Reports 16th October 2010
Men's 1sts beat 10 man Rutland
Men's 2nds take 3 points against Market Deeping
Men's 3rds narrowly lose to Spalding
Ladies' 1sts beat Huntingdon in a nail-biting finish
Ladies' 2nds lose to Market Deeping
Cambridge South Men's I 4 - 0 Rutland II
H/T: 2 - 0
Scorers: Jack Chalk (2), Al Sinclair, Russell Johnson
MoM: Al Sinclair (Great tackling in midfield plus a well taken goal.)
LoM: Dave Aston (All fart and no poo.)
Cambridge South 1st XI travelled to Rutland and served up a nail-biting match which had the spectators on the edge of their seats up to the final whistle. Not about the result of the match however, as that was never really in doubt once the Home team only turned up with 10 men, but about the Lemon of the Match award which was closely balanced all the way through the game.
Nick Bristowe made an early play for the title with a shocking performance in the toilets before the game which rendered them unfit for use but his efforts were put to shame on the pitch by John Hawkes who did his best to help Rutland out by seemingly playing as an extra man in their defence and making a number of fantastic clearances when it would have been easier to have put the ball in the goal. Not content with this profligacy in front of goal, Hawkes also got a yellow card for not retreating 5 metres at a free hit, only 30 seconds after the team had been warned of this infringement by the umpire. So, at half time, Hawkes sat down confident that the coveted Lemon would be his but he had not counted for Dave Aston stepping in at the last moment to take the award, more of which later.
In amongst this move and countermove there was also some excellent hockey play. With a one man advantage there was always going to be room to move the ball about and South kept Rutland on the back foot throughout most of the match. Strong play from Rob Garrett and Al Sinclair in midfield, together with the usual pace and skill up the right from Eliot Read and Russell Johnson led to a number of chances early in the first half. However most of these fell to Hawkes who (see above) had his eye on the main prize so it was not until the 20 minute mark that South got the breakthrough when Garrett drove into the D and played the ball past the keeper to Hawkes who saw his clearance saved on the line by a defensive foot. Jack Chalk stepped up to take the resulting penalty stroke and dispatched it confidently past the keeper’s outstretched left hand.
A few minutes later South doubled their lead when Garrett picked up a superb pass from James Cobbe and played the ball in to Chalk who took a snap shot and then buried the resulting rebound into the roof of the net for his second goal of the game.
Rutland, despite being a man short, did not let their heads drop and kept playing a high tempo game. Most of their efforts were snuffed out with strong tacking in midfield - in particular Sinclair and Garrett proving to be impassable - but towards halftime the home team won a short corner and pressed for a goal to keep the game alive. The first effort was charged down by George Wych but the next one was well worked and gave a gilt-edged chance to the young Rutland forward who, with the South defence stranded, contrived to miss an open goal from 3 feet out.
This provided a timely reminder to South that the game was not yet won and after half time there was more urgency in the play. Moving up the left Cobbe and Aston linked together and the resulting ball into the D won another short corner. A direct shot on goal then rebounded kindly to Sinclair who calmly lifted it past the despairing defence. Not long after this the game was put to bed by Johnson who, receiving the ball just in front of the keeper, lifted it over his pads to make it 4-0.
With the match won there was still time for the final act in the Lemon competition. Some say he is just being competitive, others cower in fear at his outbursts. In the last few minutes Dave Aston, whose temper is never far below boiling point saw a red mist come over him and launched a potty mouthed outburst at a fellow teammate who failed to pass the ball to him, thus earning South’s second yellow card of the game. Whilst Aston took the walk of shame to the side of the pitch, Hawkes was seen celebrating an unlikely escape from the Lemon!
Despite the two yellows (and another one for Rutland) the game was played in a very good spirit. South played well but credit also goes to the home side for keeping it competitive despite only have 10 players. South now have 10 points from a possible 12 and hope to continue this good start with the match next week against March.
