Reports 17 Sept 2011

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Men's 1sts lose to Bishop's Stortford 2nds

Men's 2nds lose to Stortford 3s

Men's 3rds & 4ths lose to Bishop's Stortford

Men's 4ths Match Cancelled

Ladies' 1sts claim their first win of the season

Ladies' 2nds also claim their first win of the season.

Cambridge South Men's I 2 - 5 Bishop's Stortford III

H/T: 1 - 2

Scorers: Jack Chalk (2)
MoM: Bhavdeep Virdi (The Menace of Midfield)
LoM: Graham McCulloch (Dubious word-selection in the half-time team talk.)

Cambridge South emerged onto a brilliantly sunny pitch after the vast majority of the squad travelled though pouring rain to get to the meet all on time for once, despite our illustrious leader being forced to cower in a pavilion down the road to escape the downpour and then being asked to apply the coup de-grace to an unfortunate rabbit on the way to the game. Guest staring in the sweeper role this week was Ron Oren with Manu Bhardwaj also making a welcome return to the side at short notice at right back despite being slightly worse for wear...

South started the game poorly as a Stortford player was allowed to run through the entire team only to fluff his shot on goal. Unfortunately this let off was not a large enough warning for South as minutes later another player was helped on his way into the D by several South feet to score a simple finish against the exposed keeper. This finally got South fired up for the game and they began to put together some decent moves through the forwards Claes, McCulloch and Johnson.

Once again the home teams short corner defence was unbreakable despite having only 3/5ths of last weeks team. However it was Stortford who scored again after an unmarked player was allowed to stroll into the D and take a shot. Parker was equal to this but it was a Stortford player who reacted to the rebound quickest and he bundled the ball home under little pressure from the South defence.

South got back into the half as the forward line forced a short corner by continually pressing the Stortford defence. McCulloch injected well and Hawkes played the ball back to McCulloch's favourite spot allowing him to simply sweep it into the goal... or the defender on the lines foot - penalty flick. Chalk eager to make up for his last effort from the spot despatched the stroke as Aston was still trying to convince the captain to promote him to stroke taker. The remaining five minutes of the half were uneventful.

With their captains half time cry of “if we can't win this game lets at least get up their arses” still ringing in their ears South decided it would be a good idea to win the game. Passes became firmer and straight to sticks and when the ball was turned over a South player was always on hand to hassle their opposite number. This was typified by Virdi, who constricted the play of the opposition like a python every time they came within striking range. Read also made many firm tackles in this period and also found the time to stake a claim to the title of 1st XI aerialist with a couple delightful balls over the top. Hawkes was so inspired he unleashed a training only special and did not shed a single tear as he watched his shiny new ball fly over the back fence after taking a deflection on the way to a sure goal. Unfortunately Stortford got another shot off and whilst Parker was equal to it, the ball fell to Stortford player once again, 3-1.

This served only to fire up South more and led by telling runs from Hawkes and Virdi they took the game to the opposition once again. Chalk took a blow to the ankle in a battle for the ball in the midfield and from the resultant bully Virdi was able to play the ball back and round so that Claes could make one of his trade-mark mazy runs. After running round the whole of the opponents final quarter he was unceremoniously sandwiched between two players, resulting in a flat Claes and flick number two. Chalk again despatched the stroke. Virdi then nearly made it 3 all when a shimmy took him past a player and allowed him to unleash a thunderous rising shot that their keeper did well to get a glove to.

South were on the attack again as Johnson slipped it to McCulloch who burst into the D, drew the keeper then squared the ball to the unmarked Chalk who ended up face down on the ground as he was about to apply the finish - stroke number 3? - nope advantage taken! Even as the pitch was cleared of the numerous toys thrown by first McCulloch then Chalk over this decision. Stortford broke again and scored another rebound after Parker made the initial save. The less said about the last few minutes the better as South struggled to find each others sticks and generally gave the ball away to the opponents. This was exemplified when Read was forced to belt the ball past his own post as a safer option than passing to any of his team.

Stortford won a final short and the whistle went. A well executed move lead to the ball been bundled home after the initial shot was once again saved. Hopefully South have got all the sloppy play out of their system and can look forward to the league starting against Ely next week.

Team played: Steve Parker, Dave Aston, Ron Oren, Manu Bhardwaj, Eliot Read, Bhavdeep Virdi, Jack Chalk, Richard Claes, John Hawkes, Russell Johnson, Graham McCulloch

Cambridge South Men's II 2 - 5 Bishop's Stortford IV

H/T: 1 - 2

Scorers: Colin Troll, Rob Barton
MoM: Shahbaz Ali (Used his head (literally) to keep us in the match.)
LoM: Tom Anns (For his self-confessed inability to lead a warm-up, or count to two -and him a maths-teacher...)

The second warm-up game for the 2s started off ominously as it took until Friday afternoon to confirm a full team, of which one would have to play 1s beforehand (and it was only the last-minute availability of semi-retired Manu Bhardwaj that kept doubling-up to one player). With a few new faces in the team, it was hardly surprising that the visitors started out of the blocks better than we did. One of the earliest attacks saw the Stortford attackers respond faster to ‘keeper Shahbaz Ali’s save and slot in an easy goal. Scant minutes later, 16’ hits proved - yet again - to be our Achilles heel. Having made some room to receive Colin Troll’s hit, skip Ron Oren promptly fluffed up his stop, handing ball, room and opportunity to a pouncing attacker. The latter didn’t want to seem ungrateful and quickly dispatched the ball behind virtually powerless Shahbaz.

