Reports 12th March 2011

Men's 2nds claim a fantastic win against Spalding

Ladies' 1sts draw 0-0 with Market Deeping

Cambridge South Men's I 1 - 1 St Neots I

H/T: 0 - 1

Scorers: James Cobbe
MoM: Jack Chalk, Eliot Read
LoM: Dave Aston (Average), James Cobbe (A bit too keen for everyone to jump in the showers after the game.)

Awaiting Report

Team played: Steve Parker, Tom Watson, Dave Aston, Ian Glover, George Wych, Nick Bristowe, Jack Chalk, Mark Williams, Eliot Read, John Hawkes, James Cobbe

Cambridge South Men's II 4 - 3 Spalding II

H/T: 2 - 1

Scorers: Mariano Rosenzvaig (2), Rob Barton (2)
MoM: Matt Readman (Great midfield play)
LoM: Dave Monck (Showing up a mere 65 minutes after push-back)

On a bright sunny morning, with 8 wins on the trot; when the game started there were only 8 M2 players on the pitch because

Mariano went home to get his shoes - came in 2 minutes late
Manu on his way from the Abbey pitch after umpiring a match - came in 15 minutes late
There was no response from Dave Monck after 6 calls (For the reason why Dave Monck was late please go to the nearest W H Smith and buy the book “100 excuses when you turn up late for a meeting”)

But this did not stop M2 from doing what they do best: “ATTACK THE OPPOSITION GOAL!”

With 9 men after 2 minutes and Matt Readman (Central mid field) & Mariano (Central defence) making good passes to Tim & Rich Claes on the flanks, M2 managed to get the ball in the opposition D a few times.

But it was Spalding who scored first. They held the ball nicely, rotated it all along the pitch and with a good move from the right flank managed a goal. Although keeper Shahbaz did manage to stop the first shot on goal, the Spalding strikers were heavy on numbers and managed to put the ball into the goal. 1-0 to the visitors!

South never let this goal drop their heads. South were getting enough penalty corners. The first penalty corner was saved by the Spalding goalie. South got a 2nd penalty corner right after; excellent push by Rich, perfect stop by Tim, Mariano does a right slip to Rob, Rob back to Mariano and Mariano scoops the ball easily over the goalie. 1-1!

15 minutes gone. Ah here comes Manu.

With 10 men now on the pitch, South thought “why not pump in few more goals”. Matt Readman’s commanding game in central mid field was an asset and he gave a through pass to Mr.Claes. Rich “the-fastest-man-in-east-Anglia” Claes started his run and the opposition found a green shirt just go past them. The ball was given to Rob Barton who made no mistake and took his tally to 18 goals this season. 2-1 to South!

Spalding did manage to penetrate the South D, but the great wall of Ron - Andy - Mariano - Tom was skilful enough and rock solid to not give away any goals. It was 2-1 at halftime.

South were playing with 10 men for 50 minutes now and Spalding stepped up the gas and after 10 minutes got a penalty corner. They scored the goal but the strike on goal was a little high and was very intelligently deflected in the goal by the Spalding striker. Cambridge South protested about the height but was given a goal by the umpires. 2-2!

Spalding got their third goal with 10 minutes to go. The Spalding right winger carried the ball from his half into the South 25. With every South player marking the Spalding players this allowed the Spalding right winger to go in the south D and take a shot at goal. It wasn’t a clear hit and the ball bounced off the turf. South players thought it would be given dangerous by the umpires but it wasn’t and the Spalding striker took the final touch into the South goal.

New signage at the Leys

With 7 minutes left, surprise-surprise Dave Monck arrived. Ron’s message to Dave was clear “Run your arse off!” and so he did. With 11 players on the pitch now, the ball never reached the South 25 in the next 7 minutes.

South made another penetration into the Spalding D with Tim, Manu, Rich, Rob and Mariano on the attack. Andy “Central Defender” took the ball from the South half into the Spalding D and gave a cracking hit; this was saved by the Spalding keeper. Rob “Goal hungry lion” pounced on the rebound; his hit was also stopped by the keeper. But then “The Mighty Chilean” Mariano, put the ball into the goal. 3-3 and 5 minutes to go! The question was rightly asked “What were the central defender (Andy) and the sweeper (Mariano) doing in the opposition D?”

Back on the attack straight! Tim, Rich and Rob were in the Spalding D in no time and South got their 4th goal. Rich made a brilliant run from the South half into the Spalding D; he passed the ball to Rob who made no mistake to put it into the goal (Rob’s scored 19 goals this season for the M2s, never mind the goals he scored for M1, M3 & M4). South were leading again at 4-3. With 30 seconds left it was easy to defend the small lead.

