Croydon march on in the EKA Cup after late golden goalCroydon 1 made the long journey up north to Leeds for the 1st round of the cup and were determined to come all the way back down with a win. They started with Andy Withers (c), Vernon Ellis, Sue Baker and Anna Jeanes in defence, Zak Omar, Ed Chaney, Jane Belfourd and Grace Stimpson in attack with stand-in coach Alison Rotherham on the bench with a small hoard of young people acting as the CKC fan club. Both teams got off to a slow start with Leeds looking more lively but it was Croydon who scored first with the dangerous Omar running his player all over. Leeds though got themselves back into the match with a penalty. Leeds then took the lead only for Jeanes to score a neat free pass and the game ebbed and flowed like this for much of the 1st half with few chances being taken by either side. After a long shot from Ellis at half time the game was 5-all and all to play for. Coach Rotherham noted that Leeds had done most of their scoring from penalties but Croydon started the 2nd half in much the same way as a penalty was awarded and all of a sudden the home side had a 2 goal lead to defend. Croydon weren't yet through though as Omar again brought them level. Leeds attack started to look one-dimensional as they continued to feed and then run in a lot, most of the time cutting the defender into the feed. The ref was now wise to this and started giving Croydon the decisions but Croydon were equally suffering, the small hall stifling their passes and their long shooting looking very average. At the 2nd half petered out, neither team could make an impression and so full time came with the scores still at 7-all. Golden goal time and Omar's section in attack. After a few chances they recycled the ball and eventually made the policy of working on Omar pay as he won a penalty after a foul on a feed. After an inordinate pause while he regained his breath he scored and all Croydon needed to do was see one defence out. Alas it was not to be as Leeds fed one of their girls and she scored to send the crowd wild and everyone's nerves up a notch. Croydon attacked and lost possession without a shot going up but Leeds continued find the basket either so the ball was back with Croydon who tried to play their normal game. Jeanes went close with a shot but to no avail. With the last minute of extra time running a shot went up and finally Withers found a bit of space for a drop-off from the rebound and the ball trickled in and the game was won. What dramarama! A win is a win but this wasn't a vintage performance from Croydon by any means. The team will be hoping for a home or local draw in the next round as they look to make an extended run in the EKA cup this season. Match Report by Zuton | Updated by Andy Final Score: Leeds City 1 8 vs 9 Croydon 1Zak(5)Vernon(1)Andy(1)Ed(0)Jane(1)Anna(1)Susan(0)Grace(0)
Another good win for the mighty 4thsFor the second game in a row Croydon 4ths put 9 goals past the opposition but this time only half the team got on the score sheet (although Hayley was unlucky to have a goal disallowed). Difficult to remember the exact order of things but for the whole of the first half we were at least a goal down despite Dom Leppard putting in a really encouraging debut performance and Sue playing really well for the club in her first game. Half time was 4-3 to the opposition but everyone was really up for the second half and started to turn on the pressure. Kathy scored a neat goal on the turn and Dom got the better of his marker several times when getting his 2 goals. Martin meanwhile had subdued Richard B and even had time to score himself, whilst the prodigious Luke missed a penalty but redeemed himself by scoring in open play. Simon nearly lost it querying a defended shot but recovered well to make his contribution... (see message board and facebook status.) With half of the second half remaining it was 6 all but Croydon steadily pulled away to create the winning margin of 9-6 and were never seriously threatened. Everyone worked really well together-well done 4ths!Match Report by Kathy Final Score: Nomads 5 6 vs 9 Croydon 4Simon(4)Dom(2)Martin(1)Unknown(1)Dom(0)Kathryn(1)Charlotte(0)Hayley(0)Susan(0)
