Reports 9th October 2010

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Men's 1sts beat Horncastle at home.

Men's 2nds unlucky to draw against Long Sutton

Men's 3rds take an emphatic 3 points away at St Neots

Men's 4ths v P'Boro cancelled as South could not raise a team

Ladies' 1sts win local derby against Univ Ladies

Ladies' 2nds beat St Ives

Cambridge South Men's I 6 - 0 Horncastle I

H/T: 4 - 0

Scorers: Matt Readman, Mark Williams, Graham McCulloch (2), John Hawkes, Simon Ta
MoM: Graham McCulloch (For having great legs!)
LoM: Rob Garrett (For a multitude of reasons.)

There was an atmosphere of boisterous confidence amongst the Cambridge South 1s as they stepped out onto the hallowed turf of The Leys on Saturday. Maybe it was down to Colin's meticulous mid-week training on EncouragementWithinTheTeam. Maybe it was the relief that this was a home fixture against Horncastle and so a 6am departure for the Scottish Borders was not required. Maybe it was the rousing pre-match team-talk from Captain Garrett which left more than a few players misty-eyed with tears of (manly) passion. Or maybe it was the fact that the opposition had conceded 27 goals in their first two league games...

No - I'm pretty sure it was the team-talk.

With the arrival of Readman at the pitch signaling the start of the match, Cambridge started brightly, eager to pile the pressure on the more chronologically gifted opposition. And so they did, with Hawkes making clever use of his shins to control a panicked flick from the Honcastle defence, driving into the D and slotting the ball calmly past the diving keeper and into the corner of the goal. 1-0.

Horncastle to their credit did mount a few quick attacks, forcing some assured clearances from Parker in goal. But for the most part, the defensive skills of Readman, Aston, Wych and Bristowe (returning to the side after a week of 'work' in Spain) were too much for them and the frequency and coordination of these attacks dropped as the game went on. And as soon as an attack was broken down, Russel 'now you see me...now I'm past you' Johnson would be breaking fast on a counter-attack.

Making full use of their pitch-coloured camouflage shirts, Cambridge sneaked up with another attack and, with the benefit of some imaginative umpiring, won their first (and only) short corner. Opinions on how the resulting goal was allowed were equally imaginative. Some say the ball was propelled with such back-spin that it did actually cross the goal-line below backboard height before swerving dramatically upwards to hit the middle of the net. Others argued that the reverse stick shot from McCulloch was in fact a superbly executed (not to mention powerful) reverse stick drag-flick. Bristowe, the short-corner stiker, maintains that the stop, turn and shot of McCulloch was merely an elaborate deflection of Bristowe's original 'shot'. 2-0.

Shortly after, more chaotic defending by the disgruntled Horncastle defenders was seized on by McCulloch, volleying a bouncing ball into the net with the keeper floundering on the floor. 3-0. With the bit firmly between their teeth, Cambridge poured forwards again. Aston releasing Hawkes up the line to start off a move which the papers are allegedly now citing as an early contender for Goal Of The Season. Swift and decisive passing between Hawkes, Ta and Williams cut through the Horncastle defence, with Williams clinically dispatching the ball past the onrushing keeper to complete the move. 4-0.

At this stage, with the result seemingly in the bag, players minds turned to more important matters. Specifically, how to increase their team's Fantasy Hockey score. The Game within the Game, so to speak. Perhaps this accounts for the games most surprising statistic: a shot on goal from Aston, clearly thinking of the extra points for a defender scoring. Rising above all this introspective fantasy though was Simon Ta, who doesn't feature in his own Fantasy Team and yet graciously scored a fine individual goal (on his birthday no less), dribbling the ball into the D on the left, past three defenders before shooting through the narrowest gap between keeper and post. 5-0.

With Garrett back in his established role dominating the middle of the pitch and Cobbe and Williams taking every opportunity to embarrass the weary Horncastle midfield, the final 10 minutes were a chance to enjoy our hockey. Readman, presumably bored with a quiet day at the office at right back, charged up the pitch to join in the fun, sending the opposing defenders fleeing for cover as he flicked in Cambridge's sixth over the grounded keeper. 6-0 and time for a celebration.

Much credit must go to Horncastle who played with spirit, persistence and a sense of humour despite being on the wrong end of some of the more curious umpiring decisions and obviously having lost a lot of players since their 100% winning record last season.

Man of the Match went to McCulloch 'for having great legs'. Asked for a comment later, McCulloch stated he was "mildly flattered and hugely disturbed" by the unexpected attention to his legs. Lemon of the Match went to Garrett, in part for selecting a curry house for the team social that many claim was actually closer to Horncastle than Cambridge.

