Croydon 2 beat feisty Kingfishers 2Croydon 2 took on Kingfisher 2 at Royal Russell hoping to overturn the reverse fixture where they lost narrowly 13-11. Starting in attack were captain Paul Jeanes, Adam Champion, Emma Butters and Lorna Elliot, in defence were Dan Pratt, Pete Lindsay, Mandy Furlano and Hannah Evans. Both teams took time to settle down with the defences on top, Croydon were creating the better chances and after a while it paid off with Champion scoring a drop off after a neat pass from Jeanes. Kingfishers though found an oppurtunity for themselves scoring with a running-in shot, with the turn around Croydon began to find space and despite missing chances they had the chance to score from the spot after Evans was fouled from behind. Pratt stepped up to take the penalty but Kingfisher and ex-Croydon player called a time-out to try and disrupt the penalty taker. Croydon took the time to talk things over and settle themselves down, with the restart Pratt stepped up to take the penalty, scoring with ease. Kingfisher were given a chance to level the scores with a free pass, they took their chance and brought the scores to 2-2. Champion continued to give his defender problems and breezed past him to score a running-in shot to give Croydon the lead again, they could of doubled their lead soon after with a free pass but Champion and Butters were standing too close to each other. Butters made up for the error though winning a penalty after being fouled taking a runner. Jeanes stepped up and as usual he put the penalty away without problem to give Croydon the 2 goal cushion they wanted. Croydon continued to dominate but were unable to score before the half time whistle blew. After the interval Croydon were hoping to continue their dominance and it wasn't long before they found their scoring ways, Pratt scoring from mid distance after a neat move from Lindsay. The hosts were in a rythym now and Furlano scored from distance to futher Croydon's lead at 6-2. The difference was then increased after the turnaround when Elliot scored a great runner after leaving her player for dead to give Croydon a 5 goal lead, Kingfisher pulled one back with a long shot but the Croydon's defence shut them down and they couldn't find a goal. Croydon's attack had plenty of possesion as the defence did an amazing job in keeping Kingfisher quiet but they sqaundered chances with Pratt missing many chances, coach Butters had seen enough and called a time-out after Croydon wasted possesion. With the restart Croydon still continued to dominate at both ends and they were awarded a free pass but Pratt couldn't find enough space. The visitors were not looking like scoring but against the run of play they managed to score a long drop shot to bring the scores to 7-4. At this pont the hosts knew they had to up their game and Pratt burst past his player only to be bundled to the ground, amazingly the ball was given to Kingfisher the call was for cutting. The game took a turn for the worse after Jeanes and his player contested a 50/50 ball only for Jeanes to be fouled, his player went throuh him to get the ball and then went to ground, the visitors decided that it was Jeanes who was at fault and reacted angrily, even the Kingfisher's coach came the with of the pitch to give his view, dispite the protests and the poor behaviour the referee saw the whole thing and rightly awarded Jeanes the ball. Uncontrolled and unfocused, the visitors couldn't find anything in attack, Croydon's attack however was taking advantage but could still not manage to convert their chances, the game came to an end soon after and Croydon came out winners 7-4.Match Report by Sicknote Final Score: Croydon 2 7 vs 4 Kingfisher 2Adam(2)Daniel(2)Paul(1)Peter(0)Amanda(1)Lorna(1)Emma(0)Hannah(0)
Croydon 3 lose to 7-man West London 1Croydon 3 took on West London 1 at home, they started with Sean Fellows, Dave Smith, Sue Baker and Lynda Barker in attack, Andy Burham, Mick Moore, Karen James and Julia Johnson in defence, West London had only 3 girls so the first half Karen was designated shooter. Croydon lost the first goal of the game within a minute of the start but battled back well, Dave scoring a nice drop off shot to level the scores at 1-1. Croydon though couldn't seem to attack against the 3 of West London and the visitors took advantage scoring two goals in quick succession first with a drop off of their own and then a long shot furthered their lead. Sean was doing his best to get the home team back into the game first he almost scored with a long shot and then collected his own rebound and narrowly missed a running-in shot. West London were unable to find a way through Croydon's defence and had to resort to taking ill-advised long shots, they lucked out though as a poor shot found it's way to the basket, Croydon's problems were compounded soon after when a blatantly defended shot was somehow missed by the referee and the goal was allowed to stand. With the scores at 5-1 and the ref unable to enforce the defended rule Croydon could be forgiven for letting their heads drop but they continued to battle and Karen was left wide open after her player had challenged Julia for the collect, Karen buried the shot and then doubled her tally soon after with a running-in shot to bring Croydon closer at 5-3. Croydon's defence couldn't keep West London out, they scored 3 unanswered goals before halftime including another which was defended to