Croydon 1 leave it late to snatch victory in Promo game against Highbury 1Croydon 1 played a tense and close fought game against London rivals Highbury in a Promo League / London Regional League double header. Whoever won the match would take the points into both leagues so there was everything to play for. Croydon laid out with Munshi, Mills, Bradford and Munro in first attack, with Hudspith, Withers A, Pratt and Robinson in first defence. The first few minutes of the game set the tone for the entire match. Both teams were evenly matched and both wanted the win. Neither team wanted to be the first to concede though and there were many one shot attacks with the rebounders picking off the ball and passing to their respective attacks. The stalemate was eventually broken by Highbury scoring from mid-range. This wasn't the opening of the floodgates though, more the opening of the ever-so-slightly-dripping tap! After several more minutes of no goals, including Croydon missing a penalty, Mills sunk a shot from way out wide, and the scores were level. Again, no sign of floodgates being opened though. A couple of Croydon subs, Gooch on for Mills, and Withers S on for Munro, helped to change the Croydon pattern of play, but still not enough for those elusive goals. With half time rapidly approaching and with both teams defences working hard to block shots and collect rebounds, it was Highbury who again scored, first through a penalty, and then from another open play goal. Half-time: 1-3 in Highbury's favour, but definitely all to play for. The start of the second half was pretty much more of the same. The ball was being moved around, but the defences were too strong and quality shots were few and fair between. Munro was subbed back on for Pratt, and worked well in her new section. Highbury scored another mid-range effort, but they weren't able to capitalise on their lead, and they never looked unassailable. The Croydon attack then started to get themselves together and looked like they had a plan that might work. Munshi got the ball rolling, as it were, by scoring a penalty, awarded for contact against Highbury. This was followed up by Hudspith calmly slotting in 2 penalties for his section, bringing the scores level for the first time in over half an hour. Highbury's reply was quick, as they sunk a medium distance shot to take back the lead. (When I say quick, it's relative to the average rate of goal scoring in the game!) Munshi's section had had a taste of this goal scoring lark though, and decided to have a go! A well-worked move ended with Munshi with the ball mid-way from the post, and he didn't miss. The crowd had been given a little more to shout for at this stage, and tension was rising as the clock ticked down. Highbury took back the lead, but Hudspith had had enough of being being behind, and sunk a well-deserved long shot. 6-6 and minutes to go. Both teams were now fighting for that win. Highbury had not been behind for the whole game and had no intention of doing so now. Croydon were sniffing at their heals and could feel that they had an upset in them. As the clock seemed to slow down, Withers S showed that she hadn't lost her knack for running in shots, and this time, after bobbling around the top of the korf, the ball sank majestically through the yellow plastic and sent the crowd into shouts and screams of delight. For the first time in the whole game, and with less than 5 minutes remaining, Croydon were in the lead. (7-6). Highbury were now working harder than ever to regain the lead that they must have thought was surely theirs. Croydon didn't make it easy for themselves, throwing away the ball on a couple of occasions, and giving Highbury further chances, but, and this is crucial, Croydon stuck together, played the game, and hung on to that slender one goal lead for all they were worth. Final score, 7-6 to Croydon. And yes, if you work it out, that's only one goal every 4.5 minutes on average, and yes, there were times when there were no goals for what seemed like much more than that, but both teams played some good Korfball in parts and there were some excellent defensive play and some brilliant intercepts (special mention to Munshi here). And in the end, Croydon's teamwork and spirit paid off as they ground out that all important win. Match Report by Anna | Updated by Sarah Final Score: Croydon 1 7 vs 6 Highbury 1Nigel(3)Zak(2)Andy(0)Stephen(0)Simon(1)Hannah(0)Sarah(1)Kimberley(0)Becky(0)Kathryn(0)
