The South mixed team wrapped up the main portion of the season with an evenly matched game against Combwick, played at the Leys School.

South attacked straight from receiving the centre pass and took the lead. A nice move down the right of midfield from Tash Cox put central midfielder Gemma Thomas in, clean through on the Combwick keeper. The keeper saved Gemma’s initial shot but Gemma reacted first to the rebound and passed square for Andy Lewis to knock home. Combwick then restarted the game, attacked straight from their centre pass, and forced a short off a foot. The ball up to the top of the D was switched right, from where it was driven passed South keeper Peter Grant. Ninety seconds of the match played, 1-1.

After that breathless start, things settled down a bit, though still in the vein of an end-to-end game. The defence of Matt Murray, Rupert Webb, Jodee Davis and Elena de Angelis were holding firm, helped by some fine saves from Peter, especially one where he reacted smartly as a loose ball from a last ditch (and crucial) Jodee tackle was pushed at the corner of his net, to which a diving stick save was needed.

Going forwards, the midfield of Gemma, Tash, Chris Massey and Jack Chalk were combining well, feeding the ball in to forwards Andy and Emma Clarke. One such move produce South’s second short corner of the game halfway, through the half, from which the lead was regained. Chris injected cleanly to Gemma, who cracked a drive to which Jack added a high, looping deflection over the goalkeeper and in off the post. Jack’s reward was instant substitution, as South rotated their options, with Alex Thompson, Jan Brynjolffssen and Rob Garrett, replacing Tash, Jack and Matt respectively.

Things were looking good for South, until Combwick struck twice in three minutes approaching half-time. Both were from short corners, one a driven shot, the other a flick after South had disrupted the initial routine but failed to clear the ball. Half-time discussion from South centred around keeping playing, spreading wide to get the match away from Combwick’s strong centre, and getting out faster on defensive shorts.

The second half went in similar vein to the first, with play switching from end-to-end, keeping both keepers involved. Both made saves, notably the Combwick keeper reacting smartly to a Tash deflection from a driven cross. South’s defence was proving more adept at keeping out Combwick’s shorts, so the score remained close. We lost Jodee due to a leg injury (driven cross directly onto ankle, ouch), but that only allowed Alex, who had been playing well in midfield, to show she is just as accomplished at right back.

With time running out, it was looking as if South might finish a close second, in an even game. However, in the final minute, South won one final short. Another clean inject found Andy Lewis, whose hard drive was deflected by a defensive stick in front of the Combwick keeper, giving her little chance. Three-three. There was only just time for a centre pass, before the final whistle blew on a fair result. South could be extremely happy with how the had started and finished the game, with goals in both the opening and closing fifteen seconds of the match. Playing from whistle-to-whistle. Nice.