An excellent 14-9 moral victory. Damn those legal team rules

A Burr (2)	T Raffield (2)	C Stevens (2)	B Burr (1)
V Goode (3)	H Raffield (2)	B Sinclair (2)

Swans victorious in LK3 title decider

Swans took a full strength squad to Royal Russell for the biggest game of the sides history. The nerves were jangling but spirits were high on route to the game. Coach Walsh had a difficult job picking a starting 8 but went with White, Smith, Sturgess and Kelly in defence leaving Galloway, Green, Yearwood and Walsh in attack. After a cagey start it was Bec who struck first converting the first of 10 penalties that were awarded during the game. It was the Swans who struck next though as Green managed to get inside Hannigan and draw a foul. Walsh converted the penalty to level the scores at 1-1.

Bec then pulled away and gained a two goal advantage with Kennet losing Walsh and scoring from 3 metres shortly followed by Wilson from the penalty spot. All change again but Swans showed the fight and determination that has seen them overcome many hurdles this season. Walsh sank one from just inside the half way line before converting his second penalty of the game to level the scores at 3-3. With excellent support behind them the Swans started to find their form and began to turn the screw. Bec went close a number of times but this time it was Swans turn to take the lead. Sturgess took up a good feed position and with White and Smith attacking in unison Smith managed to convert a trademark one hander despite colliding with his opposite number. At 4-3 the momentum started to shift in the home sides favour. Sturgess and White linked up well as they have all season and White timed his run perfectly to convert after a clever pass from feed position.

Ends changed at 5-3 and the game was nicely poised! Williamson and Buck worked well together and both attacked at the same time enabling Williamson to get past Sturgess to convert a runner. At 5-4 the next goal was crucial and luckily it went the way of the team in blue. Walsh followed up his own long shot but was obstructed under the post. He cooly dispatched his 3rd penalty of the half to give the Swans a nice half time buffer at 6-4.

The half time team talk echoed many others from the season as Walsh urged the team to stop ball watching and admiring the shots when they go up. Kelly who had been solid in defence came off and was replaced by Wendy White in the hope that her extra height would add some strength in collect. The half restarted and it was the Swans who struck the first blow. Sturgess who was cross at herself for conceding a goal in the first half soon made amends by calmly converting the penalty that she won for 7-4. At the other end Galloway and Green were excellent in defence and stuck to the game plan superbly with Green not over committing against Hannigan and Galloway pressing hard at every opportunity. Yearwood was also sensational and had a heroic 15 minutes where he covered every inch of the half and intercepted pass after pass. It was a passage of play at the other end though that was the most pleasing as Whites section showed how far the Swans have come in such a short space of time. They moved the ball round patiently and recycled at least four times with every player taking responsibility for all roles before Sturgess found the korf with a well executed drop off.

All change again as Bec pegged one back through a Jones penalty. Swans responded well as Walsh passed long to Yearwood who in turn played an excellent reverse bounce pass back to Walsh to set him up for an easy runner. At 5-9 down the game was slipping away from Bec. Coach Sparrow brought herself on and made an immediate impact scoring from 4 metres. Coach Walsh responded with a change of his own and brought Palmer on for Green and switched Galloway to mark Sparrow. Wise words from Steve Wright also helped Swans to nullify the threat.

At 9-6 and with 5 minutes to go the next goal would prove crucial. Luckily it went the way of the Swans. White won a penalty and stepped up to show nerves of steel to convert and hand victory to the league newcomers.

All in all it was a fantastic performance. Kelly, Green and White were resilient in defence and refused to be beaten by their opponents while also taking up good collect and feed positions when in attack. Galloway worked well to the game plan and kept one of Becs main goal threats quiet. Sturgess should be very proud of her performance with two goals and two assists including overcoming her nerves with a cooly taken penalty. Smith was his usual energetic and maverick self and created chance after chance with his movement. Walsh was clinical in front of goal and took his chances as a when they arrived. White put in a true captains performance with an inspiration speech before hand and a tireless performance on the pitch. Last but no least, Yearwood who was voted MVP almost unanimously for a second half performance that completely dominated proceedings. Not bad for a man that doesn't like Korfball!

Credit must go to the entire squad for a truly memorable season. Unfortunately not every member of the squad got the game time they would have liked in the final but the attitude and spirit of every single player present in the sports hall is what carried us through. A huge thanks must also go to family and friends for coming along to support us including those CKC players who not only supported but offered words of wisdom at crucial times. Thank you to Simon Mills for refereeing the game in what can be described as a strict but consistent performance. Also a big congratulations to Bec who dominated their half of the league all season and were gracious in defeat with many of them contacting coach Walsh later that evening to pass their congratulations on to the team.


Match Report by Ben | Updated by Andy

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Final Score: Croydon Swans 10 vs 6 Bec 5

B Walsh (5)	J Smith (1)	L Yearwood (0)	R White (2)	T George (0)
E Sturgess (2)	J Galloway (0)	J Green (0)	L Kelly (0)	W White (0)	H Palmer (0)

Submitted by Ben on 29 Mar 15