16Dec01: Croydon v Trojans Croydon beat Trojans 20-13 in the last match before Christmas at Royal Russell School. Croydon were able to field a full-strength line-up. Trojans started with Manchester University player Nikki Fisher on the bench, and were without the late-arriving Stella Hooker for the early part of the game. Croydon soon built up a comfortable lead. Anna Tester sunk a long shot only one pass into the game, and Dave Butters sank two shots. Kim Jones scored two goals, and had several other chances to score in the first few minutes. Hooker was introduced by Trojans at the earliest opportunity in place of Jones' defender, with the score at 5-0. Not only did this help to shore up the Trojans defence, but it also gave some impetus to the attack, and the score moved to 7-4 in Croydon's favour. Croydon stepped up a gear, and two more goals from Dave Butters, and one each from Andy Withers and Steve Jones took them into half time 11-4 up. Trojans brought on Nikki Fisher for the second half and began in positive fashion, starting with a Nora Goodridge free throw. Two more goals narrowed the gap to just three, but by the time Steve Jones put Croydon into a 15-10 lead, the match looked comfortably in Croydon's possession. But to their credit, Trojans fought bravely and scored two penalties, while at the same time Croydon's attack seemed to fall apart. At 15-12, the crowd sensed that one more Trojans goal could trigger a surprise result, but Janine Collier scored a crucial running-in shot past Goodridge. Croydon's men scored a goal apiece and combined with a late consolation goal from Trojans, the final score was 20-13. Trojans showed that their men in particular have considerable potential. But in the absence of Lorraine Branch and Nevilline Bareto, they are forced to play some women who struggle in the Premiership. The difference made by Stella Hooker and Nikki Fisher was very apparent, but both of these are infrequent players for the club. It will be interesting to see whether both are playing when Trojans meet relegation favourites Cambridge in early-2002. Croydon would probably accept that they made hard work of winning this match, and will certainly need to pick up the standard when they meet Invicta in the first match of the New Year. As usual Dave Butters and Steve Jones (7 and 5 respectively) led the way with the scoring, but Ivan Aquino and Andy Withers were unable to keep up the high-scoring form of recent weeks. Croydon 2 - Trojans 2 The first half of this match was a rather painful affair for the few spectators. Croydon went into a 3-0 lead, and Trojans clawed back to 3-2. Both teams then traded goals, but there was little between the two. Croydon had some difficulties dealing with the height of the Trojans men (who looked to have had their fair share of the mince pies already). The second half was marginally more exciting. Croydon took the score out to 7-4, and then 11-6 as Amanda Furlano scored the second of her three goals and deservedly took Croydon's second team player of the week. Paul Jeanes scored 4 second half goals and Nigel Hudspith 3 in the match as a whole. Trojans struggled to create good shooting opportunities and too often threw the ball away from long passes out of defence. The match finished 16-8 in Croydon's favour. While the match may have been forgettable, the Trojans selection policy was more interesting. Two of the girls who started the first team match also started the second team game, even though there were spare girls on the bench (one of whom came on) and first team substitute Stella Hooker did not play. Presumably the game will be voided in Croydon's favour. Match Report by Andy Final Score: Croydon 1 20 vs 13 Trojans 1There were no Croydon scorers in this game.Submitted by on 23 Oct 0516Dec01: Croydon v Trojans Croydon beat Trojans 20-13 in the last match before Christmas at Royal Russell School. Croydon were able to field a full-strength line-up. Trojans started with Manchester University player Nikki Fisher on the bench, and were without the late-arriving Stella Hooker for the early part of the game. Croydon soon built up a comfortable lead. Anna Tester sunk a long shot only one pass into the game, and Dave Butters sank two shots. Kim Jones scored two goals, and had several other chances to score in the first few minutes. Hooker was introduced by Trojans at the earliest opportunity in place of Jones' defender, with the score at 5-0. Not only did this help to shore up the Trojans defence, but it also gave some impetus to the attack, and the score moved to 7-4 in Croydon's favour. Croydon stepped up a gear, and two more goals from Dave Butters, and one each from Andy Withers and Steve Jones took them into half time 11-4 up. Trojans brought on Nikki Fisher for the second half and began in positive fashion, starting with a Nora Goodridge free throw. Two more goals narrowed the gap to just three, but by the time Steve Jones put Croydon into a 15-10 lead, the match looked comfortably in Croydon's possession. But to their credit, Trojans fought bravely and scored two penalties, while at the same time Croydon's attack seemed to fall apart. At 15-12, the crowd sensed that one more Trojans goal could trigger a surprise result, but Janine Collier scored a crucial running-in shot past Goodridge. Croydon's men scored a goal apiece and combined with a late consolation goal from Trojans, the final score was 20-13. Trojans showed that their men in particular have considerable potential. But in the absence of Lorraine Branch and Nevilline Bareto, they are forced to play some women who struggle in the Premiership. The difference made by Stella Hooker and Nikki