Croydon 2 just miss out against Bec 2A mixture of players travelled to St Mary's to take on Bec 2. Croydon matched Dan Pratt up against Bec's Tom Brady, joining him in first attack were Ben Hale, Anna Jeanes and Julia Johnson. In defence were Adam Champion (c), Paul Jeanes, Hannah Evans and Grace Stimpson. Croydon started brightly and Anna Jeanes opened the scoring with a great long shot, Croydon's defence did well in shutting out Bec and that gave Julia Johnson a chance to double the score, which she did with another shot from distance and Croydon raced into a 2-0 lead. The game started to slow down a little and Bec found an opening for themselves, a shot from distance halved the deficit but Croydon soon had a chance to extend their lead again after Stimpson was denied a goal scoring opportunity and Paul Jeanes stepped up to the spot, he made no mistake and coolly scored to make it 3-1. Soon after though Bec had a penalty of their own and Ian Buckle stepped up to score from the spot. Bec equalised soon after with a well worked running in shot to make it 3-3. The next goal was going to be important and it was Bec who scored again, with yet another long distance effort to go into the lead for the first time at 3-4. Croydon pegged the hosts back, Grace getting her first of the game with a trademark shot from the halfway line. Croydon were reduced to 7 for a while as Champion took a tumble whilst defending and had to stay off on the sidelines whilst he recovered, Jeanes did a great job covering and won some crucial interceptions. Croydon thought they had regained the lead when Pratt scored from mid range but the goal was disallowed after Hale was adjudged to have pushed his player under the basket. The visitors were still pressing but some mistakes led to Bec having some good spells of possession, the hosts managed to get 2 quick goals from distance to give them a two goal lead. Bec then scored another from mid range to give them the biggest lead of the game at 4-7. Half time followed soon after. After half time Croydon knew they had to score the first goal otherwise the game would start to get away from them, they did just that when Stimpson burst past her player to tuck away a neat running in shot. Bec had a disallowed goal of their own soon after when Champion was blocked trying to cover and Buckle's running in shot didn't count. Croydon further reduced the deficit after Pratt collected a missed shot, faked Brady into over committing and then ducked back under to score from close range which made it 6-7. The game was beginning to heat up, not that it needed it with the St Mary's heaters making it much warmer than the freezing conditions outside. But both sides were really going for it, unfortunately the extra intensity led to a couple more incidents, with Pratt managing to clash heads with the post and Johnson hitting the deck. Croydon were back in it and the pressure began to tell with some sloppy passing, Bec took full advantage of the extra time in attack and scored a running in shot to double their fragile lead at 8-6. The hosts didn't close Croydon out though and paid the price with Stimpson scoring another trademark goal from distance. Both sides long shooting was impressive and Bec killed off Croydon's chances with another 2 goals from long range to give them a three goal lead at 7-10. The visitors though didn't seem to know when they were beaten and continued pressing. Johnson got around her defender and received the ball, she scored the running in shot and Croydon followed that up with a lovely move that saw Champion feed Paul Jeanes for an easy shot from under the post. With the score at 9-10 Croydon seemed to panic and a few missed passes meant they didn't have the chance to level the scores as the full time whistle went. Croydon put up a good show but will have to learn how to cope in the tight games, the defence kept Bec out for long periods and had it not been for the host’s accuracy from distance Croydon may have been out of sight. But the signs were encouraging and hopefully Croydon 2 can push on from this and get a result from their next fixture against Mitcham on Tuesday night. Match Report by Sicknote | Updated by Andy Final Score: Bec 2 10 vs 9 Croydon 2P Jeanes (2)D Pratt (1)B Hale (0)A Champion (0)G Codd (3)J Johnson (2)A Jeanes (1)H Evans (0)Submitted by Sicknote on 01 Feb 09Croydon 3 hang on for another close win out WestCroydon 3 left the wind and the snow behind and headed to sunny Richmond to take on West London 1. The team were minus a couple of regular 3rd-team faces, but were confident of a win nonetheless. In attack were Andy Burnham, Sarah Hole, Pete Lindsey, and Zoë Shewell. Captain Lynda Barker led the defence with Steph Robinson, Steve Chadd, and Mark