Two-nil down within 10 minutes, the home side finally woke up and started stringing passes together. Hard work by Alasdair Edge and Tom South on the wings, combined with some solid work of Dom Nelson, Tim Clapp and Ron in midfield saw the play work its way more and more towards Stortford’s goal. Soon enough the pressure starting telling on the Stortford defence, forcing them to concede a string of short-corners. After a few abortive attempts, a good shot allowed Rob Barton to nip in before anyone else and bag his own rebound-goal. Heartened, the team pushed forward to find an equaliser, but didn’t manage to convert anything before half-time.

In the second half, a star-cameo of newly promoted Rich Claes injected some more pace and skill into the attack. Nevertheless, it was the visitors again that scored first: a short corner was slickly deflected near the post, leaving both Shahbaz and his defenders flummoxed. But South had found their confidence for a reason and refused to let their heads drop - wave after wave of little green men swarmed into the Stortford half. Again, the pressure told: this time, there was no need for Rob to nudge the ball home, as Colin struck a beautiful dipping shot to pass the goalie.

Now, we had the bit between our teeth and went hunting for that equaliser with a vengeance. As even wingbacks Tom Anns and Jan Brynjolffsen ventured into opposition territory, it was only bad luck that kept us from finding the net again. Unfortunately, this also left us more exposed in the back, especially as the midfield started to run out of steam. Once again, the visitors capitalised with a short corner, this time finding just enough room under Shahbaz’s kickers to slip a ball through and restore their two-goal lead.

As the minutes ticked away, it became clear that South lacked the fitness to mount further attacks, even if the will to fight was most certainly still there. To add insult to injury, Stortford felt the need to score one more goal, literally in the last second of the match; although, to be fair to them, it was a beauty of a shot...

Although this was not the result, or performance, that we want to see in the league, there are some positives to take home. The team played a lot better than last week and showed some good fighting spirit. There’s still much to improve on - fitness, skills, team play; but the promise is there.

Team played: Shahbaz Ali, Ian Glover, Jan Brynjolfsson, Tom Anns, Dom Nelson, Ron Oren, Alasdair Edge, Colin Troll, Tim Clapp, Tom South, Richard Claes, Rob Barton

Cambridge South Men's III 1 - 5 Bishop's Stortford V

H/T: 0 - 1

Scorers: Nathan Monck
MoM: Nathan Monck (Only his 3rd game for the club but ran and harried excellently playing wide up front and was rewarded with the only South goal, a low reverse-stick sweep from 3 yards just outside the right post that was almost Barton-esque.)
LoM: Simon Jelley (For not noticing the new meeting instructions and so waiting on the opposite side of Trumpington Park & Ride from the rest of his team!)

Awaiting Report

Team played: Chris Collinson, Ky Ho, Neil Sneade, Dave Monck, David Bridge, John Sharp, Paul South, Simon Jelley, Jonny Deacon, Shahzad Ali, Nathan Monck, Jake Davis, Rupert Espley, John Greaves

Cambridge South Men's IV v Bishop's Stortford VI

Match cancelled as South fail to raise a team.

Cambridge South Ladies' I 2 - 0 St Ives Ladies II

H/T: 1 - 0

Scorers: Serin Dabb (2)

The ladies' 1s travelled to St Ives to start their match in the sunshine this Saturday. That sounds simple, but with two players hot-footing it out after doubling up 2s in Cambridge, two stuck behind the cyclists of the Tour de GB, one missing on Grange Road and the rest of us nearly waylayed in a pile-up on the A14, it really wasn't... Add to this that we were coming out after two heavy defeats with a team changed yet again, and it is even more impressive that South dominated the match from the start. Good communication, strong passing and a real determination to win every ball meant most of the game was played in the opposition half. The 3-4-3 formation provided strength in midfield and Lauren, Lindsey and George passed the ball around, maintaining possession as a consequence. The first half goal came from penetrating run and pass from Lindsey that found it's way to Serin who decisively finished it.

A second half switch saw old 2nd team-mates Bex and Sam reunited on the right with Bex leading some great pressure deep in the opposition half, despite the fact that St Ives had brought their strongest players back into defence. St Ives, were a strong team with plenty of subs and our team tired a little so there was plenty of defensive work to do. That started in the opposition half with Alice running a tight press and continued further back with tight marking and a consistent spoiling of St Ives' attacks (notably by new girl Lou's great performance) so overall Loopy in goal had remarkably little to do. Gaining confidence, South started to run with the ball, passed well and put a lot more pressure on the Saint's D than was reflected in the score line. Once again, it was usual defender Serin, demonstrating commendable composure in the circle, who scored from the left post after the ball rebounded around the circle from a number of sticks.

Overall, an awesome turn-around for the team. There is plenty to work on (fitness, receiving passes cleanly, working the ball effectively around the circle) but from this base of enthusiasm, good communication and good possession play, we can hope to make this result typical for the season. The man of the match award went to Lauren who was a brilliant play-maker in the midfield. She will be much missed when she goes back to South Africa next week!

Team played: Louise Tonkin, Ellie Raffan, Lindsey Berends, Julie Sadler, Lou Cantwell, Lauren Coulson, Sam Cooper, Georgie Hurford, Serin Dabb, Alice Hug, Bex Baker

Cambridge South Ladies' II 3 - 1 March Town Ladies

H/T: 2 - 1

Scorers: Kylie Beasley, Leonie O'Donnell (2)
MoM: Carla Fitzachary, Kylie Beasley