Reports 29th October 2005

Men's 1st XI winning streak continues with a 2-0 win against March Town III

Men's 2nd XI come out 3-1 victors over Long Sutton III

Men's 3rd XI put on a dominant display in a 6-0 defeat of Ely City IV

Ladies' 1st XI play out a 1-1 draw with Huntingdon I

 

March Town Men's III 0 - 2 Cambridge South Men's I

H/T: 0 - 1

Scorers: Kevin Rowland, Rob Garrett

With several of the regular 1st team squad unavailable for the first trip of the season into Fenland proper, it was down to draftees from the 2nd team to prove they could fill the gaps. This they did to a man as Cambridge South ground out their fifth straight league win over bottom of the table March 3rds.

South started poorly with a formation that left them badly exposed at the back, a deep and roaming March centre forward pulling South central defender Jim Thorpe out of his favourite pivotal position. Chris Graveling was enjoying more freedom to push forward than usual but the closest he got was a swing and a miss on the top of the D. Missed, in fact, with such vigour that he ended up on his back, much to the mirth of twenty-one other players and fifteen or twenty travelling supporters.

South were always looking dangerous going forwards with new player Lukas Snetler linking well with Messrs Garrett, Waller and Carey. However, it wasn't until Mark Jackson found some space on the left wing and was able to deliver a superb cross into the waiting right wing that the on-form Kevin “Keith” Rowland was able to bury an almost unbelievable reverse stick first time strike. 1-0 at the break.

The restart saw South revert to their more usual defensive strategy and the extra man at the back allowed Steve Lane and John Benedikz space to move forward and link well with the wingers. March persisted with the long ball to the centre forward approach, which offered little return as the defence generally snuffed out the danger with ease. Once the umpires had been sufficiently softened up by just the right amount of heckling, they eventually saw red and bought out the yellow for a luckless March player guilty of up-ending Chris Graveling, Tana Umaga style.

This bought South some breathing space and at the other end, skipper for the day Rob Garret was lucky enough to be blessed by a Peter Carey special as the "mad Irishman" danced around the March defence to deliver an inch perfect pass to the predatory centre forward to slot home with apparent ease.

Throughout the game the South goalie was keeping the visitors in the match, with a total shut out. Numerous short corners were saved and scrambled March efforts in the D were thwarted with all the control you would expect from the veteran keeper. A good solid performance all round and three points well earned.

 

Cambridge South Men's II 3 - 1 Long Sutton Men's III

H/T: 2 - 1

Scorers: Tom Gowing, John Greaves, Tom Moy
MoM: Chris Clegg - for never giving up, and hounding the opposition constantly from Right Back), and Tom Moy - for authoritative and calming influence in central midfield and a cracking goal

Cambridge South played their best game of the season against high flying Long Sutton.

Flowing attacking moves were rewarded when Tom Gowing placed the ball into the top of the net from a pinpoint Andy Lewis cross soon after the start. Skipper John Greaves extended the lead soon after as he pounced on a rebound off the goalpost to drive the ball past the flailing keeper with a reverse stick effort.

Although Long Sutton came back just before half time with a well worked move, the home defence otherwise stood firm with Andy Bleach coolly sweeping the ball away from the danger area repeatedly and his fellow defenders snuffing out attacks bravely.

After half time South were on the defensive and conceded many short corners but few shots were allowed. Tom Moy made the game safe with a corker of a shot from long range near the end after Chris Clegg had almost managed to remove his ear by crashing into a Long Sutton forward.

South themselves had numerous efforts from attacking breaks, with Greaves, Finn Johnson, and Andy Lewis all being unlucky. Some were saved on the line and others went narrowly wide. The Long Sutton keeper had to play excellently to keep the score down.

Special mention must be made of Stuart Creed, turning out for the team fresh from attending to his newly extended family. Such dedication. The whole team played well for a well deserved victory to keep South well in mid-table.

 

Cambridge South Men's III 6 - 0 Ely City Men's IV

H/T: 1 - 0

Scorers: Tristen Knight (2), George Lilley, John Sharp, Tom Smith, David Bridge

South 3rds, sponsored by PwC, notched a comprehensive 6-0 victory over a youthful Ely side in a game marred by a bad injury.

The first half had seen South totally dominant, with the ball barely leaving the Ely half. An early lead was secured when Tristen Knight slammed home a trademark short corner finish. After that chances were either made and missed, or South forwards were getting in each other's way. One smart move down the right involving James Raikes and Tristen came close to extending the lead, but the ball flashed just wide.

The 2nd half began with South employing a new plan of spreading the play. Unfortunately, the major incident in the game took place five minutes into the half, when an Ely head was in collision with a swinging South stick. The wound was obviously deep and an ambulance had to be called to attend.

After a fifteen minute hiatus, and following a discussion between the captains, the game was resumed. However, the felled gentleman had been one of the adults in the Ely side, and his loss badly affected their ability to clear their lines. With South now almost permanently camped in the Ely twenty-five, a second strike from Tristen soon made it 2-0 and further goals were added by George Lilley (his first for the club), John Sharp, Tom Smith (again, a debut goal, from a hard shot) and David Bridge.

However, this wasn't a victory to get too excited about due to the injury, and we wish the Ely player a speedy return to action.

 

Cambridge South Ladies' I 1 - 1 Huntingdon Ladies' I

H/T: 0 - 0

Scorers: Emma Clarke

The first half saw pressure from both teams but no goals. There were several great saves from Cambridge South's Cassie Woodfin in goal, including from a one-on-one with a Huntingdon forward.

Early in the second half Huntingdon scored from a short corner. The ball was switched to the right from the hit out and a well struck shot got through all the South defenders.

South kept going with several good runs by centre-half Gemma Thomas. On one occasion Gemma put centre-forward Tash Cox through on goal, she rounded the goalkeeper but her strike at goal was kept out by an amazing save on the line from one of the Huntingdon full backs.

Two minutes from time, South finally drew level. Gemma took a free hit outside the D and sent in one of her trademark fast strikes, which was met first time on the penalty spot by left-winger Emma Clarke. South were delighted to get the draw and all in all it was a fair result in an entertaining and evenly fought game.