04Nov01: Croydon v Bec & Croydon 2 v Kingfisher 2 Bec visited Royal Russell school for their opening match of the indoor season on Sunday, meeting a Croydon side against whom they have had little joy in recent seasons. And this match was no different, as Croydon came away with a 17-15 victory. But the score told only a small part of the story. By all accounts, Bec's pre-season tour to Holland the previous weekend had been a successful one, while Croydon came into the match on the back of a 25-10 win over Cambridge. Neither side was able to name a full strength first team. Bec were without the injured Jacqui Hoare, and lined up Pete Broome, Duncan Jefford, Sarah Stalker with first team debutante Mel Meshkat. At the other end, Steve Johnson and Richard Crabbe set out with Cathy Clarkson and Tonya Clarke. Croydon were almost unchanged from last week's game, though were missing Anna Tester for family reasons. With Jenny Lee-Jacobs absent and Jenny Allen injured, Croydon were forced to call upon second team stalwart Julia Hook for a rare first team appearance. Bec coach Jane Abbey may have been fearing the worst as of 3 of her players arrived late, but there was little evidence of any disruption as they romped into an 8-1 lead in barely ten minutes. Two early free throws from Tonya Clarke set the ball rolling, and then some excellent long shooting had the Bec supporters purring with delight. Could it be that the internet pundits who backed Bec to finish above Croydon this season were right after all? Croydon had their international star Saida Hanine on the bench, preparing to make an occasional appearance in the second team match that followed. To their credit, Croydon resisted the temptation to bring her on at that stage and instead showed some battling qualities to haul themselves back into the match. Referee Colin Boys awarded Croydon 4 penalties in quick succession, converted by Dave Butters and Steve Jones. A Bec time-out at this stage had little impact in stifling the flow, and by half time, Croydon had brought the score back to nine apiece, and even missed a penalty that would have given them a half time lead. Croydon picked up where they left off at the start of the second half, extending their lead to 13-9. Until Pete Broome and Steve Johnson scored two goals, taking the score to 14-11, Bec had gone almost 30 minutes with just one goal to show for their labours. Croydon were then able to increase the lead further to 17-12 with goals from Alison Rotheram, Andy Withers and Steve Jones. Bec then played the last ten minutes with the same sort of spirit they'd shown in the first ten minutes, and goals from Steve Johnson, Duncan Jefford and Sarah Stalker took the final score to 17-15. Abbey is having a tough baptism as a Premier League coach. At 8-1 up, Bec must have thought victory was theirs for the taking, and it will not be an easy job to lift the team from this disappointment. For parts of the game, Bec clearly showed they have the ability to score plenty of goals, particularly if not defended tightly, and they may be able to give Mitcham, Nomads and Invicta tougher competition than they have managed in recent seasons. Meanwhile Croydon will be left to wonder how they could concede 8 goals so quickly. After making hard work of pulling away from Cambridge last week, they will need to address their slow starts to matches. Once they had handled initial shock, Croydon were the stronger team for most of the game and in fact defended well, with plenty of aggression. But in their next match, against Nomads in two weeks time, they are unlikely to be given a chance to get back in the game as they were today. Croydon have thrown away some good opportunities to beat Nomads in recent seasons, and will be looking to break that particular poor run against last season's runners-up. Croydon's youthful second team had little difficulty dispensing a poor Kingfisher 2 side 23-10. Ryan Dring again led the scoring with 6 goals, though should have been disappointed not to reach double figures. Fifteen year old Joseph Furlano showed how he is rapidly progressing, with 5 goals scored, while player of the match Nigel Hudspith, another who is improving week by week, added 3. The old guard also did their part, with Russell Parker scoring 4 and Emma Butters 2. Amanda Furlano, last week's player of the match, again looked comfortable in the Reserve Division. Her under-15 teammate Mikeda Jobson was a second half substitute for Saida Hanine. Match Report by Andy Final Score: Croydon 1 17 vs 15 Bec 1There were no Croydon scorers in this game.Submitted by on 23 Oct 0504Nov01: