Croydon douse Phoenix's flames as it rains goals in the EKA CupCambridge Phoenix were the opponents for Croydon's 2nd round cup fixtures after the thrilling golden goal win away at Leeds City. Croydon lined up with Dan Pratt, Zak Omar, Grace Stimpson and Jane Belfourd in attack, Andy Withers, Vernon Ellis, Anna Jeanes and Julia Johnson in defence. Coach Omar had preached patience and control before the game and things started well with Pratt exploiting his defender's inexperience under the post for an easy one-hander and then Omar following up with a mid range shot. Croydon then earned a penalty which Withers missed but another was soon available as Croydon were smothering Phoenix's attacks and this time Ellis made no mistake. Phoenix did get on the score-sheet themselves at this point as Pratt was flummoxed by his player's movement and conceded a running in shot. Omar scored again though and despite missing his penalty, Pratt scored off the rebound. Withers earned a penalty from a tight pass from Johnson, Ellis converted and then scored a long shot and by now Phoenix were struggling at 1-7. Despite a time-out, things only got worse though as Omar scored a short shot and Pratt a penalty. Withers swooped in for a running in shot from the side and Ellis from the front and so at half-time it was 1-11 and game over. Croydon were looking to build on their play for the following day's match in the 2nd half but it didn't quite turn out that way. Phoenix came out with renewed spirit with tighter marking and longer balls to stretch Croydon's defence, this paid some dividends but they were only able to score 1 more goal in the last few minutes. Meanwhile Croydon's scoring faltered a little with some of the shooting a bit flat and some of the collects not quite happening. Nonetheless Stimpson scored from distance after 7 minutes and Withers intercepted a pass for lay-up after 12. Croydon lost focus and started appealing to the ref so a time-out was called to calm things. Johnson was subbed for Karen James and Omar for Ed Chaney in the final 10. Phoenix increased aggression over-spilled in some quarters and the referee had to separate Ellis from his opponent as both men squared up and words were said. After a brief interlude, hands were shaken and play resumed. Ellis scored from the back soon after and Belfourd from mid range. Phoenix got their goal after a nippy sub beat James for a runner but Jeanes had the last laugh as finally one of her long shots found its happy place in the back of the basket. Final score 17-2 to Croydon. Frankly it wasn't much of a contest until Phoenix picked things up in the 2nd half but Croydon were coasting by then. The game time should help with the development of the team and tactics though and they march on to the next round of the cup. Match Report by Sarah | Updated by Andy Previous photo Next photo1 of 7 Final Score: Cambridge Phoenix 1 2 vs 17 Croydon 1Vernon(5)Daniel(4)Andy(2)Zak(3)Ed(0)Grace(1)Jane(1)Anna(1)Julia(0)Karen(0)
