Croydon become draw specialists, but remain unbeaten Croydon travelled up to Cambridge for the latest game in the South and East promo league. The visitors started with Vernon Ellis in for the suspended Luke James and Susan Wright in for Hannah Driver. The team were thankful to Zu Omar and Annie Campbell for making the trip up for their first substitute selections of the season. Croydon were determined to learn the lessons from the first fixture where one player and the penalty spot seem to dominate the host's score sheet. After much waiting around for the remnants of a handball game to be cleaned off the court the game got off to a slow start with neither team finding much rhythm. Croydon seemed to be struggling in attack and several balls went astray or questionable decision made. The half ended in the worst possible way with Hudspith missing his first penalty of the season and Cambridge adding salt to the wound by scoring from the next attack, the final of the half, to leave the scores 7-5. Coach Boys "got into" the players at half-time and the visitor's performance did pick up and slowly but surely the gap was closed and then reversed with the goals starting to flow from Hudspith down one end and down the other from mostly Dan Pratt round the post or from the spot. Bradford was doing a great job at stifling Cambridge's main attacking threat and with only about 5 minutes left Croydon stretched out their biggest lead of the match at 14-17. Sadly though they couldn't keep the hosts out and they eventually managed to level the scores. The final whistle blew and Croydon waited patiently, in kit this time, to see if some extra time would be played but sadly this week the referee was not so obliging so the match was confirmed at 17-17, Croydon's 3rd draw of a, so far, undefeated season. Match Report by Andy | Updated by Andy Final Score: Cambridge Tigers 1 17 vs 17 Croydon 1N Hudspith (6)D Pratt (5)V Ellis (2)A Withers (2)S Wright (2)K Bradford (0)G Codd (0)B Sinclair (0)Submitted by Nigel on 18 Jan 15Croydon 3 keep their heads and win the gameWith an offer of a lift from Charlotte, my washing machine just being kindly sorted by Martin the day had to be good, right? Stephen turned up at the house so as a section Charlotte took us to Millwall to face Highbury 2! The others were Dom, Sarah (new trainers) with partnership of Mark and Vicky who started in attack. Unfortunately we let in the first goal, from a penalty but Dom scored the awarded penalty in his end so all change. Both teams were playing well in our attack it took us a while to sort out playing together with missed opportunities. For example, a perfect dummy from Martin for a runner but me the dummy passed into space of nothing! Our defence was tight and goals seem to trade slowly. I do remember seeing 4 all and at half time we were winning by 1 goal (maybe it was 5-6). Half time talk to continue playing well, help the ball out but play at our pace. Dom's section had the more physical player (our very own Steve Pratt springs to mind) and most of that section had a bump or fall but everyone jumped back up. I was very impressed with our communication as an eight, not rushing and passing as this is what won us the game. Stephen scored my favourite shot after a basketball tap from Charlotte as he ran in to do a profession hook shot and deserved the goal. Dom after the tease of not being defended scored a beauty which after all the watching from defence Martin put a similar shot up and goal! And thanks Dom for the smile for my heckle! Very good game with tight defence, I do believe half Highbury goals were from penalties. So folks put your availability up, come training and hopefully play same 4 again to see what we can do against Woking. Match Report by Lorna | Updated by Andy Previous photo Next photo1 of 1 Final Score: Highbury 2 8 vs 11 Croydon 3S Gooch (4)D Bradford (3)M James (1)M Wright (1)S Hole (1)L MacKay-Elliott (1)C Feakins (0)V Goode (0)Submitted by Lorna on 18 Jan 15Another 5 goals for the 5th Team, but this time we held Highbury 4 to just 4. Victory!!A quick jaunt over to East London saw us playing Highbury 4 in what turned out to be a very close fought, tough match. Highbury got off to a quick start, scoring 2 goals within the first few minutes of the game, but we soon got our defensive heads in gear and closed them down very effectively, in both our attacking and defensive sections. The game then settled down into a game of attritian, with both sides attacking well, but Croydon coming out slightly ahead in defense. Both of our sections put some good plays together when in attack, aided by some sideline pointers from both Ben and Sarah. Thanks for that. The game moved between the two halves until eventually Adam pulled a point back from a free pass. He then managed to feed Lindsey for a well worked running in shot. 2-2. Swapping ends, and with only a minute or so to play