Croydon v Bec & Croydon 2 v Kingfisher 2 Bec visited Royal Russell school for their opening match of the indoor season on Sunday, meeting a Croydon side against whom they have had little joy in recent seasons. And this match was no different, as Croydon came away with a 17-15 victory. But the score told only a small part of the story. By all accounts, Bec's pre-season tour to Holland the previous weekend had been a successful one, while Croydon came into the match on the back of a 25-10 win over Cambridge. Neither side was able to name a full strength first team. Bec were without the injured Jacqui Hoare, and lined up Pete Broome, Duncan Jefford, Sarah Stalker with first team debutante Mel Meshkat. At the other end, Steve Johnson and Richard Crabbe set out with Cathy Clarkson and Tonya Clarke. Croydon were almost unchanged from last week's game, though were missing Anna Tester for family reasons. With Jenny Lee-Jacobs absent and Jenny Allen injured, Croydon were forced to call upon second team stalwart Julia Hook for a rare first team appearance. Bec coach Jane Abbey may have been fearing the worst as of 3 of her players arrived late, but there was little evidence of any disruption as they romped into an 8-1 lead in barely ten minutes. Two early free throws from Tonya Clarke set the ball rolling, and then some excellent long shooting had the Bec supporters purring with delight. Could it be that the internet pundits who backed Bec to finish above Croydon this season were right after all? Croydon had their international star Saida Hanine on the bench, preparing to make an occasional appearance in the second team match that followed. To their credit, Croydon resisted the temptation to bring her on at that stage and instead showed some battling qualities to haul themselves back into the match. Referee Colin Boys awarded Croydon 4 penalties in quick succession, converted by Dave Butters and Steve Jones. A Bec time-out at this stage had little impact in stifling the flow, and by half time, Croydon had brought the score back to nine apiece, and even missed a penalty that would have given them a half time lead. Croydon picked up where they left off at the start of the second half, extending their lead to 13-9. Until Pete Broome and Steve Johnson scored two goals, taking the score to 14-11, Bec had gone almost 30 minutes with just one goal to show for their labours. Croydon were then able to increase the lead further to 17-12 with goals from Alison Rotheram, Andy Withers and Steve Jones. Bec then played the last ten minutes with the same sort of spirit they'd shown in the first ten minutes, and goals from Steve Johnson, Duncan Jefford and Sarah Stalker took the final score to 17-15. Abbey is having a tough baptism as a Premier League coach. At 8-1 up, Bec must have thought victory was theirs for the taking, and it will not be an easy job to lift the team from this disappointment. For parts of the game, Bec clearly showed they have the ability to score plenty of goals, particularly if not defended tightly, and they may be able to give Mitcham, Nomads and Invicta tougher competition than they have managed in recent seasons. Meanwhile Croydon will be left to wonder how they could concede 8 goals so quickly. After making hard work of pulling away from Cambridge last week, they will need to address their slow starts to matches. Once they had handled initial shock, Croydon were the stronger team for most of the game and in fact defended well, with plenty of aggression. But in their next match, against Nomads in two weeks time, they are unlikely to be given a chance to get back in the game as they were today. Croydon have thrown away some good opportunities to beat Nomads in recent seasons, and will be looking to break that particular poor run against last season's runners-up. Croydon's youthful second team had little difficulty dispensing a poor Kingfisher 2 side 23-10. Ryan Dring again led the scoring with 6 goals, though should have been disappointed not to reach double figures. Fifteen year old Joseph Furlano showed how he is rapidly progressing, with 5 goals scored, while player of the match Nigel Hudspith, another who is improving week by week, added 3. The old guard also did their part, with Russell Parker scoring 4 and Emma Butters 2. Amanda Furlano, last week's player of the match, again looked comfortable in the Reserve Division. Her under-15 teammate Mikeda Jobson was a second half substitute for Saida Hanine. Match Report by Andy Final Score: Croydon 2 23 vs 10 Kingfisher 2There were no Croydon scorers in this game.Submitted by on 23 Oct 05
