Croydon 3 lose out to North Downs 1Croydon 3 were taking on North Downs 1 in a game where both teams were playing on home court. North Downs were the assigned home team though and Croydon set up with Pete Lindsey, Steve Chadd, Lynda Barker and Steph Robinson in attack, Zoe Shewell (c), Julia Johnson, Dan Pratt and Andy Burnham in defence. Croydon got off to a bad start, they gave away a penalty and North Downs took full advantage to get the game under way. Croydon though had a chance to reply soon after when Pete had the ball taken from his hands by a girl and a penalty was given. Pete stepped up himself and scored to level things up. The next goal wasn't far off, North Downs bagged their second with a good long shot but were pegged back straight away, Dan got past his player and stopped on a sixpence to lose his marker for a short shot. With 4 goals in the first few minutes it was looking like this could be a game full of goals. The home side were awarded their 2nd penalty and duly put the goal away to take the lead once more, but as before Croydon were soon presented with a chance to pull it back, after a foul on Steph, Pete stepped up to the spot, he scored but unfortunately he had stepped across the line. North Downs had been let off and made the most of their chance scoring a runner to break away for the first time in the game at 4-2. Both defences were starting to close the game down and the goals stopped flowing. Croydon were given another penalty after Julia was fouled shooting, but Dan failed to score from the spot. Croydon though were still looking and Julia wrong footed her player to score a running in shot. Hosts North Downs though were finding their range from distance and after going close on a few occasions they eventually found the net with a goal from long distance to make it 5-3, they extended their lead soon after with another running in shot to give them the biggest lead of the match. With North Downs tearing away, the next goal was going to be important and it was Croydon who got it, a neat move off the back of the post from Steph led to her scoring a good drop off shot to bring Croydon back to within 2. With a comeback on the cards Croydon were stepping it up a gear and went close but the half time whistle blew. At the start of the second half both teams seemed to have lost their focus and neither side could string a few passes together without losing it. Croydon took advantage of North Downs mistakes and Andy scored from distance to get Croydon right back in it at 6-5. North Downs though shut the door on a resurgence, scoring a drop off shot and a long shot to give them a 3 goal buffer once more. Croydon started to relax a little and their attacking improved, Steve got past his marker to score his first goal for the club with a runner but North Downs started to run away with it, scoring another penalty followed by a long shot to make it 10-6 and Croydon would have to battle hard to get back into the game. Steph gave Croydon hope with a well worked long shot but North Downs were shooting well and they scored 2 more long shots punctuated only by a drop off shot from Dan to leave Croydon 12-8 down. The game was winding down and barring a late flurry of goals Croydon were going to struggle to get anything from the game, Lynda got on the score sheet from a trademark shot from mid range but North Downs had the final say with yet another from long range to make the final score 13-9. Croydon played well and created enough chances to win the game but North Downs long shooting was deadly and Croydon couldn't find a reply, they will take heart that they got back to scoring ways with all but 1 player getting a goal and should go on from this to better things. Match Report by Sicknote | Updated by Andy Final Score: North Downs 1 13 vs 9 Croydon 3Daniel(2)Andy(1)Steve(1)Peter(1)Stephanie(2)Lynda(1)Julia(1)Zoe(0)
Croydon 4 mauled by Wildcats 2Croydon 4 hosted newly merged West London Wildcats at Royal Russell, and whilst their opponents were struggling for players Croydon were able to give dbuts to Charlotte Feakins and Luke James, and with Russell Comber starting a game for the first time and Hayley Rand playing in only her 3rd game, the hosts had an inexperienced side. In comparison the Wildcat's had 2 former internationals down one end and it was clear from the start this would be a tough game for the beginners. Croydon started with Phil Aish (c), Luke James, Kathy Dean and Hayley Rand in attack, Jon Dean, Russell Comber, Sarah Hole and Charlotte Feakins in defence. The game kicked off and Phil threw a long pass to Luke who then buried his long shot to score seconds into his korfballing dbut. The shock lead didn't last long though and Wildcats responded instantly with a couple of runners to take the lead at 2-1. Croydon were enjoying themselves none the less and despite dropping further behind from a short shot and another running in shot, they still had a smile on their faces. Croydon were struggling but turned it around, Sarah was rebounding well and the hosts were having a good spell in attack, the chances though weren't being scored and Wildcats punished them down the other end with another long shot. Jon will have a few reasons to smile tonight the first was a wonderful block on a Steve Jones shot to deny him a certain goal. Soon after Phil almost scored, albeit in the wrong basket after he deflected a pass goal bounds and it narrowly stayed out. Croydon were settling into the game a bit better and were doing well in defence but they couldn't hold off the visitors for long as they scored a neat drop off just before half time to leave the half time scores 6-1. After the break it was business as usual for Wildcats as they started off where they were in the first, scoring a flurry of goals including a couple of runners to make it 10-1. Croydon were still having fun and if you couldn't see the scoreboard they looked like they were winning as they looked far happier than the visiting side. Phil was doing his best to keep up the mood and his antics on the pitch had every one in giggles, first for no apparent reason he decided the floor looked rather comfortable and had a little lie down, he then followed it up with a great pole dance after missing a runner. Jon had another great moment as his player tried to make a behind the back pass only for Jon to block it sending the crowd wild. He then plucked another wayward pass from the air and he looked like he was loving it. Wildcats though were not going to collapse and scored another running in shot to make it 11-1. In her first game Charlotte wanted to make a bit of news and after her player had beaten her she came back with a great reverse blam which may have been a foul but the referee didn't give it so it will go down in the books as a stop. The visitors scored a long shot and a drop off shot to keep the scoreboard ticking but it was Jon's runner that got the biggest cheer soon after to double Croydon's score, at 13-2 Croydon started looking for a comeback, with only 11 goals in it, it could of gone either way, Wildcats scored a running in shot to make it 14-2 but Luke scored his second long shot and Croydon's third of the game, 2 quick goals from the visitors made it 16-3 and they bagged another runner just before full time to leave the scores at 17-3. Croydon, despite some nonsense from opposition players who should know better, came off the pitch looking at the positives, there was a few players who really improved throughout the game and whilst they lost by a big margin in truth they did have good spells where they dominated possession and they can take heart in knowing they have a new goal scorer in youngster Luke James. Match Report by Sicknote | Updated by Zoe Final Score: Croydon 4 3 vs 17 West London Wildcats 2Unknown(2)Jon(1)Philip(0)Russell(0)Kathryn(0)Charlotte(0)Sarah(0)Hayley(0)