in the half, Tom slotted a shot away from 3 metres to make it 3-2 to Croydon at the break. In the second half the pace of the game increased, and Highbury managed to pull one back. Croydon responded quickly, with two goals from Pete to make it 5-3. When Highbury scored again to make it 5-4, it looked like the game might be heading for another 5th team trademark 5-5 draw. With both teams desperate for another goal, we pulled out all of the defensive stops, and managed to hold on to the scoreline, giving us an extremely well deserved 5-4 victory. Everyone on the team deserves a mention for their hard work, especially in defense, but MVP for me today was Pete. Those two goals clinched it. Well done everyone. Match Report by Bryan Previous photo Next photo1 of 5 Final Score: Highbury 4 4 vs 5 Croydon 5P Lindsey (2)T Raffield (1)A Champion (1)B Burr (0)L Kelly (1)E Dean (0)H Raffield (0)W White (0)Submitted by Bryan on 18 Jan 15Swans back to winning ways over Supernova 4Swans took good numbers to Millwall for a tricky away fixture against the leaders of league A. With a strong squad of 11 including Katie recovering from injury and Michael making his league debut the swans were in high spirits. The game started to plan as White R went close with a free pass then Smith got the scoring underway burying his runner from Sturgess feed. Sturgess once again found the feed position to assist White for a one handed runner. Ends changed but Swans continued to apply the pressure. Galloway won a penalty which Walsh despatched and then the combination of Galloway and Walsh teamed up again to take the score to 0-4. Supernova struck back with a good finish from 5 metres before normal business was resumed and Sturgess set up White R for 1-5. Ends change again and Green wins a penalty which Walsh converts before Supernova convert a penalty at the other end for 2-6. Supernova pulled another back before Smith scored his second and Swans 7th of the day. The match restarted with score at 3-7 and Supernova looked a much more organised side. It took an age for either team to score as Swans attack gave the ball away cheaply to the cries of "keep the ball we're knackered!" Eventually a clever run by Stevenson took both boys away allowing Walsh to turn and shoot to break the second half deadlock. The Swans 9th goal was a pleasing one as the Swans were able to perform a move straight off the training ground. White found Galloway in the feed from his own half as Walsh turned his man for an easy runner. Supernova pegged a few back but fittingly it was Sturgess who closed the game out with a penalty and runner in quick succession. MVP was a close call however Whites vote snatched it away from Walsh and gave it to Sturgess. With 2 goals and 4 assists few could argue. Match Report by Ben Final Score: Supernova 4 7 vs 11 Croydon SwansB Walsh (5)J Smith (2)R White (2)M Stevenson (0)E Sturgess (2)J Galloway (0)J Green (0)C Sheahan (0)Submitted by Ben on 18 Jan 15
Croydon 3 keep their heads and win the gameWith an offer of a lift from Charlotte, my washing machine just being kindly sorted by Martin the day had to be good, right? Stephen turned up at the house so as a section Charlotte took us to Millwall to face Highbury 2! The others were Dom, Sarah (new trainers) with partnership of Mark and Vicky who started in attack. Unfortunately we let in the first goal, from a penalty but Dom scored the awarded penalty in his end so all change. Both teams were playing well in our attack it took us a while to sort out playing together with missed opportunities. For example, a perfect dummy from Martin for a runner but me the dummy passed into space of nothing! Our defence was tight and goals seem to trade slowly. I do remember seeing 4 all and at half time we were winning by 1 goal (maybe it was 5-6). Half time talk to continue playing well, help the ball out but play at our pace. Dom's section had the more physical player (our very own Steve Pratt springs to mind) and most of that section had a bump or fall but everyone jumped back up. I was very impressed with our communication as an eight, not rushing and passing as this is what won us the game. Stephen scored my favourite shot after a basketball tap from Charlotte as he ran in to do a profession hook shot and deserved the goal. Dom after the tease of not being defended scored a beauty which after all the watching from defence Martin put a similar shot up and goal! And thanks Dom for the smile for my heckle! Very good game with tight defence, I do believe half Highbury goals were from penalties. So folks put your availability up, come training and hopefully play same 4 again to see what we can do against Woking. Match Report by Lorna | Updated by Andy Previous photo Next photo1 of 1 Final Score: Highbury 2 8 vs 11 Croydon 3S Gooch (4)D Bradford (3)M James (1)M Wright (1)S Hole (1)L MacKay-Elliott (1)C Feakins (0)V Goode (0)Submitted by