Cambridge South 2nd XI, sponsored by PwC, travelled to Spalding to take on their 2nds in a pre-season friendly. It was always going to be a tough game against a team placed a division above South.

Missing two key players from the defence, South debutant Nick Bristowe, Ian Evans and Simon Harper travelled with the squad to play in what were perfect hockey conditions.

The first ten minutes saw South dominate the possession with some good passing and movement, with Spalding showing their keenness to try and dispossess players with the ball. When South's passing seemed to falter, they paid the price as Spalding were allowed to effect good tackles and go on the offensive, leading to a cleanly hit shot finding the back of South's goal past the left post.

Loose man marking in the first half allowed Spalding to continue to threaten South's goal, which led to a free man undercutting with his reverse stick beyond the reach of an outstretched Lino. 2-0 down.

Chances for South included a cleanly hit shot from Kev just inside the D, which flashed across the goal and firmly found the left post. Spalding's keeper stopped a Dave Aston flick and promptly got up to stop another quickly taken flick, denying South a goal.

The half time talk pointed out that South were holding on to the ball for too long, with a notable lack of calling for the ball. A call for team work through calling, passing and movement [Ed. - our three secret weapons] was a theme the team took into the second half. This led to increased pressure around the opposition's D testing Spalding's defence, which stood up well.

The second half was a much more even affair overall. With Spalding clearing the ball out of their D when under threat and creating quick counter attacks, play was increasingly end-to-end.

During one of South's attacks, a ball from Dave Aston was knocked by a Spalding player off his keeper into the goal, an fortuitous goal but one that was deserved by South given the pressure they had been exerting. Another goal from South was definitely possible, however Spalding, in a Chelsea-type fashion, seemed to be aware of how to settle for the score line.

Although a friendly it was, it was important for South to be competitive given they were playing a team that competes in a league where the 2nd XI need to be playing next season. Competitive they were and with work on fluid team play through passing and moving, the team's prospects are encouraging. Although the 2nds lost today, the score line was representative of the team's ability to respond and raise their game.

Captain Kev Rowland commented, "No one could fault the hard work and effort put into todays game by every team member. Every man knew we could have come away with a draw or a win today, we just need to focus that motivation into a game of possession and effective passing throughout the 70 minutes. That is how South will dominate their opposition. Great work gents."