Team played: Steve Parker, Dave Aston, George Wych, Nick Bristowe, Eliot Read, Rob Garrett, Jack Chalk, Al Sinclair, Russell Johnson, John Hawkes, James Cobbe
Cambridge South Men's II 5 - 2 Market Deeping II
H/T: 2 - 1
Scorers: Bhavdeep Virdee, Tim Clapp, Tom South (2), Rob Barton
MoM: Tom South (For composed play and goals.)
LoM: Ron Oren (For fluffing up a short after the HT whistle had blown.)
Very good win for the 2's this week with a scoreline of 5-2 over Market Deeping 2's. Rob opened the scoring fairly early with a good effort on the reverse stick. This lead was then doubled by a clinical finish from Bhav. market Deeping managed to nick one back before halftime with a very well executed short corner move. Shortly after the half time break Tim scored off his reverse stick. Later on Tom South finished off a a great team passing move to make it 4-1. Market Deeping got another goal back but before the game was up Tom South notched up his second of the game in his man of the match performance, leaving the scoreline at 5-2 to South.
Team played: Shahbaz Ali, Jim Thorpe, Andy Passmore, Ian Glover, Tom Anns, Ron Oren, Bhavdeep Virdee, Tim Clapp, Tom South, Richard Claes, Rupert Espley, Rob Barton
Cambridge South Men's III 0 - 1 Spalding III
H/T: 0 - 1
Scorers: None
MoM: Neil Sneade (Like a terrier at an unfamiliar left back position, never letting Spalding attackers through, and pinning them down frequently by the corner flag)
Unfortunately the momentum gained through the dominant victory a week earlier was dissipated by an unbeaten Spalding team, who grabbed victory by a single, albeit well taken and unstoppable, goal.
CSouth tried hard, largely kept their team shape and fashioned some chances all through the game, mostly through the efforts of central midfielders Paul South and Tristen Knight, and the buzzing Tom Watson just behind them. Shahbaz Ali, his usual commanding self, prevented numerous shots, but couldnt get near the one that gained Spalding a deserved lead. At the other end, Tristen Knight was unlucky with a couple of long range efforts from short corners going narrowly wide, and John Greaves had a neat angled effort touched over the bar by an unsighted defender. Greaves could have snatched the equaliser late on when put through on goal after a swift breakaway from SouthKnight, but his shot went just past the far post as the extremely large keeper advanced. Similarly Sanjay Agarwala, playing although not 100% well, couldn't quite turn a penetrating Greaves cross into the net right at the end.
The home team did have other chances, but couldn't convert them. It was Spalding though who had most of the ball, sometimes gained too easily due to some robust play, and less than timely or effective tackling. The CSouth defence, led by MoM Neil Sneade, made it tough for Spalding near the home D, and passed well to turn defence into attack.
This was one of those games when the winners were the better team, but the result could have gone either way, leaving CSouth 3rds frustrated and seeking the consistency required to thrive in 5NW
Team played: Shahbaz Ali, John Benedikz, Neil Sneade, Tom Watson, Stu Creed, Paul South, Jonny Deacon, Eric Critchley, Tristen Knight, Sanjay Agarwala, John Greaves
Cambridge South Men's IV 3 - 0 Bourne III
H/T: 0 - 0
Scorers: John Parker, Wilco Dijkstra (2)
MoM: Nishant Patel (In cricket they would have called him an 'all rounder'. Defender and attacker all rolled into one)
Bourne started a little more energetically and made the early running, but didn't really threaten South's goal. South slowly took more control with Mariano and Ian Evans winning more of the midfield. It was a pretty even first half that could have gone either way. Mariano did have a brilliant shot from a short corner which the Bourne keeper was equal to.
In the 2nd half, again Bourne started livelier, but South started to be gain more possession, the team of relative strangers took half a game to gel and the passing and movements were a joy at times. One-twos between Ian and Mariano, Nish turning defence into attack and James Lee always seemed to get his stick in the way of the Bourne crosses. Up front John Parker was making sure his marker could barely keep up with his runs and Wilco's disciplined right midfield position was exemplary.