Irving. Croydon started well, adapting quickly to the small hall and its slippery surface. The Croydon attackers dominated their players, passing and moving with confidence. When West London did intercept the rare wayward pass, they were instantly tightly-marked and so struggled to get the ball to their team mates. West London were restricted to one shot attacks as Mark and Steve in particular dominated the collect. With hardly any pressure along the half way line, Croydon quickly found the ball back in their attacking section each time. The first goal came when a West London player intercepted the ball but failed to cleanly catch it. The ball dropped in front of Zoë under the basket for a simple (though admittedly often missed!) shot which bounced twice around the rim before dropping through the hole. Sarah quickly followed up with Croydon’s second goal when she beat her player for a neat running in shot. Following the end-switch, Captain Lynda took command of her section by scoring two goals in relatively quick succession. Steve intercepted a West London pass heading back towards their attack, and passed it quickly on to Lynda to take a free undefended mid-range shot. The second was a neat running in shot reportedly fed by Steve (or so he claimed in the car home). West London got themselves off the mark with a goal, having watched a number of their previous shots bouncing everywhere but through the middle of the basket. Croydon were now feeling confident and continued to make space for themselves. Pete maintained the collect position whilst Zoë and Sarah attacked, working well at one point to force a switch that almost led to a goal had the ball not bounced agonisingly out of the basket. Not to be deterred though, Sarah worked herself in to some space and took a long shot which fortunately went in as a West London boy held the better collect. The half time whistle blew with Croydon leading 5-1. During the break Ed was substituted on for Andy. Without a clear explanation as to how or why, Croydon completely failed to maintain their dominance in the second half, and let West London back in to the game. Some poor passing, lack of movement, and shooting without collect, meant West London held the most possession. And they started to put it to use. Slowly they got themselves back in to the game with an open-play goal, and then a suspicious free-pass given against Sarah for pushing through her player on the half way line. West London were also granted a penalty against Mark or Steve (nobody is sure which…) for some sort of infringement (nobody is sure what…) Steve responded with the only Croydon goal of the second half, when Lynda fed him in to space for a mid range shot. To keep West London at bay, Lynda’s section reverted to basic 4-0 passing and movement. But the ref considered this to be time wasting when Steve chose not to shoot when there was no collect. Thankfully the Croydon defence held out, and kept West London at bay. Final score 6-5 to Croydon. Twice this season now Croydon 3 have dominated a team in the first half, and then inexplicably become complacent in the second and allowed the opposition back in to the game. Croydon 3 did well to hold on to the win, having secured enough chances in the first half to stay ahead, but must be wary of the “West-London-Supernova-Effect” happening again in future matches. Oh, and for once the girls are dominating the score board. Yey! Match Report by Zoe | Updated by Zoe Final Score: West London 1 5 vs 6 Croydon 3S Chadd (1)M Irving (0)P Lindsey (0)A Burnham (0)E Chaney (0)L Barker (2)S Hole (2)Z Shewell (1)S Robinson (0)Submitted by Zoe on 01 Feb 09Sloppy 2nd half sees Croydon 4 lose to Wildcats 2Croydon started with Steve Pratt, Phil Aish, Hayley Rand and Kathy Dean in attack. Russell Comber, Jon Dean, Charlotte Feakins and Becky Dean in defence. Croydon 4 were 2-1 down at half time, Jon Dean scoring Croydon's solitary goal. West London Wildcats took over in the second half and scored 5 unanswered goals to leave Croydon defeated 7-1.Match Report by KarenJ | Updated by Andy Final Score: West London Wildcats 2 7 vs 1 Croydon 4J Dean (1)P Aish (0)R Comber (0)S Pratt (0)K Bradford (0)C Feakins (0)B Lockett (0)H Rand (0)Submitted by KarenJ on 01 Feb 09
