10Mar02: Mitcham 1 - Croydon 1

With little to play for themselves, Croydon took on Mitcham at Trinity School in a bid to upset the title-holders attempt to recapture their title. The first meeting between the two teams this season was a forty goal classic, with Mitcham winning in the dying seconds. Sunday's match was a little short on goals and at times quality, but it certainly provided plenty of entertainment.

Croydon played something close to their regular first eight, with Paul Jeanes starting in place of Andy Withers. Mitcham started with Byron Attwell, who as a late substitute contributed much to their victory earlier in the season. Unscheduled pre-match entertainment was provided by the Mitcham substitutes' hunt for brushes with which to sweep an unusually mucky Trinity School floor, delaying the start by several minutes.

Whether the floor somehow distracted Mitcham is not known, but some unusually slack passing out of defence by the home side gifted Croydon a number of opportunities to score the opening goal. Ivan Aquino duly obliged with a long shot. It took until 8 minutes before the second goal, scored by Steve Jones. Ex-Croydon player Leo Grootenboer responded with two long shots, and Mandy Dunckley and Peter Teague extended the Mitcham lead to 4-2. Alison Rotheram won a penalty converted by Dave Butters, and Paul Jeanes levelled for the away side. Goals from Teague, Grootenboer (Mitcham) and Jones (Croydon) gave Mitcham a 6-5 half time lead.

Croydon soon equalised the score through Jeanes. Goals were traded and no side could build up a significant lead. Croydon got to 9-7 ahead, thanks to three goals from Kim Jones, Butters and Rotheram, but Mitcham built themselves an 11-9 lead, with goals from Dunckley, Perrot and two Grootenboer long shots. Ten minutes to go, but if Mitcham supporters thought victory was theirs, they found there was a twist to the tale. Steve Jones sank a long shot for Croydon, then Anna Jeanes picked a good moment to open her goal-scoring account by sinking a running-in shot past Sam Wells. Butters then converted a penalty to give Croydon a 12-11 lead, with about 4 minutes to go. The Mitcham attack turned increasingly frantic. Adam Dibble, an earlier substitute for Byron Attwell, put up several long shots, along with Grootenboer. Yet it was the two Mitcham girls, Sam Wells and Carly Holness, who had been largely anonymous as attacking threats, who between them drew a penalty from Anna Jeanes. Grootenboer coolly converted, and the match finished at 12-12.

The watching Invicta squad, on their way to their afternoon match against Nomads, will have seen their chief rivals for the title (Mitcham) struggle to score goals and create opportunities. Mitcham were heavily dependent on the excellent Grootenboer, who scored six. Much the same of course could be said for Croydon, who will be Invicta's opponents in the BKA Cup semi-final next weekend in Norwich. For Croydon, Steve Jones and Dave Butters (all penalties) were once again the principal scorers with three each. Like Mitcham, Croydon were short on goal-scoring power but long on defensive pressure, and will have been buoyed to have taken their first point off a 'top-three' club this season. Coach Steve Jones will be hoping that this will stand Croydon in good stead as they attempt to pull off something of an upset in their bid to retain the BKA Cup.

10Mar02: Mitcham 2 - Croydon 2

A peculiar match that will have left neither coach happy with the outcome. Croydon struggled as much as in their match earlier in the season with Mitcham, scoring just four goals, two of which were penalties and none of which were in the second half. Adam Dibble was once again the scourge of the Croydon team, scoring five of Mitcham's first eight goals, including two penalties and a free throw. Ryan Dring scored three for Croydon in reply, and Andy Withers scored the last goal of the first half, making the score 11-4 to Mitcham.

In the second half, there were only seven goals, all of which were scored by Mitcham. Yet the young Mitcham side became at odds with one another, surprisingly considering how well they were playing and how easily they were winning. Coach Mike Humphries will have something to ponder over the next few weeks.

10Mar02: Pelham 2 v Croydon 4

A goal rush was in evidence for this entertaining match played at Epsom College as the sides improved on their performances in the recent reverse fixture. Neil Paterson (3), Daniel Pratt (3) and Tony ? (4) took all 10 goals for Croydon. However, some rank hypocrisy lead Pelham to field a team containing several 1st players who went on to play in the subsequent 1st team match after the resumption of this game. Such double-standards lead Croydon to lodge an official complaint after Pelham appealled successfully over 1st team regular Dave Butters playing in the reverse fixture at the end of February. The letter of the law was abided to in that instance, despite Butters returning from eye surgery, so it is hoped the LDKA will be following suit in this matter.

Pelham subsequently admitted fielding an illegal team and the game was awarded to Croydon.