With all that going on, South soon scored through Wilco. 1-0. Bourne then threw their more experience players forward to get an equaliser, but ended up leaving too much for the youngsters to do in the back. A shot from the right by Wilco was deflected in by one of the Bourne defenders. The umpires had to confer before awarding what we all thought was an obvious goal. 2-0.
Bourne did have their chances and even hit the post at one point. The 3rd goal was made through winning the ball in Bourne's last 3rd of the pitch and a real team goal with John Parker tapping it in after several passes between the front players
Special mention must be made of Mariano's performance in midfield, Wilco's 2 goals and John Parker's running could all have been MoM on a different day.
More of the same please.
Team played: Chris Collinson, Ky Ho, David Bridge, James Lee, Ian Evans, John Parker, Simon Jelley, Mariano Rosenzvaig, Wilco Dijkstra, Nishant Patel, James Raikes
Cambridge South Ladies' I 5 - 2 Huntingdon Ladies I
H/T: 1 - 2
Scorers: Caroline Dent, Sian Tomlin (2), Alice Hug (2)
Possibly the most nail biting/bench wetting match of the season so far - Cambridge South ladies 1s stayed true to their ethos that a match should never be won without complication.
South began with what can only be described as a ‘slow start’. Whether it was the early morning game (thank you Cambridge City); the number of drinks from the night before (honestly) or straight forward complacency, Huntingdon capitalised early with a goal in the first 5 minutes. Despite the majority of pressure being exerted by South in the opposition’s D, Huntingdon were able to gain another swift break (gosh that number 52 was quick) and by the time South had realised what was happening, Huntingdon had slotted another one past a disgruntled Loopy.
Not long after, skipper Georgie had a dramatic tumble in the centre of the pitch following a trip over an opposition player’s stick and landed full force on her ankle. After inspecting the damage and finding an ankle the size of a small grapefruit, she hobbled off the pitch to resume shouting duties from the side line. So, whether it was the 2-0 score line or the addition of a sprightly Hayley in to the centre midfield, the Southerners appeared to experience a resurgence which resulted in one of the most exciting come backs the team has seen in the past few years.
South piled on the pressure with some excellent 1-2 passing through the midfield and into the D. Eventually, this resulted in a well directed pass by Hayley in to the D on to the end of Alice’s stick, who then slotted the ball in to the back corner.
The half time whistle blew and South realised what they had to do. With instructions for the forwards to ‘push up’ and make themselves a nuisance at the goal mouth, they proceeded to do just that and dominated the play. Huntingdon appeared to tire and had fewer chances with only the occasional flurry in to South’s defensive half. These were calmly dealt with by some excellent interceptions and clearances from the South back four. The second half resulted in an abundance of goals for the home side, with some excellent play by Sian Tomlin on the left hand side of the pitch with resulted in a goal for her after a pass from a South short corner. South continued to take full advantage of their short corners, with Alice Hug smacking another one in to the back of the net not long after. After a scuffle at the goal mouth, Caroline Dent cooley slotted in the final goal which marked the end of a consecutive five goal frenzy.
At the final whistle, a bewildered Huntingdon side left the pitch not knowing quite what had hit them whilst the jubilant South team celebrated their 3rd successive win of the season. All in all, it was a fantastic display by the Cambridge girls and similarly by Huntingdon ladies, with both teams showing great determination and providing a very entertaining 70 minutes of hockey.
Team played: Louise Tonkin, Rhiannan Williams, Lindsey Berends, Julie Sadler, Caroline Dent, Caroline Molony, Sian Tomlin, Georgie Hurford, Liles Dee, Hayley Sharpe, Alice Hug, Tash Cox
Cambridge South Ladies' II 3 - 4 Market Deeping Ladies II
H/T: 2 - 2
Scorers: Sam Cooper, Leonie Dickman (2)
MoM: Siren Dabb, Charlie Orrock
Awaiting Report
Team played: Louise Tonkin, Robyn Williams, Tracey Hunter, Pip Noon, Ash Price, Sam Cooper, Siren Dabb, Catherine Anthony, Leonie Dickman, Charlie Orrock, Bex Baker
