Croydon put out Stoke's fire Castle of the National League Senior division entertained Croydon in the 2nd round of the BKA Cup at Kidsgrove Sports Centre, Stoke-on-Trent on Sunday. Croydon made the long trip up without Dave Butters and Sarah George who were replaced by Andy Withers and veteran Lynda Barker. Despite the journey and poor playing surface, the lively crowd were expecting a consummate display from the Premier division side but, apart from some flashes, they left somewhat disappointed. Castle appeared to fielding an experienced side featuring the likes of John Herbert, Rebecca Elliot and Chris Crafter and it was the hosts that took an early lead with a goal from Matt McConville after a mix up in the Croydon defence. Croydon were soon level, however, after a worked move from the start resulting in a long shot from Anna Jeanes. The visitors swiftly extended their lead with some goals from Saskia de Jager and Steve Jones. The home side were struggling to find their rhythm and in particular bring the ball out of defence and after further scores from Kim Jones and Ivan Aquino, Croydon were clearly in control. At half time the scores were 10-3 to Croydon. Castle came out of the break with all guns firing and a switch to rebound defence by the visitors enabled them to cash and bring the game to within 4 goals at 10-6 but an opportunist running-in shot from Jeanes from the restart broke the home side's momentum and Croydon re-asserted their control despite some poor finishing. Aquino was replaced for the third game running late in the 2nd half by Paul Jeanes and the game fizzled out 20-11 to Croydon. Croydon will be disappointed with their overall performance as many chances went astray but will be happy to progress to the next round and will be hoping for a match nearer to home. Castle will be pleased with their 2nd half comeback and will feel they have learnt a lot from their opponents and hope to put this to good use in their fight for promotion. The crowd must be praised for their good support for both teams on such a cold day close to Christmas. Match Report by Andy Final Score: Castle 1 11 vs 20 Croydon 1S Jones (7)R Carr-Taylor (1)A Withers (0)I Aquino (2)P Jeanes (0)S de Jager (4)A Jeanes (3)K Jones (2)L Barker (1)Submitted by Andy on 07 Dec 03 Try Korfball!