Lorna on 18 Jan 15Another 5 goals for the 5th Team, but this time we held Highbury 4 to just 4. Victory!!A quick jaunt over to East London saw us playing Highbury 4 in what turned out to be a very close fought, tough match. Highbury got off to a quick start, scoring 2 goals within the first few minutes of the game, but we soon got our defensive heads in gear and closed them down very effectively, in both our attacking and defensive sections. The game then settled down into a game of attritian, with both sides attacking well, but Croydon coming out slightly ahead in defense. Both of our sections put some good plays together when in attack, aided by some sideline pointers from both Ben and Sarah. Thanks for that. The game moved between the two halves until eventually Adam pulled a point back from a free pass. He then managed to feed Lindsey for a well worked running in shot. 2-2. Swapping ends, and with only a minute or so to play in the half, Tom slotted a shot away from 3 metres to make it 3-2 to Croydon at the break. In the second half the pace of the game increased, and Highbury managed to pull one back. Croydon responded quickly, with two goals from Pete to make it 5-3. When Highbury scored again to make it 5-4, it looked like the game might be heading for another 5th team trademark 5-5 draw. With both teams desperate for another goal, we pulled out all of the defensive stops, and managed to hold on to the scoreline, giving us an extremely well deserved 5-4 victory. Everyone on the team deserves a mention for their hard work, especially in defense, but MVP for me today was Pete. Those two goals clinched it. Well done everyone. Match Report by Bryan Previous photo Next photo1 of 5 Final Score: Highbury 4 4 vs 5 Croydon 5P Lindsey (2)T Raffield (1)A Champion (1)B Burr (0)L Kelly (1)E Dean (0)H Raffield (0)W White (0)Submitted by Bryan on 18 Jan 15Swans back to winning ways over Supernova 4Swans took good numbers to Millwall for a tricky away fixture against the leaders of league A. With a strong squad of 11 including Katie recovering from injury and Michael making his league debut the swans were in high spirits. The game started to plan as White R went close with a free pass then Smith got the scoring underway burying his runner from Sturgess feed. Sturgess once again found the feed position to assist White for a one handed runner. Ends changed but Swans continued to apply the pressure. Galloway won a penalty which Walsh despatched and then the combination of Galloway and Walsh teamed up again to take the score to 0-4. Supernova struck back with a good finish from 5 metres before normal business was resumed and Sturgess set up White R for 1-5. Ends change again and Green wins a penalty which Walsh converts before Supernova convert a penalty at the other end for 2-6. Supernova pulled another back before Smith scored his second and Swans 7th of the day. The match restarted with score at 3-7 and Supernova looked a much more organised side. It took an age for either team to score as Swans attack gave the ball away cheaply to the cries of "keep the ball we're knackered!" Eventually a clever run by Stevenson took both boys away allowing Walsh to turn and shoot to break the second half deadlock. The Swans 9th goal was a pleasing one as the Swans were able to perform a move straight off the training ground. White found Galloway in the feed from his own half as Walsh turned his man for an easy runner. Supernova pegged a few back but fittingly it was Sturgess who closed the game out with a penalty and runner in quick succession. MVP was a close call however Whites vote snatched it away from Walsh and gave it to Sturgess. With 2 goals and 4 assists few could argue. Match Report by Ben Final Score: Supernova 4 7 vs 11 Croydon SwansB Walsh (5)J Smith (2)R White (2)M Stevenson (0)E Sturgess (2)J Galloway (0)J Green (0)C Sheahan (0)Submitted by Ben on 18 Jan 15
Another 5 goals for the 5th Team, but this time we held Highbury 4 to just 4. Victory!!A quick jaunt over to East London saw us playing Highbury 4 in what turned out to be a very close fought, tough match. Highbury got off to a quick start, scoring 2 goals within the first few minutes of the game, but we soon got our defensive heads in gear and closed them down very effectively, in both our attacking and defensive sections. The game then settled down into a game of attritian, with both sides attacking well, but Croydon coming out slightly ahead in defense. Both of our sections put some good plays together when in attack, aided by some sideline pointers from both Ben and Sarah. Thanks for that. The game moved between the two halves until eventually Adam pulled a point back from a free pass. He then managed to feed Lindsey for a well worked running in shot. 2-2. Swapping ends, and with only a minute or so to play in the half, Tom slotted a shot away from 3 metres to make it 3-2 to Croydon at the