What a victory! This defined South M2’s whole season “This is CSHC M2 and we are here to win!”

Dave Monck now has the record for least time on pitch (7 minutes) and most goals scored (2 goals) by the team when he was there. Check out reasons for Dave Monck’s very very late arrival:

Number 73: Was busy helping a friend who had twins! Nice try Dave.
Number 47: Someone changed the match time on my Outlook Calendar.

Team played: Shahbaz Ali, Manu Bhardwaj, Ron Oren, Tom Anns, Andy Passmore, Dave Monck, Tim Clapp, Richard Claes, Matt Readman, Mariano Rosenzvaig, Rob Barton

Cambridge South Men's III 3 - 3 Market Deeping III

H/T: 2 - 0

Scorers: Rob Barton (2), John Greaves
MoM: Matt Kern (Heroic in defence, and frequently intercepting opposition passes to turn defence into attack. Where does this man get his batteries from?)

At this stage of the season CSouth Thirds need every point they can get. One point against a skillful, fit Market Deeping side was a fair result, with the game in the balance right up to the final whistle

Fine moves saw CSouth take a two goal lead into the interval. Rob B bagged the first from a Stuart Creed through ball, and a neat (and typical) John Greaves deflection doubled the lead shortly before the interval. The substantially reshaped home defence of SouthBenedikzKernHo stood firm and hardly allowed any shots at goal..and Chris Collinson was always there, and increasingly dependable in goal.

Deeping got back to all square after half time as the home team tired, leaving gaps for unmarked forwards to capitalise on. This didn't stop CSouth enjoying some success with breakaways, with Dom Nelson, and Paul South in particular unlucky not to score two or three each. CSouth did retake the lead from that man RobB again, from a trademark reverse stick special, only for Deeping to equalise. By the end CSouth were hanging on, but never giving up.

3 - 3 was probable a fair reflection of the game, which leaves CSouth thirds periliously close to relegation after too many "if only..." games where insufficient points were grabbed.

Liam the cook at the Corner House did a fine job with some tasty lasagne and salad with garlic bread. And the IPA bitter was just right.

Team played: Chris Collinson, John Benedikz, Owen Vaughan, Ky Ho, Jim Thorpe, Dom Nelson, Matt Kern, Stu Creed, Paul South, Tom South, Rob Barton, John Greaves

Cambridge South Men's IV 2 - 0 Ely City IV

H/T: 1 - 0

Scorers: Richard Marley, James Bridge
MoM: James Raikes (For stepping in as captain for the day.)

Awaiting Report

Team played: Phil Le Gouais, John Benedikz, Richard Marley, David Bridge, Richard Yardley, John Parker, John Sharp, James Bridge, Boris Lossy, James Raikes, Rupert Espley

Cambridge South Ladies' I 0 - 0 Market Deeping Ladies I

H/T: 0 - 0

Scorers: None
MoM: Lindsey Berends, Liles Dee

An early overcast morning that gave way to unfettered sunshine saw South 1s take on a surprisingly bright eyed Market Deeping 1s team at the Abbey. South started the game as the stronger team, with the midfield combo of Liles, Georgie, and Carolines M & D passing the ball well, despite the opposition snapping at their heels. On the rare occasions that Deeping managed to break out of their own half, the defensive wall of Serin, Julie, Ellie and joint Man-of-the-Match Lindsey were unbeatable, stealing the ball, and calmly distributing it forward for another attack. Unfortunately this dominance couldn’t quite be converted into goals, as Deeping’s defence packed the D to prevent the striking trio of Sian, Alice and Tash from getting that final shot away after some searching crosses fired in by other joint Man-of-the-Match Liles. Half time, 0-0.

The second half saw a revitalised Deeping team come out, and they poured forward, winning a succession of short corners. But Deeping’s attempts to bamboozle South’s defence by taking them from the other side failed, as the South back line held firm, requiring merely the odd melodramatic dive from Loopy in goal. Late in the match, as the sun came out and began to beat down on the players, both sides began to slow down, and the final whistle went with no score, leaving the teams to retire to the Corner House for a fine fry-up. Honourable mention must go to Market Deeping, who left at 7am(!) to make it to the pitch for a 9:30am push-back, but still played their part in a friendly and enjoyable game.

Team played: Louise Tonkin, Lindsey Berends, Ellie Raffan, Caroline Dent, Julie Sadler, Sian Tomlin, Georgie Hurford, Caroline Molony, Liles Dee, Siren Dabb, Tash Cox, Alice Hug