Croydon 3 hang on for another close win out WestCroydon 3 left the wind and the snow behind and headed to sunny Richmond to take on West London 1. The team were minus a couple of regular 3rd-team faces, but were confident of a win nonetheless. In attack were Andy Burnham, Sarah Hole, Pete Lindsey, and Zoë Shewell. Captain Lynda Barker led the defence with Steph Robinson, Steve Chadd, and Mark Irving. Croydon started well, adapting quickly to the small hall and its slippery surface. The Croydon attackers dominated their players, passing and moving with confidence. When West London did intercept the rare wayward pass, they were instantly tightly-marked and so struggled to get the ball to their team mates. West London were restricted to one shot attacks as Mark and Steve in particular dominated the collect. With hardly any pressure along the half way line, Croydon quickly found the ball back in their attacking section each time. The first goal came when a West London player intercepted the ball but failed to cleanly catch it. The ball dropped in front of Zoë under the basket for a simple (though admittedly often missed!) shot which bounced twice around the rim before dropping through the hole. Sarah quickly followed up with Croydon’s second goal when she beat her player for a neat running in shot. Following the end-switch, Captain Lynda took command of her section by scoring two goals in relatively quick succession. Steve intercepted a West London pass heading back towards their attack, and passed it quickly on to Lynda to take a free undefended mid-range shot. The second was a neat running in shot reportedly fed by Steve (or so he claimed in the car home). West London got themselves off the mark with a goal, having watched a number of their previous shots bouncing everywhere but through the middle of the basket. Croydon were now feeling confident and continued to make space for themselves. Pete maintained the collect position whilst Zoë and Sarah attacked, working well at one point to force a switch that almost led to a goal had the ball not bounced agonisingly out of the basket. Not to be deterred though, Sarah worked herself in to some space and took a long shot which fortunately went in as a West London boy held the better collect. The half time whistle blew with Croydon leading 5-1. During the break Ed was substituted on for Andy. Without a clear explanation as to how or why, Croydon completely failed to maintain their dominance in the second half, and let West London back in to the game. Some poor passing, lack of movement, and shooting without collect, meant West London held the most possession. And they started to put it to use. Slowly they got themselves back in to the game with an open-play goal, and then a suspicious free-pass given against Sarah for pushing through her player on the half way line. West London were also granted a penalty against Mark or Steve (nobody is sure which…) for some sort of infringement (nobody is sure what…) Steve responded with the only Croydon goal of the second half, when Lynda fed him in to space for a mid range shot. To keep West London at bay, Lynda’s section reverted to basic 4-0 passing and movement. But the ref considered this to be time wasting when Steve chose not to shoot when there was no collect. Thankfully the Croydon defence held out, and kept West London at bay. Final score 6-5 to Croydon. Twice this season now Croydon 3 have dominated a team in the first half, and then inexplicably become complacent in the second and allowed the opposition back in to the game. Croydon 3 did well to hold on to the win, having secured enough chances in the first half to stay ahead, but must be wary of the “West-London-Supernova-Effect” happening again in future matches. Oh, and for once the girls are dominating the score board. Yey! Match Report by Zoe | Updated by Zoe Final Score: West London 1 5 vs 6 Croydon 3S Chadd (1)M Irving (0)P Lindsey (0)A Burnham (0)E Chaney (0)L Barker (2)S Hole (2)Z Shewell (1)S Robinson (0)Submitted by Zoe on 01 Feb 09Sloppy 2nd half sees Croydon 4 lose to Wildcats 2Croydon started with Steve Pratt, Phil Aish, Hayley Rand and Kathy Dean in attack. Russell Comber, Jon Dean, Charlotte Feakins and Becky Dean in defence. Croydon 4 were 2-1 down at half time, Jon Dean scoring Croydon's solitary goal. West London Wildcats took over in the second half and scored 5 unanswered goals to leave Croydon defeated 7-1.Match Report by KarenJ | Updated by Andy Final Score: West London Wildcats 2 7 vs 1 Croydon 4J Dean (1)P Aish (0)R Comber (0)S Pratt (0)K Bradford (0)C Feakins (0)B Lockett (0)H Rand (0)Submitted by KarenJ on 01 Feb 09
Sloppy 2nd half sees Croydon 4 lose to Wildcats 2Croydon started with Steve Pratt, Phil Aish, Hayley Rand and Kathy Dean in attack. Russell Comber, Jon Dean, Charlotte Feakins and Becky Dean in defence. Croydon 4 were 2-1 down at half time, Jon Dean scoring Croydon's solitary goal. West London Wildcats took over in the second half and scored 5 unanswered goals to leave Croydon defeated 7-1.Match Report by KarenJ | Updated by Andy Final Score: West London Wildcats 2 7 vs 1 Croydon 4J Dean (1)P Aish (0)R Comber (0)S Pratt (0)K Bradford (0)C Feakins (0)B Lockett (0)H Rand (0)Submitted by KarenJ on 01 Feb 09
