Invicta get their revenge After the surprise win of the season when Croydon beat Invicta before Christmas, which led to the resignation of the Invicta coach and a player or two, Invicta were out for revenge against Croydon. Croydon had Sarah George in for the absent Carla Smith but were otherwise unchanged. Both teams took a while to find their stride and it was a good eight minutes before the scoring was opened by the lively Rob Williams. This seemed to open the floodgates somewhat as Invicta raced to a 5-0 lead before a Steve Jones free-pass put Croydon on the scoresheet. Croydon had the better of the remaining minutes in the scrappy first half but with the clock running out, Jones was unable to convert a difficult running in shot. Half time: 6-3. Croydon needed to score quickly to get back into the match but a drop off from Rob Williams gave Invicta a 4 goal lead and they never looked back. At 12-4 the game looked done and dusted but Croydon scoerd the next 4 goals with efforts from Dave Butters, Jones, Marika Barretto and the obligatory penalty from captain Paul Jeanes. Invicta were quick to call a time out and this worked as it settled them down and they scored the next 2 goals to kill off the game. Final score 14-9. Match Report by Andy Final Score: Invicta 1 14 vs 9 Croydon 1P Jeanes (3)S Jones (2)D Butters (1)R Carr-Taylor (0)M Carvey (1)S Withers (1)S de Jager (1)A Tydeman (0)Submitted by on 06 Mar 05Croydon 2 not at the races Croydon 2 welcomed back captain Nigel Hudspith but sadly he was unable to make the difference as another result went the way of Croydon's opponents. Croydon started quite well but were unable to take any of their early chances and eventually Invicta were able to take the early initiative including a long shot from Luke Francis. Hudspith missed an early penalty but a running in shot from Joe Furlano put the visitors on the 'sheet. Free passes from Andy Withers and Julia Johnson made further in-roads leaving the scores 6-4 at half time. The 2nd half like many this season was largely one to forget for Croydon. Invicta started well, sank 3 quick goals and Croydon's heads dropped. Invicta were clearly enjoying themselves and took advantage of some neat inside passing to net several goals as Croydon's defence folded slightly. At 17-7 the scores were starting to look embarassing but Croydon restored some pride with late scores from Zu Munshi (on for Furlano) and Dan Pratt to leave the scores 18-11.Match Report by Andy Final Score: Invicta 2 18 vs 11 Croydon 2A Withers (4)D Pratt (2)N Hudspith (0)J Furlano (1)Z Omar (1)J Johnson (2)T Kentfield (1)L Barker (0)B Sinclair (0)Submitted by on 06 Mar 05
Croydon 2 not at the races Croydon 2 welcomed back captain Nigel Hudspith but sadly he was unable to make the difference as another result went the way of Croydon's opponents. Croydon started quite well but were unable to take any of their early chances and eventually Invicta were able to take the early initiative including a long shot from Luke Francis. Hudspith missed an early penalty but a running in shot from Joe Furlano put the visitors on the 'sheet. Free passes from Andy Withers and Julia Johnson made further in-roads leaving the scores 6-4 at half time. The 2nd half like many this season was largely one to forget for Croydon. Invicta started well, sank 3 quick goals and Croydon's heads dropped. Invicta were clearly enjoying themselves and took advantage of some neat inside passing to net several goals as Croydon's defence folded slightly. At 17-7 the scores were starting to look embarassing but Croydon restored some pride with late scores from Zu Munshi (on for Furlano) and Dan Pratt to leave the scores 18-11.Match Report by Andy Final Score: Invicta 2 18 vs 11 Croydon 2A Withers (4)D Pratt (2)N Hudspith (0)J Furlano (1)Z Omar (1)J Johnson (2)T Kentfield (1)L Barker (0)B Sinclair (0)Submitted by on 06 Mar 05
