Croydon crash out of the cup with Notts City 2 lossCroydon travelled to Bristol for the first round of the EKA Cup to take on Notts City 2. Croydon started with Andy Withers (c), Grace Stimpson, Vernon Ellis and Sarah Withers in attack and Dave Butters, Hannah Hale, Zak Omar and Jane Belfourd in defence. Nottingham fielded a strong side featuring Al Knight, Editha Dowding, Andy Barkwith amongst others. Ellis continued his fine scoring form with a turn in the feed to get Croydon going but it was immediately clear that the referee wasn't used to this level of match as decisions directly followed appeals from players and soon Notthingham claimed a penalty which Jam Trubridge converted. S Withers conceded another after the turn-around as she impeded her player but Butters restored parity with a sweet long shot. Stimpson drwe a penalty for Croydon some minutes later and Ellis stepped up to convert but Dowding was giving Hale trouble and scored a runner: 3-all. Omar took a nice pass to score from the front and then Butters followed up with another long shot and as time and tempers ran out, the half time score was 5-3 to Croydon. Both teams made changes at half time with Croydon replacing S Withers with Anna Jeanes. The referee came out more assertive in the second half too and made more of his own decisions for the rest of the match. As far as action went, Stimpson got Croydon off to the best possible start with a near drop-off but Croydon failed to make decent chances in the small hall and, given the time to attack, Nottingham eventually scored 2 goals and then a 3rd to restore parity at 6-all. A nervous few minutes followed as neither side found the net but finally with 5 minutes remaining Nottingham scored and then scored again as Butters was found out of position near the post. Worse followed as Croydon immediately conceded a running-in shot and the game was won for the Midlanders. Omar did get a consolation jump shot but it was too late. Croydon can look to the small hall and the ref but having been three up in a 20 minute second half Croydon should have ground out the win and ultimately it was a faltering attack that cost the team the game and progression in the cup this season.Match Report by Andy | Updated by Andy Previous photo Next photo1 of 15 Final Score: Nottingham City 2 9 vs 7 Croydon 1D Butters (2)Z Omar (2)V Ellis (2)A Withers (0)G Codd (1)H Evans (0)J Hudspith (0)A Jeanes (0)S Withers (0)Submitted by Andy on 01 Nov 09Croydon kill off dead rubber against Bristol CityAfter the loss against Nottingham City 2, Croydon had to pick themselves up for the dead rubber against hosts Bristol City. They were unchanged but the subs were ready to make an impact. A Withers combo got the visitors going with Andy pulling off a fake that drew his player past him to leave himself free under the post and Sarah storming in for a running in shot but, friend of the underdog, Dave Bond gave a penalty against Ellis and Bristol followed up with a decent long shot and the scores were level. Bristol then pulled into a surprise lead as Butters’ opponent scored but A Withers drew and converted a penalty and Belfourd scored to restore Croydon’s lead. Butters took himself off to be replaced by Ben Hale and brought Anna Jeanes on for Stimpson. Meanwhile Belfourd was making loads of chances and converted another. With time running out S Withers scored from distance to end the half 3-6. Bristol scored the first goal of the 2nd half but Belfourd scored again and then Omar converted a penalty to bring Croydon a 4 goal cushion. Croydon were starting to get some good rhythm with Omar taking charge of his section. H Hale took advantage with a running in shot and then a short one from behind the back of the basket. With time running out the hosts were awarded another favourable penalty but they couldn’t convert and the final word was with captain Withers as he caught his player out of position in the collect for a simple one hander. Final score: 5-12. A good performance from the visitors against a spirited local side who gave their all and had Croydon rocking a little in the first half before Croydon took control and scored their chances. Match Report by Andy | Updated by Andy Final Score: Bristol City 1 5 vs 12 Croydon 1A Withers (3)V Ellis (1)Z Omar (1)B Hale (0)D Butters (0)J Hudspith (3)H Evans (2)S Withers (2)A Jeanes (0)G Codd (0)Submitted by Andy on 01 Nov 09
Croydon kill off dead rubber against Bristol CityAfter the loss against Nottingham City 2, Croydon had to pick themselves up for the dead rubber against hosts Bristol City. They were unchanged but the subs were ready to make an impact. A Withers combo got the visitors going with Andy pulling off a fake that drew his player past him to leave himself free under the post and Sarah storming in for a running in shot but, friend of the underdog, Dave Bond gave a penalty against Ellis and Bristol followed up with a decent long shot and the scores were level. Bristol then pulled into a surprise lead as Butters’ opponent scored but A Withers drew and converted a penalty and Belfourd scored to restore Croydon’s lead. Butters took himself off to be replaced by Ben Hale and brought Anna Jeanes on for Stimpson. Meanwhile Belfourd was making loads of chances and converted another. With time running out S Withers scored from distance to end the half 3-6. Bristol scored the first goal of the 2nd half but Belfourd scored again and then Omar converted a penalty to bring Croydon a 4 goal cushion. Croydon were starting to get some good rhythm with Omar taking charge of his section. H Hale took advantage with a running in shot and then a short one from behind the back of the basket. With time running out the hosts were awarded another favourable penalty but they couldn’t convert and the final word was with captain Withers as he caught his player out of position in the collect for a simple one hander. Final score: 5-12. A good performance from the visitors against a spirited local side who gave their all and had Croydon rocking a little in the first half before Croydon took control and scored their chances. Match Report by Andy | Updated by Andy Final Score: Bristol City 1 5 vs 12 Croydon 1A Withers (3)V Ellis (1)Z Omar (1)B Hale (0)D Butters (0)J Hudspith (3)H Evans (2)S Withers (2)A Jeanes (0)G Codd (0)Submitted by Andy on 01 Nov 09
