Croydon Korfball Club - Korfball in South London | Super Friendly and Competitive Sport

North Downs 1 vs Croydon 1

One word: "nervy". Croydon took on fellow challenges North Downs in a vital game at the top of the BKA First Division. North Downs started much the better with an early goal from Susan Wright but Jane Belfourd was on target (despite the lack of collect) and it was all square. Bruce Tompkins then scored twice after 2 intercepts left him wide open. With the hosts scoring a penalty the pressure was on Croydon at 4-1. However Anna Jeanes swooped in for a running in shot and Zu Omar earnt a penalty which Dave Butters converted. Croydon were finding plenty of shooting opportunities but more often that not the shots weren't close to going in and despite some good ball retention at times, it was clear they were snatching at shots. Meanwhile North Downs were not to be denied and they took another chance before Gary Heath scored a great goal from a concerted attack. He followed this up with a rare penalty miss but Belfourd was on target again from the back of the basket. Half time: 5 all.

Croydon started the 2nd half with a Grace Stimpson long shot but Jennie Allen scored from distance and Stimpson gave away a silly penalty against Sue Tompkins. The pressure was on as the hosts extended their lead further but Butters quickly won himself a penalty and converted this at the second attempt. Heath exchanged goals with his player but then won a slightly dubious penalty and after a time-out from North Downs, he converted to leave the scores 9-all. Croydon needed to keep it tight and not give anything away, so Withers did the opposite, over-committing on a feed and stumbling over Tompkins. The resulting penalty was dispatched but Omar earnt Croydon a penalty of their own and it was clear this one was going down to the wire. Again North Downs took the lead with a long shot but a well worked goal from Jeanes restored parity as time ticked away. It was left to Stimpson to score a contender for ugliest but perhaps most crucial goal of the season as referee Woods blew for full time.

11-12 to Croydon and whilst smash and grab might seem appropriate after Croydon were only ahead twice in this match, in truth, North Downs were never able to assert control on the match and build a lead. Croydon's players came off the pitch relieved but surprisingly not elated as clearly they knew they hadn't played very well. Still a win is a win and Croydon need only 1 point more to seal promotion back to the top flight.

Match Report by Andy

Final Score: North Downs 1 11 vs 12 Croydon 1

Dave(3)	Gary(3)	Zak(0)	Andy(0)
Grace(2)	Jane(2)	Anna(2)	Becky(0)

Croydon 2 vs Bec 2

Croydon 2 took on Bec 2 with 3rd team stalwarts Lorna Elliott, Joe and Amanda Furlano filling in due to injuries and absences. Croydon started the stronger with Elliott scoring with a neat drop off from Vernon Ellis. Ellis was on ebullient form throughout and he scored from distance to give Croydon an early lead. However Bec scored from close in after the ball was snatched from Elliott and a free pass brought the visitors back to 2-all. The half then meandered along with only Dan Pratt falling all over to keep the crowd entertained. Paul Jeanes, back from a calf injury, scored a trademark composed goal from middle distance but Stuart Ironmonger scored for Bec. Half time all square at 3-all.

Again Croydon started the better with Mandy Furlano scored from distance but from here it was Bec's turn as they levelled and then Ironmonger scored again. Elliot scored from distance to being the hosts some hope but from here it was all Bec as far as scoring went as their girls weighed in with goals from distance. Croydon tried hard but couldn't find the goals they needed to bring themselves back into the match, final score: 5-8.

Match Report by Andy

Final Score: Croydon 2 5 vs 8 Bec 2

Vernon(1)	Paul(1)	Joe(0)	Daniel(0)
Lorna(2)	Amanda(1)	Lynda(0)	Becky(0)

Croydon 4 vs West London 2

Croydon4 took on West London 2 at Royal Russell knowing that a loss would send them 2nd bottom, a big drop from the 4th position they were in 3 weeks ago.

With the 3rds not playing the 4th team didn't have to drop any players, starting in attack was Simon, Paul, Zoe and Rhiannon with Steve, Jon, Karen and Becky in defence. Croydon started well and created good oppurtunities but it was West London who scored first. Croydon's defence were playing really well and intercepting loose balls giving the attack a lot of time and it paid off as Zoe buried a long ranged shot to level the scores. With sections swapped Croydon continued to cause West London problems and Croydon went ahead with a long shot from Steve. Croydon seemed to take their foot off the pedal and West London took advantage of this creating more chances and keeping possession, with this West London scored a succession of goals to bring the score to 5-2 and Croydon's heads dropped. West London were awarded a penalty and it looked like they would pull even further ahead but the penalty was missed and the rebound snapped up, giving Croydon a little let off. Croydon struggled in attack but managed to score a running-in shot courtesy of Jon Dean, with half time approaching West London grabbed one more goal to take the scores to 6-3 at the break.

After the break Croydon started to fight back with the defence picking up the pressure again whilst attack kept possesion well but had trouble creating an end product to their hard work, West London scored a very long shot which the defence had no chance with. Tempers flared as Steve took exception to almost every decision the referee gave and credit to the rest of the players they did not let it affect their games, it obviously fired him up as he put in a shot from distance to make the scores 7-4, including very hard work from the defence and in particular Paul who was tight on his attacker shutting him out of the game. Croydon's attack became a little one-dimensional with Steve and Jon putting up shot after shot and the girls working well in the assist roles with Zoe rebounding well, a chance fell to Karen late in the game and she took it well from short range to make it a 2 goal game. With only a few minutes left it looked like Croydon might nick it at the end and they created chance after chance but the basket seemed determined not to let another goal in. West London didn't have a shot in the last couple of minutes which left Croydon the opportunity to steal the game but it was not to be as shots bounced out, rolled around, everything except drop in. To Croydon's frustration the fightback started too late and the whistle sounded too soon for the team.

A disappointment at the result as 15 minutes in the 1st half won the game for West London but maybe a bit of shooting practice can bring wins in the last 2 games of the season to take Croydon higher up the table.