Croydon 1 play well in patchesBKA Cup Round 2 saw Croydon gain a home draw against Mitcham 2. Given the fact that Mitcham has been moving players around between their top two teams in the league matches, it was no surprise to see them turn up with a second team that included 2 England internationals, and an England u19 international.Croydon weren't just there to make up the numbers though, coach Dave Butters had a plan for the match, and very clear targets for the team to achieve.After winning the toss, it was the usual suspects in attack first, Jane Belfourd, Nigel Hudspith, Vernon Ellis and captain Anna Jeanes. Defence was coach Dave, Dawn Aindow, Zu Omar, and Grace Stimpson.Croydon started really well, working the ball round, and, in their first attack, a through ball found Jeanes in barely inches of space by the basket. The shot went through the basket, but the jubilation was short lived, as the referee judged it to have been defended.The ball was then sped down the other end and a long shot from Mitcham got them onto the score sheet first. Jeanes wasn't to be held back though, she missed a free throw only to go on to score a long shot to even up the scores.As the teams swapped ends, it was Mitcham's player coach, Dave Synott who then scored to put them ahead, but this time it was Aindow's turn to even up the scores with a classic drop off.Mitcham then scored 3 goals without reply, to ease their pressure, and to turn the screws on Croydon. Butters responded to this pressure with a classic goal, and it was back to 2 goals between the teams.Croydon called a time out to steady themselves, but it seemed to have the opposite affect as they allowed Mitcham to score another 3 more on the trot, leaving the half time score somewhat flattering to the visitors (3-8).Croydon were struggling to contain the experienced Mitcham players in defence, particularly around the collect, where the long arms of the male players were giving Croydon plenty to think about. In attack Belfourd made light work of running past her player, but found herself double marked under the basket. She off-loaded to Jeanes, who couldn't put the ball in the basket, despite having both the time and the space. Stimpson was coming close with great long shots that just didn't want to drop in.Mitcham began a 15 minute scoring spree, which Croydon were unable to prevent, despite some excellent intercepts and collections from Hudspith, combining well with Ellis.As the game lurched towards the final 15 minutes, Croydon seemed to wake up and find some energy. A great piece of team work saw Ellis run his player, forcing Mitcham to switch. Hudspith made the most of the space he was given, and coolly slotted home a goal.The next Croydon goal also had Hudspith's name on, but this time it was a penalty. He stepped up to the line, and didn't dissappoint.Croydon now started closing down the Mitcham attack, having worked out when to go tight, when to drop off and when to get in the ball lines. The disruption worked, with Mitcham having to opt for long shots to try to score.Aindow continued to show how to defend as she prevented her England player from getting a single goal. No mean feat given the normal scoring record of the her opponent. Hudspith also found wings on his feet, dropping off to get rebounds, sprinting across to get intercepts, and generally making a nuisence of himself for the opposition!The better defence, led to Croydon getting more time in attack and Butters first stepped up for a penalty (which, of course he didn't miss), and then slotted home a little dodge of a shot.In the other attack, it suddenly dawned on Jeanes and Belfourd, what they needed to do. They tried it in the very next attack, and Belfourd sailed past her play to score with ease. Shame it was so late in the game that they sussed this out - it was the last goal Croydon scored. Mitcham replied with one of their own, and that was it. Game over. 8-17.Match Report by Anna | Updated by Andy Final Score: Croydon 1 9 vs 17 Mitcham 2Dave(3)Nigel(2)Vernon(0)Zak(0)Anna(2)Dawn(1)Jane(1)Grace(0)
Croydon 4 scrape past Bec 4Croydon 4 hosted Bec 4 at Royal Russell, they started with Becki Pratt (c), Jess Parsons, Jon Dean and Andy Burnham in attack, Adam Champion, Andrew Lam Sarah Hole and Rhiannon Williams-Clarke in defence. Both sides started well, Becki almost scored with 2 long shots but both norrowly missed, it was the visitors though that got off the mark first but Becki levelled the scores soon after with a mid-range shot. Bec took the lead again with a long range effort to bring the scores to 2-1. Croydon once again fought their way back this time it was Adam scoring from distance. Croydon's defence began to up the pressure, stopping Bec from being able to score whilst on the other end they were putting up more shots, it paid off as just before half time Andy scored to put the hosts ahead for the frst time in the game. At the break Croydon made a change with Karen James coming on for Becki, Croydon started the second half brightly but once again it was Bec who got off the mark first to level the scores at 3-3. Croydon retook the lead with another long shot from Adam. Bec were beginning to get frustrated and after Sarah was free for a running in shot she was fouled giving Croydon the chance to take a valuable 2 goal lead, Adam stepped up to take the penalty and didn't dissapoint scoring from the spot to leave the scores at 5-3. At this point Croydon were cruising and Karen almost put them firther ahead but the ball rolled around and out, no matter though as Andy was there to score a long shot to put the hosts further ahead. Bec began to find their feet again and scored from under the basket and the again from istance to set up a nervus finish but the whistle blew with the scores at 6-5 to Croydon. The team played well together with everyone creating chances and collecting well, they will be happy with the win.Match Report by Sicknote Final Score: Croydon 4 6 vs 5 Bec 4Adam(3)Andy(2)Jon(0)Andrew(0)Sarah(0)Jess(0)Rhiannon(0)Becky(1)Karen(0)