break. In the second half the pace of the game increased, and Highbury managed to pull one back. Croydon responded quickly, with two goals from Pete to make it 5-3. When Highbury scored again to make it 5-4, it looked like the game might be heading for another 5th team trademark 5-5 draw. With both teams desperate for another goal, we pulled out all of the defensive stops, and managed to hold on to the scoreline, giving us an extremely well deserved 5-4 victory. Everyone on the team deserves a mention for their hard work, especially in defense, but MVP for me today was Pete. Those two goals clinched it. Well done everyone. Match Report by Bryan Previous photo Next photo1 of 5 Final Score: Highbury 4 4 vs 5 Croydon 5P Lindsey (2)T Raffield (1)A Champion (1)B Burr (0)L Kelly (1)E Dean (0)H Raffield (0)W White (0)Submitted by Bryan on 18 Jan 15Swans back to winning ways over Supernova 4Swans took good numbers to Millwall for a tricky away fixture against the leaders of league A. With a strong squad of 11 including Katie recovering from injury and Michael making his league debut the swans were in high spirits. The game started to plan as White R went close with a free pass then Smith got the scoring underway burying his runner from Sturgess feed. Sturgess once again found the feed position to assist White for a one handed runner. Ends changed but Swans continued to apply the pressure. Galloway won a penalty which Walsh despatched and then the combination of Galloway and Walsh teamed up again to take the score to 0-4. Supernova struck back with a good finish from 5 metres before normal business was resumed and Sturgess set up White R for 1-5. Ends change again and Green wins a penalty which Walsh converts before Supernova convert a penalty at the other end for 2-6. Supernova pulled another back before Smith scored his second and Swans 7th of the day. The match restarted with score at 3-7 and Supernova looked a much more organised side. It took an age for either team to score as Swans attack gave the ball away cheaply to the cries of "keep the ball we're knackered!" Eventually a clever run by Stevenson took both boys away allowing Walsh to turn and shoot to break the second half deadlock. The Swans 9th goal was a pleasing one as the Swans were able to perform a move straight off the training ground. White found Galloway in the feed from his own half as Walsh turned his man for an easy runner. Supernova pegged a few back but fittingly it was Sturgess who closed the game out with a penalty and runner in quick succession. MVP was a close call however Whites vote snatched it away from Walsh and gave it to Sturgess. With 2 goals and 4 assists few could argue. Match Report by Ben Final Score: Supernova 4 7 vs 11 Croydon SwansB Walsh (5)J Smith (2)R White (2)M Stevenson (0)E Sturgess (2)J Galloway (0)J Green (0)C Sheahan (0)Submitted by Ben on 18 Jan 15
Swans back to winning ways over Supernova 4Swans took good numbers to Millwall for a tricky away fixture against the leaders of league A. With a strong squad of 11 including Katie recovering from injury and Michael making his league debut the swans were in high spirits. The game started to plan as White R went close with a free pass then Smith got the scoring underway burying his runner from Sturgess feed. Sturgess once again found the feed position to assist White for a one handed runner. Ends changed but Swans continued to apply the pressure. Galloway won a penalty which Walsh despatched and then the combination of Galloway and Walsh teamed up again to take the score to 0-4. Supernova struck back with a good finish from 5 metres before normal business was resumed and Sturgess set up White R for 1-5. Ends change again and Green wins a penalty which Walsh converts before Supernova convert a penalty at the other end for 2-6. Supernova pulled another back before Smith scored his second and Swans 7th of the day. The match restarted with score at 3-7 and Supernova looked a much more organised side. It took an age for either team to score as Swans attack gave the ball away cheaply to the cries of "keep the ball we're knackered!" Eventually a clever run by Stevenson took both boys away allowing Walsh to turn and shoot to break the second half deadlock. The Swans 9th goal was a pleasing one as the Swans were able to perform a move straight off the training ground. White found Galloway in the feed from his own half as Walsh turned his man for an easy runner. Supernova pegged a few back but fittingly it was Sturgess who closed the game out with a penalty and runner in quick succession. MVP was a close call however Whites vote snatched it away from Walsh and gave it to Sturgess. With 2 goals and 4 assists few could argue. Match Report by Ben Final Score: Supernova 4 7 vs 11 Croydon SwansB Walsh (5)J Smith (2)R White (2)M Stevenson (0)E Sturgess (2)J Galloway (0)J Green (0)C Sheahan (0)Submitted by Ben on 18 Jan 15
