Croydon KC 17 v 16 Nomads KC Croydon produced their most spirited performance of the season to beat Nomads and book their place in the BKA Cup final against Invicta. Nomads were always chasing the game once Croydon waltzed into a 5-0 lead, and looked subdued in comparison to the team that comfortably beat Croydon in the National League the previous week. Steve Jones' disagreement with a ladder had caused him to miss the last two Croydon games, but he returned to the side in place of Andy Withers. Sarah George kept her place after a solid performance the previous week. For Nomads, Anna Osbourne was absent meaning that Kerry Sargent returned to the team. Ivan Aquino started the ball rolling for Croydon with a distance shot and a running in shot. Between the two, Richard Burrows was awarded a yellow card in what must be record time for throwing the ball away. Paul Jeanes and George added another two goals for Croydon, while Aquino scored a long shot, after Croydon had intercepted the ball out of defence several times. Nomads registered their first goal through a Jo Adams long shot, and Brian Carswell quickly added another with a turn in feed to take the score to 5-2. George and Aquino, Croydon's shooting stars of the first half, scored another long shot apiece. Just when Croydon looked like taking a five goal lead into half time, a Burrows penalty and Carswell long shot closed the gap. Half time score was 7-4. If Croydon coach Ronald van der Bunt's half time team talk had included the words "tight defence", he would have been sorely disappointed as Carswell sank a distance shot straight after the restart, and Adams added a long shot. Steve Jones responded with a shot from behind the post, brilliantly picked out by Kim Jones. Dave Butters scored his first goal of the afternoon, a running-in shot, but Sargent and Dave Hart brought back two goals for Nomads. A running-in shot for Steve Jones took the score to 10-8 to Croydon . Goals were traded fairly evenly, but when Croydon opened up a 14-11 lead there was an opportunity to seal the game. Nomads responded strongly though, and Brian Carswell was able to level the score as Steve Jones in particular started to look fatigued after his recent lay-off. Perhaps Jones was attempting to lull Nomads into a false sense of security, because after the turnaround he scored the crucial next two goals. Butters then scored a long shot from the deepest, darkest corner of the Trinity sports hall to take Croydon 17-14 up with two minutes to go. Game over, surely. Not quite, as a Kerry Sargent scored a running-in shot. Then Helen Eardley scored a long shot. Croydon's large and vocal support had their nerves tested to the limit. But referee Peter Allen blew the final whistle and Croydon were through. This wasn't a classic match but was hugely exciting. Croydon have spent most of this largely disappointing season losing games narrowly, and when Nomads got the score back to 14-14, there could have been a very different outturn. But throughout the match Croydon had looked the more motivated team and it was this that carried them through. Croydon's big name players lived up to their reputations - Steve Jones and Butters scoring 5 and 4 second half goals each. But key to the success was the all-round team performance. Aquino's 4 first half goals and George's 2 gave Croydon a vital good start, while Paul Jeanes, Alison Rotheram, Kat van der Buntova and Kim Jones defended heroically and created many opportunities for others. An interesting feature of the game was the application of the new IKF free-pass rule. Neither team was awarded a single free pass from the penalty spot - all infringements being seen as penalties or restarts. Yet in the other semi-final, all contact infringements appeared to be awarded as free passes. This need not be a criticism of either referee, but it does illustrate how difficult it may be to find a consistent application of the new rule from July Croydon 1st team goals: K Jones (0), K van der Buntova (0), P Jeanes (1), I Aquino (5), D Butters (4), A Rotheram (1), S Jones (4), S George (2) Match Report by Andy Final Score: Croydon 1 17 vs 16 Nomads 1There were no Croydon scorers in this game.Submitted by on 23 Oct 05
