Reports 21st November 2009
Men's 1sts draw with Cambridge Nomads 2nds
Men's 2nds grind out a rare 0-0 draw at Long Sutton
Men's 3rds draw a high-scoring 4-4 match with St Neots 3
Men's 4ths play well but lose out to St Neots 4ths.
Ladies' 2nds win comfortably against Wisbech 3rds.
Cambridge South Men's I 1 - 1 Cambridge Nomads II
H/T: 0 - 0
Scorers: Lukas Snetler
MoM: Jim Thorpe, Lukas Snetler
Cambridge is clearly running the whole climatic gamut this festive season for, in addition to the ice rink on Parker's Piece, it turns out they've also gone and installed a beach at Coldham's Common! At least one assumes that's what the ten tons of sand disguising the hockey pitch are doing there ...
Lukas Snetler, clearly a budding South African beach hockey international, generously opined that it would probably get faster once the sand had compacted a bit but, for most, the slow surface put something of a brake on proceedings and there were several incidents in the first quarter of an hour to remind players of the need for care. Hitting round the defence required some allowance for the inertia factor, as both South and Nomads found out almost to their cost, and the ball needed constant encouragement to keep it in motion.
Nevertheless, there was plenty of action from the off, with Mark Pears shooting just wide after a nice free hit move involving Rob Garrett and Matt Readman, and Nomads taking the coefficient of friction out of the equation with a subtly-placed aerial which gave their left-winger free room in the D. Steve Parker raced across to block any further progress with a crunching tackle, though, and Pears nearly turned the tables immediately by intercepting a decelerating cross-pass and charging the keeper, only to see his shot from a rebound cleared off the line.
Nomads surged back, carving out a close-range chance from a left-wing cross but Parker was again equal to the shot, deflecting it with his stick for a long. After flying right to cover a weighty drag-flick that went just wide from Nomads' first short, he then relieved pressure with a kick to the wings as the visitors once more entered home territory and, when what would normally have been a routine back-pass was sabotaged by the heavy going and seized on by the opposition, he sprinted out hard and challenged the striker to lift it, which he duly did, about six feet over the bar.
Coinciding with the arrival of Richard Morgan from school duties to make up a full complement, things started to take a less frenetic turn. Snetler and Chris Baker combined neatly to broach the Nomads' circle, Pears pinched the ball off the left-half and Ron Oren and Eliot Read played sensible and constructive passes, though it was still difficult to retain possession as interceptions were made easier by the slow conditions. Jim Thorpe covered back smartly on a dangerous through ball, engineering the attacker out of harm's way and clearing consummately, before putting in a superb tackle on the by-line as a tricksy run from the wing threatened to go all the way. Nomads forechecked astringently, making it hard for South to find safety, and deservedly won a second penalty corner, from which Parker made an agile pad stop to his right from close range. Shortly ahead of the break, Baker, Garrett and Snetler again penetrated Nomads' D before being halted by a well-packed defence, while the dynamic Snetler cleverly released Pears, whose attempted reverse at goal was slightly off-centre. The half closed with the resourceful Thorpe putting up a daring and even elegant aerial ball to set up a fluent crossfield move which was unlucky not to reap further reward.
Having put away the buckets and spades, South knuckled down and enjoyed a composed spell of play in which James Cobbe excelled with skilful and tenacious work up the left touchline and Oren cleared his zone with authority. A feisty run from Snetler led to a Garrett cross from which Baker hit the keeper, and the latter had to kick out again shortly afterwards as Cobbe hovered close. Nomads had their moments, once breaking through to the edge of the D before Readman put a stop to the malarkey and then bursting through on a turnover only to see Parker shepherding the ball to safety, but the better moves were mostly South's. Garrett's cross after a 30-yard run was blocked, while Thorpe, whose howitzers from defence peeled a few layers of sand from the ball, shelled a 16 to Pears but the resulting pass across the D narrowly eluded Garrett.