Team played: Steve Parker, Dave Aston, George Wych, Nick Bristowe, Matt Readman, Rob Garrett, Mark Williams, Russell Johnson, Graham McCulloch, John Hawkes, James Cobbe, Simon Ta

Cambridge South Men's II 2 - 2 Long Sutton II

H/T: 1 - 0

Scorers: Ron Oren, Rob Barton
MoM: Eliot Read

Awaiting Report

Team played: Shahbaz Ali, Dave Monck, Andy Passmore, Ian Glover, Ron Oren, Richard Claes, Eliot Read, Jack Chalk, Tom South, Sanjay Agarwala, Bhavdeep Virdi, Rob Barton

Cambridge South Men's III 7 - 1 St Neots III

H/T: 2 - 0

Scorers: Tom Watson, Dom Nelson (3), Graham McCulloch, Rupert Espley, John Greaves
MoM: Tom Watson (The new James Pope.), Dom Nelson (A hatrick, and always troubling the opposition )

That's better. A great team performance that overcame a patchy St Neots side with confidence, pace (not often we say that), teamwork, a novel 3-1-3-1-2 formation and committed attacking play backed up by a fortress like defence

First half goals from Sniffer Greaves guiding the ball in from a pinpoint Hodge cross, followed by him returning the compliment with a rasping shot that the keeper could only parry back to Graham McCulloch, who calmly pushed the ball into an open net. There could have been many more but shots were saved, blocked, and diverted narrowly wide or high...not to mention those that were not quite on target. Dom Nelson particularly was unlucky with a hatful of efforts.

Although St Neots were gifted a consolation goal early in the second half, this was all they got past the CreedSneadeKern wall. Rupert Espley regained the ascendancy with a trademark delicate push lifted over the diving keeper, before Dom Nelson decided to pile on the pain with a swift hatrick, one poached through a goalmouth scramble, one from a penetrating Greaves cross, and the third self made. These goals were just desserts for Dom's work throughout the game, and reward for the DijkstraSouthKnightEspley midfield who basically controlled things for 70 minutes.

Tom Watson, adapting well to the James Pope role in front of the defence, grabbed the final goal with a long dribble and feint before placing the ball into the empty net with the keeper bamboozled.

Everyone played well against a mature St Neots team who were gracious in defeat. Prospects for the season suddenly look brighter.

Team played: John Benedikz, Neil Sneade, Tom Watson, Dom Nelson, Stu Creed, Matt Kern, Paul South, Tristen Knight, Wilco Dijkstra, Graham McCulloch, Rupert Espley, John Greaves

Cambridge South Men's IV v City of Peterborough VIII

Scorers: None

Match cancelled as South could not raise a team.

Cambridge South Ladies' I 1 - 0 Cambridge University Ladies III

H/T: 0 - 0

Scorers: Sian Tomlin
MoM: Caroline Dent

With an unchanged side from the week before and the very welcome return of Tash and Liles, South had a great chance in this game.

South started brightly and intensely winning an early PC, Alice was denied by the foot of Caroline D, but Caroline D certainly made up for it later with some excellent wing play, holding space and giving a much needed outlet from the defence and midfield.

The Uni played energetically, with all their fitness and that. However, our defence held strong, with Ellie commanding and coming to the rescue of the midfield on many occasions.

Nil-nil at half time did not reflect the end to end nature of the first half. South regrouped, calmed it down and resumed with some sweet passing hockey. "We were playing in triangles" said Caroline D. This was a good thing as the triangles lead to Sian being put through into the D, and with plenty of work still to do, she coolly finished. South were motoring.

Caroline M was strong in midfield cutting out Uni passes and driving the ball up the pitch; she gets everywhere!

Alice was like "what is she doing?" and something about "oooh Daddy took your credit card off you for a week, oh dear". In addition, she made it hard for the defence to clear their lines, hassling and making key interceptions enabling South to bombard the Uni D. Tash was unlucky (cos she tried to hit the **** out of it) after being put through by those triangles I mentioned earlier, I think this triangle involved George and Liles.

The uni got a break and won a PC, the first strike deflected off a South stick into the roof of the net. Technically it was difficult to determine the intial trajectory of the ball, however, the goal was disallowed. George was at right back by now and made some fabulous interceptions, despite the slight disorientation. Twice the uni blocked shots with their feet, and South were so close to capitalising on the resulting PCs; the ball would not go over the line. In the end one was enough.

Overall, a great team performance and a great result in this league. The team is going from strength to strength, and other cliches.

Team played: Cassie Woodfin, Rhiannan Williams, Lindsey Berends, Ellie Raffan, Julie Sadler, Caroline Dent, Caroline Molony, Sian Tomlin, Georgie Hurford, Liles Dee, Hayley Sharpe, Alice Hug, Tash Cox

Cambridge South Ladies' II 4 - 1 St Ives Ladies III

H/T: 2 - 0

Scorers: Ash Price, Charlie Orrock, Leonie Dickman (2)
MoM: Kathryn Mallett