Croydon 2 lose out to Mitcham 2 This was always going to be a tough match for Croydon 2, but when Mitcham lined up with two England internationals, the result was never in any doubt. Croydon had struggled to get a team out for this mid-week clash, and only four of the players started the previous match against Nomads. Sarah George was drafted in from the first team and along with Paul Jeanes, Dan Moore and Julia Johnson made up Croydon's first attack. Dan Pratt was rewarded with his first start for the second team, Janine Collier who is returning after pregnancy, Nigel Hudspith and Amanda Furlano made up the defence. Mitcham showed their dominance almost immediately, and after fifteen minutes the score stood at 6-0. Croydon continued to battle and eventually made a breakthrough with a goal from George. Croydon's attack struggled under the pressure from Dave Synott and Karen Sparrow who were playing together down the same end, leaving Jeanes' division to defend for often long periods of time. After a foul on Jeanes drew a penalty, which he calmly converted the half time score stood at 10-2. After the break, Croydon changed their style of defence which seemed to frustrate Mitcham, and often lead to them having only one shot attacks. Croydon meanwhile played patiently and confidently in attack and managed to put away the chances they had. A foul on George saw Paul Jeanes step to the penalty spot once again. This was quickly followed by a long shot from George, and after the turn around, a long shot from Hudspith, who had been fighting against the height of Synott for much of the game. With three consecutive Croydon goals, Mitcham seemed to realise they couldn't take the result for granted and so started to pull away but Croydon continued to battle and make things hard. With a Jeanes drop-off and a further penalty, the score stood at 18-7 full time. Croydon will not want to remember the 10-2 first half performance, but should be proud of the 8-5 second half. Every player worked throughout the entire game and a special mention should go to the youth contingent of the team; Amanda Furlano played well against Karen Sparrow, and the two Dans continue to show that they will be a force to contend with in the future. Match Report by Andy Final Score: Mitcham 2 18 vs 7 Croydon 2P Jeanes (4)N Hudspith (1)D Moore (0)D Pratt (0)S Withers (2)J Collier (0)A Furlano (0)J Johnson (0)Submitted by Sarah on 05 Dec 03
