First quarter shocker costs Croydon match against KnightsCroydon hosted Norwich Knights at Royal Russell in a bottom of the EKPL table clash. Croydon had Anna Jeanes (c), Jane Belfourd, Zak Omar and Andy Withers in defence with Pete Lindsey, Dan Pratt, Grace Stimpson and Lorna Elliott in attack. It was Croydon who got the ball rolling with a neat long shot from Pratt but from here on Knights' greater athletism came to the fore as they forced Croydon into multiple passing mistakes whilst scoring some fine goals themselves. A penalty from Tom Ellis was interspersed amongst 4 goals from the visitor's girls. Charlie Vogwill got in on the act and after another goal, home coach Butters called a time-out at 1-6 after 11 minutes. Croydon's lacklustre display continued though as Knights capitalised on Croydon being out of position from the time-out and scored an easy goal. Vogwill then netted twice and Croydon found themselves 1-9 and a mountain to climb with 15 minutes left in the half. Climb they did though. Omar and Belfourd scored runners either side of a Stimpson free-pass and it was left to Knights to call a time out to restore some calm. Omar scored again though and the half ended 5-11. Croydon started the 2nd half like their finished the 1st. Pratt converted a penalty and Lindsey dropped off neatly to bring Croydon back into the match. Withers was now taking Vogwill and overall the defence was holding strong with Knights increasingly looking like they'd run out of ideas. Omar scored another running in shot after a good run and pass from Withers and Stimpson also converted from close range. Meanwhile the pressure against Vogwill continued as he missed a free pass but Ross Lenton dropped off to again stretch the tractor boys' lead to 4 at 9-13. However Croydon weren't done yet as Jeanes scored an awesome goal from way out in the corner of the pitch, which had the crowd on their feet, and Knights were then shocked into a foul at a free-pass with Omar converting the resulting penalty. 11-13 and all to play for with 11 minutes left. Knights time-out seemed to pay dividends though as Lenton found the basket again and then Vogwill netted a simple running in shot and time was running in out for Croydon. Both sides brought on subs at this point and Knights' player made an immediate impact with a goal from middle distance to seal the match: 11-16. Croydon lost this game in the first 15 minutes after a shocking start but will be pleased with how they fought their way back into the match and will have nothing to fear playing Knights in the end of season play-off. Match Report by Andy | Updated by Andy Previous photo Next photo1 of 17 Final Score: Croydon 1 11 vs 16 Norwich Knights 1D Pratt (2)P Lindsey (1)A Withers (0)Z Omar (4)E Chaney (0)G Codd (2)J Hudspith (1)A Jeanes (1)L MacKay-Elliott (0)Submitted by Andy on 22 Feb 09Croydon 2 come up short against Nomads 2Croydon 2 took on Nomads 2 in the London 1 league. They had Dave Butters, Vernon Ellis, Zoe Shewell and Hannah Evans in attack with Ben Hale, Ed Chaney, Julia Johnson and Karen James in defence. Butters got Croydon off to a flyer with a goal in the first minute but Nomads were soon level. From here both defences were on top. James scored after 10 minutes but Cara Allan again levelled for the visitors. From here on Nomads were never behind. Richard Burrows was having a good battle with Hale and used his trademark shimmy to give himself space for a long shot but Ellis and Butters were playing well together as the latter set up the former for a neat running in shot. Simon Cole scored a couple to give Nomads a 2 goal lead but Evans was having a good game and dropped off to score. Hale scored the first of 3 penalties for the match but the hosts could not keep the Epsom side out and the half ended 5-8. The 2nd half wasn't exactly a thriller. It took a while for either side to score and was only 6-10 after 15 minutes. Butters then out-rebounded Cole for an easy score but again Nomads girls took their chances despite some questionnable refereeing decisions from Williams to leave the scores at 7-14. Croydon finished well though with another from Ellis and 2 from Hale to bring some respectability to the scoreline. Final score: 10-14. Croydon 2 should really have done better here but the defensive section in particular was struggling for movement and therefore rhythm. Match Report by Andy | Updated by Sicknote Previous photo Next photo1 of 9 Final Score: Croydon 2 10 vs 14 Nomads 2B Hale (4)D Butters (2)V Ellis (2)E Chaney (0)H Evans (1)K James (1)J Johnson (0)Z Shewell (0)Submitted by Andy on 22 Feb 09
Croydon 2 come up short against Nomads 2Croydon 2 took on Nomads 2 in the London 1 league. They had Dave Butters, Vernon Ellis, Zoe Shewell and Hannah Evans in attack with Ben Hale, Ed Chaney, Julia Johnson and Karen James in defence. Butters got Croydon off to a flyer with a goal in the first minute but Nomads were soon level. From here both defences were on top. James scored after 10 minutes but Cara Allan again levelled for the visitors. From here on Nomads were never behind. Richard Burrows was having a good battle with Hale and used his trademark shimmy to give himself space for a long shot but Ellis and Butters were playing well together as the latter set up the former for a neat running in shot. Simon Cole scored a couple to give Nomads a 2 goal lead but Evans was having a good game and dropped off to score. Hale scored the first of 3 penalties for the match but the hosts could not keep the Epsom side out and the half ended 5-8. The 2nd half wasn't exactly a thriller. It took a while for either side to score and was only 6-10 after 15 minutes. Butters then out-rebounded Cole for an easy score but again Nomads girls took their chances despite some questionnable refereeing decisions from Williams to leave the scores at 7-14. Croydon finished well though with another from Ellis and 2 from Hale to bring some respectability to the scoreline. Final score: 10-14. Croydon 2 should really have done better here but the defensive section in particular was struggling for movement and therefore rhythm. Match Report by Andy | Updated by Sicknote Previous photo Next photo1 of 9 Final Score: Croydon 2 10 vs 14 Nomads 2B Hale (4)D Butters (2)V Ellis (2)E Chaney (0)H Evans (1)K James (1)J Johnson (0)Z Shewell (0)Submitted by Andy on 22 Feb 09