After a bout of earnest hacking in the Nomads' circle, South finally won their first short and a smooth injection from Pears coupled with a pin-sharp stop from Read gave Snetler the opportunity to rifle home off the keeper's left pad on 55 minutes. The setback appeared to galvanise Nomads, however, and though South's pace on the left side was always menacing, the visitors upped a gear as their first-team captain, recovering from injury though unfortunately afflicted by a chronic bout of the verbals, bolstered the front line. Readman, Thorpe and Baker all made common-sense clearances, Read and Oren got rid well under pressure and Morgan - virtually invisible from the far side of the pitch under the ghostly penumbra cast by the floodlights (sic) - gave the indistinct impression of moving the ball swiftly and efficiently. A firm crack away by Thorpe followed by a fine interception and run from Snetler kept the play away from South's end for a while but Nomads, reversing the flow, won a free hit outside the circle and play continued seamlessly as they exploited the self-pass rule. The South defence, momentarily caught napping, were out of position and, with options available, the ball was squared for an easy tap-in with five minutes to go.
South did their best to grab a late winner as Garrett took responsibility, repeatedly driving forward at pace to find Pears, who, moments after unluckily failing to win a short, placed himself in the ideal position for a great pass from the skipper but was unable to convert as the ball, now resembling a scotch egg, malignly mistook foot for stick.
The sands of time quickly ran out as South, again without several key players, contemplated the loss of two points which would have seen them move into third place and overtake their next opponents, March II, who suffered an 8-0 drubbing at the hands of Spalding. A drawn game between Wisbech II and City of Peterborough IV worked in South's favour but clearly South cannot afford to give up many more points against lower-placed teams if they are to maintain their challenge in the chasing pack.
Team played: Steve Parker, Ron Oren, Jim Thorpe, Rich Morgan, Chris Baker, Eliot Read, Matt Readman, Al Sinclair, Rob Garrett, James Cobbe, Mark Pears, Lukas Snetler
Long Sutton II 0 - 0 Cambridge South Men's II
H/T: 0 - 0
Scorers: None
MoM: Bhavdeep Virdi (Fantastic aggressive play - kept his marker quiet with some great legal tackling.)
LOM: Bhavdeep Virdi (Over-aggressive play, knocked over his marker with some illegal tackling. Got a yellow card.)
Cambridge South 2's set off on a long trip to Long Sutton, hoping to build on their impressive performance the previous week against Bourne.
South started the game not too bad, but soon Long Sutton were putting pressure on the new defensive backline- particularly down the right wing with a very nippy fifteen year old who was later to meet his match!
Sutton attacked with pace down the wing, but despite having some promising openings- they rarely threatened the goal. Ben Buckley was called into action on one occasion however, where a smart save at his post and a quick clearance prevented Long Sutton going in ahead at the break. Up the other end, South's main opportunity came from a short corner, but a shot from Nick Bristowe was snuffed out by the home defence.
After the break, South came out all guns blazing and really set about their opposition. With Bhav Virdee now on the left keeping the opposition no.17 quiet, new signing Rob Leigh was able to show his attacking promise down the right, and interlinked well with John Hawkes and the attackers. Graham McCulloch went close with a shot from the top of the D, and South also had a great short corner opportunity stopped by the home defence. Meanwhile, the home team got slightly more physical, and whilst South stood tough in the face of this new approach, Bhav Virdee was perhaps slightly unlucky to be carded for a strong challenge in midfield.
Despite being down to 10 men, South continued to press with Rob and Graham both creating good opportunities. However, South were unable to convert these, and as the match reached the final minute, Sutton were awarded (some claim wrongly!) a final short corner. Led out by the marauding George Wych, South ensured there was to be no final sting in the tail, and cleared the corner to ensure the game finished nil nil.
South should be proud of the performance although a little disappointed with the result, as their fine second half performance probably merited more than a single point. South will hope to get back to winning ways at home next week against St Neots.
(ED's Note: On a day when Horncastle put 19 past St Neots and Rutland scored 11 against March, both without reply, maybe the spectators at our match could be forgiven for wishing they were somewhere else - thanks for staying awake Lino!)
Team played: Ben Buckley, George Wych, Ian Glover, Nick Bristowe, Bhavdeep Virdi, Rob Leigh, Jack Chalk, Dave Aston, John Hawkes, Graham McCulloch, Rob Barton
Cambridge South Men's III 4 - 4 St Neots III
H/T: 1 - 3
Scorers: Stu Creed, Paul South, Rupert Espley (2)
MoM: Leo Tomita (...demonstrated how to get the ball, pass it, and stick to his position. Simple really.)