04Nov01: Croydon v Bec & Croydon 2 v Kingfisher 2 Bec visited Royal Russell school for their opening match of the indoor season on Sunday, meeting a Croydon side against whom they have had little joy in recent seasons. And this match was no different, as Croydon came away with a 17-15 victory. But the score told only a small part of the story. By all accounts, Bec's pre-season tour to Holland the previous weekend had been a successful one, while Croydon came into the match on the back of a 25-10 win over Cambridge. Neither side was able to name a full strength first team. Bec were without the injured Jacqui Hoare, and lined up Pete Broome, Duncan Jefford, Sarah Stalker with first team debutante Mel Meshkat. At the other end, Steve Johnson and Richard Crabbe set out with Cathy Clarkson and Tonya Clarke. Croydon were almost unchanged from last week's game, though were missing Anna Tester for family reasons. With Jenny Lee-Jacobs absent and Jenny Allen injured, Croydon were forced to call upon second team stalwart Julia Hook for a rare first team appearance. Bec coach Jane Abbey may have been fearing the worst as of 3 of her players arrived late, but there was little evidence of any disruption as they romped into an 8-1 lead in barely ten minutes. Two early free throws from Tonya Clarke set the ball rolling, and then some excellent long shooting had the Bec supporters purring with delight. Could it be that the internet pundits who backed Bec to finish above Croydon this season were right after all? Croydon had their international star Saida Hanine on the bench, preparing to make an occasional appearance in the second team match that followed. To their credit, Croydon resisted the temptation to bring her on at that stage and instead showed some battling qualities to haul themselves back into the match. Referee Colin Boys awarded Croydon 4 penalties in quick succession, converted by Dave Butters and Steve Jones. A Bec time-out at this stage had little impact in stifling the flow, and by half time, Croydon had brought the score back to nine apiece, and even missed a penalty that would have given them a half time lead. Croydon picked up where they left off at the start of the second half, extending their lead to 13-9. Until Pete Broome and Steve Johnson scored two goals, taking the score to 14-11, Bec had gone almost 30 minutes with just one goal to show for their labours. Croydon were then able to increase the lead further to 17-12 with goals from Alison Rotheram, Andy Withers and Steve Jones. Bec then played the last ten minutes with the same sort of spirit they'd shown in the first ten minutes, and goals from Steve Johnson, Duncan Jefford and Sarah Stalker took the final score to 17-15. Abbey is having a tough baptism as a Premier League coach. At 8-1 up, Bec must have thought victory was theirs for the taking, and it will not be an easy job to lift the team from this disappointment. For parts of the game, Bec clearly showed they have the ability to score plenty of goals, particularly if not defended tightly, and they may be able to give Mitcham, Nomads and Invicta tougher competition than they have managed in recent seasons. Meanwhile Croydon will be left to wonder how they could concede 8 goals so quickly. After making hard work of pulling away from Cambridge last week, they will need to address their slow starts to matches. Once they had handled initial shock, Croydon were the stronger team for most of the game and in fact defended well, with plenty of aggression. But in their next match, against Nomads in two weeks time, they are unlikely to be given a chance to get back in the game as they were today. Croydon have thrown away some good opportunities to beat Nomads in recent seasons, and will be looking to break that particular poor run against last season's runners-up. Croydon's youthful second team had little difficulty dispensing a poor Kingfisher 2 side 23-10. Ryan Dring again led the scoring with 6 goals, though should have been disappointed not to reach double figures. Fifteen year old Joseph Furlano showed how he is rapidly progressing, with 5 goals scored, while player of the match Nigel Hudspith, another who is improving week by week, added 3. The old guard also did their part, with Russell Parker scoring 4 and Emma Butters 2. Amanda Furlano, last week's player of the match, again looked comfortable in the Reserve Division. Her under-15 teammate Mikeda Jobson was a second half substitute for Saida Hanine. Match Report by Andy Final Score: Croydon 2 23 vs 10 Kingfisher 2There were no Croydon scorers in this game.Submitted by on 23 Oct 05