Fisher was very apparent, but both of these are infrequent players for the club. It will be interesting to see whether both are playing when Trojans meet relegation favourites Cambridge in early-2002. Croydon would probably accept that they made hard work of winning this match, and will certainly need to pick up the standard when they meet Invicta in the first match of the New Year. As usual Dave Butters and Steve Jones (7 and 5 respectively) led the way with the scoring, but Ivan Aquino and Andy Withers were unable to keep up the high-scoring form of recent weeks. Croydon 2 - Trojans 2 The first half of this match was a rather painful affair for the few spectators. Croydon went into a 3-0 lead, and Trojans clawed back to 3-2. Both teams then traded goals, but there was little between the two. Croydon had some difficulties dealing with the height of the Trojans men (who looked to have had their fair share of the mince pies already). The second half was marginally more exciting. Croydon took the score out to 7-4, and then 11-6 as Amanda Furlano scored the second of her three goals and deservedly took Croydon's second team player of the week. Paul Jeanes scored 4 second half goals and Nigel Hudspith 3 in the match as a whole. Trojans struggled to create good shooting opportunities and too often threw the ball away from long passes out of defence. The match finished 16-8 in Croydon's favour. While the match may have been forgettable, the Trojans selection policy was more interesting. Two of the girls who started the first team match also started the second team game, even though there were spare girls on the bench (one of whom came on) and first team substitute Stella Hooker did not play. Presumably the game will be voided in Croydon's favour. Match Report by Andy Final Score: Croydon 2 16 vs 8 Trojans 2There were no Croydon scorers in this game.Submitted by on 23 Oct 05
16Dec01: Croydon v Trojans Croydon beat Trojans 20-13 in the last match before Christmas at Royal Russell School. Croydon were able to field a full-strength line-up. Trojans started with Manchester University player Nikki Fisher on the bench, and were without the late-arriving Stella Hooker for the early part of the game. Croydon soon built up a comfortable lead. Anna Tester sunk a long shot only one pass into the game, and Dave Butters sank two shots. Kim Jones scored two goals, and had several other chances to score in the first few minutes. Hooker was introduced by Trojans at the earliest opportunity in place of Jones' defender, with the score at 5-0. Not only did this help to shore up the Trojans defence, but it also gave some impetus to the attack, and the score moved to 7-4 in Croydon's favour. Croydon stepped up a gear, and two more goals from Dave Butters, and one each from Andy Withers and Steve Jones took them into half time 11-4 up. Trojans brought on Nikki Fisher for the second half and began in positive fashion, starting with a Nora Goodridge free throw. Two more goals narrowed the gap to just three, but by the time Steve Jones put Croydon into a 15-10 lead, the match looked comfortably in Croydon's possession. But to their credit, Trojans fought bravely and scored two penalties, while at the same time Croydon's attack seemed to fall apart. At 15-12, the crowd sensed that one more Trojans goal could trigger a surprise result, but Janine Collier scored a crucial running-in shot past Goodridge. Croydon's men scored a goal apiece and combined with a late consolation goal from Trojans, the final score was 20-13. Trojans showed that their men in particular have considerable potential. But in the absence of Lorraine Branch and Nevilline Bareto, they are forced to play some women who struggle in the Premiership. The difference made by Stella Hooker and Nikki Fisher was very apparent, but both of these are infrequent players for the club. It will be interesting to see whether both are playing when Trojans meet relegation favourites Cambridge in early-2002. Croydon would probably accept that they made hard work of winning this match, and will certainly need to pick up the standard when they meet Invicta in the first match of the New Year. As usual Dave Butters and Steve Jones (7 and 5 respectively) led the way with the scoring, but Ivan Aquino and Andy Withers were unable to keep up the high-scoring form of recent weeks. Croydon 2 - Trojans 2 The first half of this match was a rather painful affair for the few spectators. Croydon went into a 3-0 lead, and Trojans clawed back to 3-2. Both teams then traded goals, but there was little between the two. Croydon had some difficulties dealing with the height of the Trojans men (who looked to have had their fair share of the mince pies already). The second half was marginally more exciting. Croydon took the score out to 7-4, and then 11-6 as Amanda Furlano scored the second of her three goals and deservedly took Croydon's second team player of the week. Paul Jeanes scored 4 second half goals and Nigel Hudspith 3 in the match as a whole. Trojans struggled to create good shooting opportunities and too often threw the ball away from long passes out of defence. The match finished 16-8 in Croydon's favour. While the match may have been forgettable, the Trojans selection policy was more interesting. Two of the girls who started the first team match also started the second team game, even though there were spare girls on the bench (one of whom came on) and first team substitute Stella Hooker did not play. Presumably the game will be voided in Croydon's favour. Match Report by Andy Final Score: Croydon 2 16 vs 8 Trojans 2There were no Croydon scorers in this game.Submitted by on 23 Oct 05