A great start from CSouth saw a plethora of chances, one of a number of James Hodge efforts shot hitting a post, one from John Greaves disallowed, but only one score, as Rupert Espley pounced to flick the ball nonchalantly in from distance. St Neots equalised as an unmarked attacker had time to score easily with an unstoppable shot. The away team went ahead before half time, with another free man lurking at the post nudging the ball in to the net.
A simple short corner move gave St Neots a 3 - 1 lead, as they enjoyed a period of dominance gifted to them by some passive tackling, CSouth giving the ball away too easily, and general sloppiness. Luckily CSouth, egged on by an increasingly voluble crowd, fought back wiht Rupert Espley's second goal from close range, followed by a sweet GreavesSouth short corner routine with Paul South shooting confidently in from the edge of the D. Stu Creed had the ball in the net soon afterwards from a short corner, but this too was disallowed having not apparently left the D before the shot
The best move of the game gave CSouth the lead with a rapid passing move ending with Stu Creed slotting the ball into the net. Unfortunately St Neots grabbed the final goal to seal the draw from a P flick after some fine footwork on the home goal line
This was a game that CSouth should have won, with numerical superiority ... except for a short period after some "helpful" advice to the umpire was taken badly resulting in a yellow card. Scoring 4 goals and not getting 3 points is a shame. The fitness and basic skills are fine for this league, but tighter marking, quicker thinking when on the ball, and less panicking are needed to turn these draws into the wins needed to maintain the promotion push
Team played: Shahbaz Ali, Andy Passmore, Dom Nelson, Neil Sneade, Leo Tomita, John Benedikz, Sam Lansdell, James Hodge, Stu Creed, Paul South, Wilco Dijkstra, Rupert Espley, John Greaves
Cambridge South Men's IV 1 - 2 St Neots IV
H/T: 0 - 2
Scorers: Shahzad Ali
MoM: Theo Haines (Difficult decision this week, Theo just shaded it for being a menace to the defenders.)
South started the game well enough and had plenty of possession and even scoring chances, but for the St Neots's keeper and lack of composure in front of goal.
St Neots got 2 quick goals from poor defending clearances, otherwise the defending was adequate. Andy Lewis and Theo were constantly keeping the opposition's defence busy. A half time score of 2:2 would have been a fairer score than 0:2
South started the second half well via some good passing, but again could not find the finish on a day when Theo could easily have had a hat trick.
St Neots then dominated the next 15 minutes or so, but were kept at bay.
South got a goal late on in the second half through some good passing with Andy Lewis hitting a firm pass into the D and Shahzad waiting on the far post with an accomplished finish. South continue to press, but the goal keeper saved from Boris and Ian Evans. The game finished 1:2, but it felt like we should have won 3:2 or by more.
The positive is that the team actually gelled really well with a number of notable performances from Tim Dean, Simon Jelly, Andy Lewis, Theo and Boris Lossy. Not to mention the heroics of John Sharp in goal.
Team played: Shahbaz Ali, Tim Dean, Ian Evans, Ky Ho, David Bridge, Boris Lossy, Simon Jelley, John Sharp, John Somerville, Shahzad Ali, Theo Haines, Andy Lewis
Cambridge South Ladies' II 6 - 0 Wisbech III
H/T: 3 - 0
Scorers: Kathryn Mallett, Breeshey Harkin, Bex Baker (3), Kendra Butlin
MoM: Bex Baker
Bright and early on Saturday morning we were all at the University pitch looking forward to this game, warmed up and ready to go - but with only a few minutes remaining until push back, there was still no opposition in sight! After a few anxious phone calls, it was established that Wisbech had gone to the Leys! Eventually they made it to the correct pitch and we got under way.
It was a great all round team performance from South. Bex was a well-deserved player of the match - not only did she score a hat trick with some great finishing and generally having her stick in the right place at the right time, but also worked hard running around and getting past her opponents and into the D. She had great support from birthday girl Charlie, and some fantastic passes in from Kendra.
Wisbech did keep pushing, but South defended solidly and nothing got past sweeper Tracey or newcomer Simone at left back.
Thanks to our supporters Sarah A, Ellie, Johnny & Melanie.
Team played: Louise Tonkin, Louise Gutteridge, Tracey Hunter, Simone Vis, Harriet Gay, Kathryn Mallett, Leonie Dickman, Breeshey Harkin, Vicky Lavis, Bex Baker, Kendra Butlin, Charlie Orrock
