Reports 29th October 2011
Men's 4ths lose to City of Peterborough 8
Cambridge South Men's I 3 - 0 Rutland II
H/T: 1 - 0
Scorers: Dave Aston, Jack Chalk, John Hawkes
MoM: Dave Aston (Scored a goal, sympathy vote for MoM), Eliot Read (Always first to the ball, strong performance)
LoM: Dave Aston (Jammy), Graham McCulloch (Left in a strop after the game, even though we won 3-0)
After last week's Cup match, Cambridge South 1st XI are now left to concentrate on the league and next up were Rutland 2s who arrived in good time for a warm up but unfortunately an over-running previous game meant that neither team were able to get much pitch time before push back which lead to a particularly rusty first half to the game where both sides were guilty of misplaced passes and a general lack of cohesion.
Rutland started in confident form, moving the ball around and having the lion's share of possession for the first quarter. Solid defence from the familiar-looking Aston / Bristowe / Wych / Graveling / Read back line snuffed out most of the attacks and when Rutland did get through and force a short corner, Parker was equal to it and made a fantastic diving save low down to his right.
Eliot was also in fine form, making several superb interceptions and slowly the tide turned with South being able to put some sustained pressure on the Rutland goal. Both Mark Williams and Graham McCulloch had shots saved before a good move involving John Hawkes, Rich Claes and Russell Johnson led to the ball falling to Jack Chalk just a few feet outside the left hand side of the goal. Chalk is in such a rich vein of scoring this season that the result was never in doubt - one nil to South.
In the second half South played much better and had a number of chances before Dave Aston, playing a neat one-two with John on the edge of the D, forced his way into the area and fired an unstoppable rocket through a defender and past the despairing outstretched leg of the keeper. Fantastic goal .......... or at least that's how Dave described it to his girlfriend, but what really happened was this: the ball bounced off John's stick and fell to Dave just inside the area. Dave then scuffed a cross which dribbled slowly towards the goal. The keeper, thinking that the "shot" had been taken outside the area called "Leave It!" to the defender who duly did so and the keeper himself lifted his foot to let the ball into the goal where it came to rest just over the line but before hitting the backboard. Dave then let out a cry like a man passing a kidney stone and sprinted back to celebrate with his fellow defenders. Jammy goal maybe but a goal nonetheless; South had a precious 2 goal cushion and the spectators had something to recount to their grandchildren - an Aston goal.
The rest of the game was played out with a sense of unreality - had Dave Aston really scored a goal? Surely not, but the scoreline couldn't lie could it? Some time in the last 15 minutes John Hawkes made it 3-0 with a goal that I think might have been a great strike from the edge of the area, perhaps it was taken on the reverse, but to be honest that Aston goal really left me stunned so I remember very little about what happened, or indeed how I got home after the match.
I do, however, have a general recollection that it was a scrappy game in which South confirmed their title aspirations by playing poorly but still coming away with 3 points.
Team played: Steve Parker, George Wych, Dave Aston, Nick Bristowe, Chris Graveling, Eliot Read, Richard Claes, Mark Williams, Tom Watson, Jack Chalk, John Hawkes, Graham McCulloch, Russell Johnson
Cambridge South Men's II 0 - 3 Ely City II
H/T: 0 - 1
Scorers: None
Awaiting Report
Team played: Shahbaz Ali, Rich Morgan, Tom Anns, Ron Oren, Dom Nelson, Chris Walsh, Tristen Knight, Chris Pearson, Nick Venner, Tom Howell, Finn Johnson, Rob Barton
Cambridge South Men's III 7 - 1 March Town IV
H/T: 4 - 0
Scorers: Paul South, Tom South (2), Stu Creed, Alasdair Edge (2), Ali Ward
MoM: Tom South (Scored two, made at least two more, always an attacking threat down the right and stepped in at right back to shore up the defence at the end. A complete performance.)
LoM: Simon Jelley (Skipped the game to chase fame on TV where he described himself as a "keen hockey player": not that keen if he's in a studio rather than on the astro! And he lost too.)
As the masters rot on walls and the angels eat their grapes I watched Picasso visit The Planet of the Apes. What does that even mean? Was Adam Ant off his nut when he wrote it? Who knows and quite possibly.
