Croydon out-played by Mitcham Croydon entertained Mitcham on this Saturday evening with the same side who beat Bec last week but with illness affecting half of one division. In truth this made little difference to the result. Croydon were first on the board with a long shot from Ross Carr-Taylor but Mitcham were soon level with a penalty conversion from Steve Green. The teams traded goals for the first 8 minutes with long shots from Dean Woods and Paul Jeanes cancelled out by penalties from Dave Butters and Green. However from here Mitcham pulled away as their girls found their range with a free-pass from Saskia de Jager the only reply. The 'fluy Carr-Taylor was replaced by Nigel Hudspith after 10 minutes but this was just an interlude as Mitcham's boys got in on the act with Green notably on the 'sheet again. Anna Jeanes scored the 1st of 2 goals from distance but a 2nd Karen Sparrow free-pass and a Sam Wells long shot saw Mitcham comfortable at the break: 6-12. The 2nd half started with Grace Stimpson coming on for the ailing de Jager but it was not dissimilar from the 1st as Mitcham largely controlled preceedings. Hudspith earnt himself a yellow card as referee Chris Crafter tried to assert himself but otherwise the visitors continued to pressure Croydon's passing into mistakes and capitalised with goals from all around the team. The game was long gone before Paul Jeanes added some late penalties and finished in confusion as the referee awarded a bonus goal to each side. However the (real) final score was 11-23. One must feel sorry for a referee to have to travel such a distance to referee. Croydon will put this result to one-side and battle on, whereas one sensed Mitcham were not content with their own play and will need to tighten up for the bigger tests later in the season. Match Report by Andy Final Score: Croydon 1 11 vs 23 Mitcham 1P Jeanes (3)A Withers (1)D Butters (1)N Hudspith (1)R Carr-Taylor (1)A Jeanes (2)A Tydeman (1)S Withers (0)S de Jager (1)G Codd (0)Submitted by on 29 Jan 06Croydon 2 underperform against Mitcham 2 Croydon 2 really should have done better in this game against old rivals Mitcham. This was a competent Mitcham team but one certainly one that lacked some of the punch from recent years and, although Croydon were also missing a number of players and tried hard, they really didn't do themselves justice. Mitcham started things off quickly with a long shot and a runner from Peter Teague before Matt Cook scored with his long range basketball shot to get Croydon on the board. Referee Gary Brooks had a stinker throughout and failed to call a clear defended to allow Mitcham to extend their lead to 1-3. Nigel Hudspith was on the board with a running in shot against the nimble Byron Atwell but Mike Herbert replied for Mitcham and poor positioning under the post from Dan Pratt allowed a simple lay in for Joe Bedford. Grace Stimpson ran in, Zu Munshi scored from distance and Hudspith netted from close range but Mitcham were well away by then and the half ended 5-12. The 2nd half started with Mandy Furlano replaced by Becky Pratt but it did not get much better as Croydon's legs started to tire after some had subbed for the 1sts. Mitcham offered up a number of chances around the post but only Dan Pratt managed to convert one of these and Croydon's only other score for the half were 2 goals for Jane Belford. Final score, a trouncing at 8-21. The scoreline doesn't lie so Mitcham deserved all they got but in truth Croydon were not up for this game and made it too easy for a visiting side that should have been closer. Match Report by Andy Final Score: Croydon 2 8 vs 21 Mitcham 2N Hudspith (2)M Cook (1)Z Omar (1)D Pratt (1)J Hudspith (2)G Codd (1)L MacKay-Elliott (0)A Furlano (0)B Sinclair (0)Submitted by on 29 Jan 06
Croydon 2 underperform against Mitcham 2 Croydon 2 really should have done better in this game against old rivals Mitcham. This was a competent Mitcham team but one certainly one that lacked some of the punch from recent years and, although Croydon were also missing a number of players and tried hard, they really didn't do themselves justice. Mitcham started things off quickly with a long shot and a runner from Peter Teague before Matt Cook scored with his long range basketball shot to get Croydon on the board. Referee Gary Brooks had a stinker throughout and failed to call a clear defended to allow Mitcham to extend their lead to 1-3. Nigel Hudspith was on the board with a running in shot against the nimble Byron Atwell but Mike Herbert replied for Mitcham and poor positioning under the post from Dan Pratt allowed a simple lay in for Joe Bedford. Grace Stimpson ran in, Zu Munshi scored from distance and Hudspith netted from close range but Mitcham were well away by then and the half ended 5-12. The 2nd half started with Mandy Furlano replaced by Becky Pratt but it did not get much better as Croydon's legs started to tire after some had subbed for the 1sts. Mitcham offered up a number of chances around the post but only Dan Pratt managed to convert one of these and Croydon's only other score for the half were 2 goals for Jane Belford. Final score, a trouncing at 8-21. The scoreline doesn't lie so Mitcham deserved all they got but in truth Croydon were not up for this game and made it too easy for a visiting side that should have been closer. Match Report by Andy Final Score: Croydon 2 8 vs 21 Mitcham 2N Hudspith (2)M Cook (1)Z Omar (1)D Pratt (1)J Hudspith (2)G Codd (1)L MacKay-Elliott (0)A Furlano (0)B Sinclair (0)Submitted by on 29 Jan 06
