridge South Ladies' II
H/T: 0 - 4
Scorers: Kelly Mawby, Leonie Dickman (3), Bex Baker (2)
Awaiting Report
Team played: Louise Tonkin, Tracey Hunter, Pip Noon, Sarah Aves, Louise Gutteridge, Carla Fitzachary, Sam Cooper, Kathryn Mallett, Kelly Mawby, Leonie Dickman, Bex Baker