Cambridge South 3rds put aside such pressing existential questions to take on March 4ths at the Abbey. March were hovering in mid-table and can be relied on to always give a hard contest so South knew this was not a fixture to be taken lightly.
On a week of bountiful player availability for the higher teams, the 3rds were pleased to welcome Ally, Ali and Colin to bolster their ranks. Just as well, as the team was minus top goalscorer John Greaves (sore achilles - we told him to give up the high kicking in his ballet class) and team captain Jelley had sloped off to Wales to drool over an immaculately-coiffured Victoria Coren under the guise of participating in some TV geek quiz. Neil was left to rally the troops as stand-in captain for the day.
With South's only sub a crocked Johnny D good for ten minutes at best (or so we've heard), it was a focused squad low on numbers but high on quality who took to the pitch. After arriving in the middle of the first half for the previous weekend's trip to St Neots, Wilco demonstrated radically improved time-keeping showing up nearly a whole two minutes before the whistle. March meanwhile were having their own problems with late-arriving personnel: the unexplained absence of a goalkeeper meant they had to take to the pitch with ten men and a stand-in keeper.
South exploited their unexpected numerical superiority to press home an early advantage, making use of the extra man with passing play to pull March out of shape and make them chase the game. Up front Ally W was harrying the defence and making clever layoffs to the wingers or midfield while Ali E and Tom were working hard up and down the wide channels. A period of steadily increasing pressure was rewarded when a South free hit near the top of the March D was taken quickly by Paul, slipping it to Stu who pushed the ball into the D before unleashing a shot right-to-left that nestled in the corner of the goal.
Buoyed by the breakthrough, South pressed on. The defence were containing the attacking threat comfortably and Colin at centre back was showing the confidence to step up and launch attacks into the March half. March's best goalscoring opportunities were coming from short corners. Against the general run of play March almost levelled from such a short when their captain sent a formidable shot arrowing towards the left post, only for it to be blocked inches from the line by Neil's stick. As the ball's momentum spun it up into the air and towards the goal line, Neil lifted his stick to make a second mid-air block before Jan whacked the dropping ball away off the side line just ahead of the incoming March sticks.
Regathering themselves after the scare, South exerted more control over territory and possession to neutralise March's set-piece threat. Tom was making fine progress down the right wing and his ball into the D was met by his opposite number, Ali, arriving at the left post to knock it home. Tom followed up with a goal for himself before Ally W showed presence of mind when the ball broke loose in a crowded D to lift the ball over the crowd of sticks and diving keeper into the goal. Ali E just failed to connect properly with another couple of crosses but South still arrived at half time 4-0 up and cruising.
With no sign of the March keeper arriving it looked like a real opportunity to press home the advantage in the second half. March though, to their credit, had other ideas. A rejig in formation signalled a marked improvement in their fortunes. March's excellent right winger was showing speed and skill to put South's defenders on the back foot. Sanjay sustained an injury that saw him depart the pitch and South's defence had to be jury-rigged as Jan stepped in to Sanjay's position as sweeper. First Stu and then Tom dropped to right back as Johhny came-on for a longer stint than originally planned.
However, South held firm and prevented March from making the breakthrough. As the March tide receded, Ali E and Tom each grabbed their second goals to put the result beyond doubt. March did eventually get their consolation, another fiercely struck short corner this time finding a way through just inside the right post.
The last word went to South though, in every sense, with Paul getting on the score sheet to give an emphatic look to the final scoreline. A great performance and a great result, integrating several new faces into the team and still producing some fluent, confident hockey. More of the same please, with big games against Newmarket and St Neots 4s still to come.
Team played: Chris Collinson, Jan Brynjolffssen, Neil Sneade, Sanjay Agarwala, Colin Troll, Wilco Dijkstra, Paul South, Tom South, Stu Creed, Johnny Deacon, Alasdair Edge, Ali Ward
Cambridge South Men's IV 0 - 5 City of Peterborough VIII
H/T: 0 - 2
Scorers: None
Didn't deserve to lose 5:0. Just a bit unlucky. Will have to prove that by beating them on the return leg
Team played: David Bridge, Dave Monck, Ky Ho, Ian Evans, Nick Phillips, Ian Marshman, James Siddorn, Nathan Monck, Andrew Fraser, Boris Lossy, Jake Davis
