Bec KC1 4 v 20 Croydon KC1
Bec entertained a re-organised Croydon team at St Mary's College, Twickenham in the National League. After some reasonably close encounters last season, Croydon, captained by Ivan Aquino, were keen to put their opening defeat against Mitcham behnid them and record their first win of the season.Croydon's intense warm-up again paid dividends (as it did against Mitcham) as they stormed to an early 6-1 lead with two goals each from Steve Jones and Ivan Aquino plus a penalty from Dave Butters (earned by Anna Jeanes) and a long shot from Jeanes with only a free pass from Jackie Hoare in reply from Bec.
The teams came out after a Bec time-out with little change in the style of play with Croydon's relaxed shooting from distance contrasting Bec's hurried shots and shorter attacks. Steve Jones and Dave Butters posted a running in shot each interspersed with long shots from Kat van der Buntova and Ivan Aquino. Bec's 1st half consolation came from 2 goals afetr Duncan Jefford missed a penalty conceded by Richie Crabb. At the whistle, Croydon led the home side 12 - 3.
Fewer goals were scored in the 2nd half by both sides as the match was already over by this stage. Dave Butters scored another penalty and long shot while Cathy Clarkson scored for Bec. Crabb was replaced by Andy Withers with 8 minutes to go and Withers soon got into the scoring action with a short drop-off and free pass. The final score was Bec 4, Croydon 20.
Croydon will be delighted with this performance and result. Restricting Bec to only 4 goals in an hour of play whilst keeping their scoring up will have encouraged former England coach Ronald van der Bunt. Bec, meanwhile, will need to go back to the drawing board after being out-hussled and out-powered from the 1st minute.
Croydon Team: Steve Jones (5), Dave Butters (4), Richard Crabb (1), Ivan Aquino (capt, 3), Kim Jones (0), Kat van der Bunt (2), Ali Rotheram (1), Anna Jeanes (2), Andy Withers (supersub, 2)
Bec KC2 15 v 16 Croydon KC2
In recent seasons, Croydon's reserve team has failed to beat Bec's and after their first team's great start, Croydon's 2nd team did the opposite against a mixture of young and old in Bec's team. Bec stretched to an early 5-1 lead after 10 minutes before Croydon tightened up their defence and came back into the match with goals from Sarah George and Jennie Allen.Croydon then dominated the latter stages of the 1st half and went into the break 8-6 up with goals from Nigel Hudspith and Andy Withers. They stretched their lead further to 14-9 with Bec's inexperience in defence costing them dearly. Some poor passing from Croydon however gifted Bec some easy chances and these they took as their momentum built and they closed the gap to just 2 goals having been 15-11 down.
Croydon brought on Daniel Moore for Joe Furlano but were still struggling to bring the ball out of their defence. With the time running down and the score at 16-15 the crowd were egging Bec on but Croydon were able to hold their nerve and prevent a dramatic come-back by Bec.
Croydon Team: Paul Jeanes (3), Joe Furlano (1), Sarah George (3), Julia Hook (2), Jennie Allen (capt, 1), Nigel Hudspith (2), Andy Withers (3), Amanda Furlano (1), Daniel Moore (sub)
Croydon KC3 11 v 7 West London KC1
After the defeat against Mitcham a few weeks ago the third team pulled out all the stops against West London 1, to show what they were really capable of.The team worked well together to exploit the weaknesses in the away team's defence, to score some impressive goals. In their own defence, the players pushed out tight, preventing the attackers from putting up their shots, and forcing mistakes. The game was entertaining and friendly, a well deserved win for the thirds.
Croydon Team: Mike, Daniel M, Daniel P, Dave S, Chris, Lynda, Steph, Lorna
Croydon KC4 6 v 8 Woking KC2
The 4th team was a real mix of experience, age and youth. They turned out against a mixed Woking 2 side, which also contained some very experienced, and some less experienced players.The two teams were well matched, with neither team able to pull ahead by more than a few goals. The pace was at times frenetic, with the Croydon players involving the whole team in an attempt to find the space and time to shoot. Unfortunately we didn't convert all our chances, and Woking 2 managed to score when it counted most. There was a welcome return to the side for Debbie Holland, after the birth of her youngest son.
A little more discipline and coordination within the team will be needed to secure wins in the next games, but this spirited team certainly weren't out classed.
Croydon Team: Dave R (2), Alison R (2), Pete Liddle, Becky Pratt, Steve Pratt, Greg Dring (1), Judi Sloman (1), Debbie Holland