Match Report by Andy

Final Score: Mitcham 1 12 vs 12 Croydon 1
There were no Croydon scorers in this game.
Submitted by on 23 Oct 05

10Mar02: Mitcham 1 - Croydon 1

With little to play for themselves, Croydon took on Mitcham at Trinity School in a bid to upset the title-holders attempt to recapture their title. The first meeting between the two teams this season was a forty goal classic, with Mitcham winning in the dying seconds. Sunday's match was a little short on goals and at times quality, but it certainly provided plenty of entertainment.

Croydon played something close to their regular first eight, with Paul Jeanes starting in place of Andy Withers. Mitcham started with Byron Attwell, who as a late substitute contributed much to their victory earlier in the season. Unscheduled pre-match entertainment was provided by the Mitcham substitutes' hunt for brushes with which to sweep an unusually mucky Trinity School floor, delaying the start by several minutes.

Whether the floor somehow distracted Mitcham is not known, but some unusually slack passing out of defence by the home side gifted Croydon a number of opportunities to score the opening goal. Ivan Aquino duly obliged with a long shot. It took until 8 minutes before the second goal, scored by Steve Jones. Ex-Croydon player Leo Grootenboer responded with two long shots, and Mandy Dunckley and Peter Teague extended the Mitcham lead to 4-2. Alison Rotheram won a penalty converted by Dave Butters, and Paul Jeanes levelled for the away side. Goals from Teague, Grootenboer (Mitcham) and Jones (Croydon) gave Mitcham a 6-5 half time lead.

Croydon soon equalised the score through Jeanes. Goals were traded and no side could build up a significant lead. Croydon got to 9-7 ahead, thanks to three goals from Kim Jones, Butters and Rotheram, but Mitcham built themselves an 11-9 lead, with goals from Dunckley, Perrot and two Grootenboer long shots. Ten minutes to go, but if Mitcham supporters thought victory was theirs, they found there was a twist to the tale. Steve Jones sank a long shot for Croydon, then Anna Jeanes picked a good moment to open her goal-scoring account by sinking a running-in shot past Sam Wells. Butters then converted a penalty to give Croydon a 12-11 lead, with about 4 minutes to go. The Mitcham attack turned increasingly frantic. Adam Dibble, an earlier substitute for Byron Attwell, put up several long shots, along with Grootenboer. Yet it was the two Mitcham girls, Sam Wells and Carly Holness, who had been largely anonymous as attacking threats, who between them drew a penalty from Anna Jeanes. Grootenboer coolly converted, and the match finished at 12-12.

The watching Invicta squad, on their way to their afternoon match against Nomads, will have seen their chief rivals for the title (Mitcham) struggle to score goals and create opportunities. Mitcham were heavily dependent on the excellent Grootenboer, who scored six. Much the same of course could be said for Croydon, who will be Invicta's opponents in the BKA Cup semi-final next weekend in Norwich. For Croydon, Steve Jones and Dave Butters (all penalties) were once again the principal scorers with three each. Like Mitcham, Croydon were short on goal-scoring power but long on defensive pressure, and will have been buoyed to have taken their first point off a 'top-three' club this season. Coach Steve Jones will be hoping that this will stand Croydon in good stead as they attempt to pull off something of an upset in their bid to retain the BKA Cup.

10Mar02: Mitcham 2 - Croydon 2

A peculiar match that will have left neither coach happy with the outcome. Croydon struggled as much as in their match earlier in the season with Mitcham, scoring just four goals, two of which were penalties and none of which were in the second half. Adam Dibble was once again the scourge of the Croydon team, scoring five of Mitcham's first eight goals, including two penalties and a free throw. Ryan Dring scored three for Croydon in reply, and Andy Withers scored the last goal of the first half, making the score 11-4 to Mitcham.

In the second half, there were only seven goals, all of which were scored by Mitcham. Yet the young Mitcham side became at odds with one another, surprisingly considering how well they were playing and how easily they were winning. Coach Mike Humphries will have something to ponder over the next few weeks.

10Mar02: Pelham 2 v Croydon 4

A goal rush was in evidence for this entertaining match played at Epsom College as the sides improved on their performances in the recent reverse fixture. Neil Paterson (3), Daniel Pratt (3) and Tony ? (4) took all 10 goals for Croydon. However, some rank hypocrisy lead Pelham to field a team containing several 1st players who went on to play in the subsequent 1st team match after the resumption of this game. Such double-standards lead Croydon to lodge an official complaint after Pelham appealled successfully over 1st team regular Dave Butters playing in the reverse fixture at the end of February. The letter of the law was abided to in that instance, despite Butters returning from eye surgery, so it is hoped the LDKA will be following suit in this matter.

Pelham subsequently admitted fielding an illegal team and the game was awarded to Croydon.



Match Report by Andy

Final Score: Mitcham 2 18 vs 4 Croydon 2
There were no Croydon scorers in this game.
Submitted by on 23 Oct 05