leave the scores at 8-3 going into the break. The game resumed and Croydon were looking to peg the visitors back, a few minutes in and Mick got on the scoreboard with a nice drop off shot, it was to be his last action on the pitch though as he was replaced with Moore the younger, Dan had an immediate impact on the defensive end, intercepting and rebounding well but West London scored again to end Croydon's hopes of a comeback. The hosts didn't stop trying to score though as Dave got his second and Croydon's 5th with a long shot but the teams were trading goals and the back and forth continued with the visitors scoring a long shot of their own before Julia scored from a running in shot to make it 10-6 but West London had the final say as they scored again just before the end to leave Croydon on the wrong side of the 11-6 scoreline.Match Report by Sicknote Final Score: Croydon 3 6 vs 11 West London 1David(2)Andy(0)Sean(0)Mike(1)Daniel(0)Karen(2)Julia(1)Susan(0)Lynda(0)
Croydon 4's last gasp leveller vs PelhamAfter their heroics on the final day of the regular season Croydon 4 took on their equals from the opposite division Pelham. They had played them earlier in the season and were beaten 10-6 but they have improved greatly since then and would hope to challenge Pelham. Croydon 4 started with Becki Pratt, Sarah Hole, Steve Pratt and Paul Andrews in attack, Becky Tobbitt, Zoe Shewell (c), Phil Aish and Jon Deans in defence The early start looked like it left Croydon a little sleepy as the hosts got off to the quicker start scoring 2 very quick goals to leave Croydon in a hole. The visitors didn't respond too well, Steve giving away a free pass but managed to defend it well to stop them going further ahead. Jon was doing his best to bring his team back into the game, running his defender ragged, he was rewarded after being left wide open to score from mid-distance to get the scores back to 2-1. Jon thought he had levelled the scores soon after but his running in shot was disallowed for traveling. Pelham were having to resort to one shot attacks as Croydon really started to apply defensive pressure but a little mistake was punished with Pelham scoring from close to the basket to give them back their two goal lead. Croydon though never give up and were looking by far the better team, creating great chances but as with much of this season they just weren't going in. Against the run of play Pelham managed to edge further ahead with a lucky long shot. Croydon are used to comebacks ad weren't about to panic, they knew they had scorers it was just a matter of time before they found the basket, it was Sarah who was the next to score with a lovely shot from the side of the basket. Croydon continued to attack well and after Zoe was fouled passing to Phil, who was in acres of space, Croydon had the chance to pull another one back. Phil stepped up to the spot and comfortably scored to set up a battle for top scorer between him and Steve, Croydon were unable to carry the momentum on and Pelham were awarded a bizarre penalty which they scored to leave the scores at 5-3 to the hosts. Becki was doing well in attack and was unlucky not to have two or three already but she managed to get on the scoreboard with a great turn and shoot move. With time winding down Croydon were tryin to level the score before halftime but the ball would not drop for them. The whistle blew for half time and both sides had time to talk things over. Croydon continued to dominate in the second half limiting Pelham to one shot attacks, with the extra time in attack Becki got her second with a runner to tie the game up at 5-5. Soon after Pelham were awarded their second dubious penalty after Becki had tried to collect the ball but was judged wrongly to of fouled a boy. Pelham converted from the spot to give them the lead again and they soon were two in front after Sarah took her eyes off her player to give her an easy runner to leave Croydon looking at a 7-5 scoreline. Croydon rallied together and Becki who had a great game bagged her third of the game with a mid-distance shot, Steve then brought the visitors level again with a short shot after turning from the feed despite looking like defended. The other Becky completed Croydon's comeback, scoring a drop off shot to give Croydon their first lead of the game. Croydon looked shaky, not knowing when to take the right shots, they were shooting with no collect and it put pressure on the defence, Pelham took advantage and despite creating little they scored a lucky shot from distance to bring the scores to 8-8. With only a minute left Croydon gifted the hosts a goal, the shot coming from a metre away and at 9-8 Croydon looked to of let the game go in the final moments. The visitors had one last chance to salvage something from the game and it looked like Becki might do it as she went clear to have a running-in shot only to leave it short, Croydon though were gifted a penalty as a Pelham boy had tried to defend Becki. Steve stepped up to the spot knowing if he scored he would save the game for Croydon and go clear from Phil as the 4ths top scorer. With all the pressure he would have been forgiven for missing but he kept his cool and converted from the spot. The full time whistle went seconds after the restart and the game ended 9-9.Match Report by Sicknote | Updated by Sicknote Final Score: Croydon 4 9 vs 9 Pelham 1Steve(2)Jon(1)Philip(1)Paul(0)Becky(3)Sarah(1)Becky(1)Zoe(0)
