Cheam Ladies 2nd XI

Report: Sallie gave her "dynamic" team talk and Richmond were comprehensively beaten. Result? Cheam Ladies 2s are now guaranteed Division 2 hockey for next season!

I don't remember too much of the detail, there was great linking play in the midfield creating lots of chances on goal and solid defending. I do remember Liz G constantly muscling in on the oppo and Rose running up the wing and nobody giving Richmond any time on the ball. We played out attacking game, which was great to watch, and this resulted in 3 goals scored in the first half, 2 from Bev and one from Claire.

Second half ended 1-1 as Richmond upped their game a little bit and scored from a short corner. We had already increased our goal difference though from a pea roller across the line from another short corner. It gave Bev her well deserved hat trick.

The last 2 minutes were déjà vu, defending 2 back to back corners. Just like last week, it wouldn't have made a difference to the final result but... They fluffed it, the match finished 4-1.

Report: I don't know whether it was playing at Fortress Nonsuch or just not wanting to re-live the feelings of the week but we were a different team this week and deservedly got a great result!

From the whistle we were hassling the opposition and capitalising on their lack of abiity to keep possession. We were also creating chances and the first goal was goal of the game. A great ball across the D and a diving Rose turned the ball in at the far post. That commitment to the cause was shown across the team and 2 more goals went in before half time from Bev and Claire. Any forays into our half by the opposition were calmly dealt with by the defence.

Second half saw no goals and it was the turn of the defence as BHE came at us with a bit more resolve. 2 short corners at the end (one after the final whistle) was a little stressful but only because it would have been criminal to have let a goal in!

Bring on Richmond!

Report: Score line is something to forget and did not reflect the game, especially in the second half.

On a pitch that resembled a certain foreign cricket pitch (I couldn't quite build a sandcastle), we went 1-0 down to a short corner strike within a couple of minutes of the starting whistle. 2 more goals went in before half time. 3-0 down and with some advice from Spuggie and a "we can do this" team talk from Grimesy we came out fighting in the second half. The first 15 minutes it was all Cheam, lots of opportunities but just we couldn't find that final touch. Against the run of play, Reigate scored from another short corner. It shifted the balance back towards Reigate. 2 more goals followed.

Report: After a significant debate on whether the pitch was playable, we started our game on the "concrete" pitch.

After surviving a one on one early on in the first half, we played some good hockey in the midfield but couldn't convert it to a goal. All efforts rebounding off the oppo keeper.

Second half and we went behind to a soft short corner, which only seemed to inspire us and we promptly went down the other end and Claire scored. Unfortunately we lost concentration and Purley scored another one within a few minutes and, with the work rate upped, the rest of the half was spent trying to find a reply. It was not to be however and the final whistle blew. 2-1. It could have been better but we were unlucky not to get a draw out of it.

Report: Last time we played Tulse Hill it was tropical and they beat us 4-0. The return fixture turned out to be the opposite. Freezing cold conditions but a win!

A goal fest of a first half - the initial pressure paying off with 3 well taken goals in nearly as many minutes from Nicki, Ellie and Bev. I'm not sure anyone could believe we were 3-0 up and a momentary lapse allowed the oppo to bring back the deficit. However we weren't finished and Lois got in on the action to make it 4-1 up at half time.

More goals in the second half - another one from Nicki to put us 5-1 up, but 2 more from the oppo resulted in a frantic final 10 minutes with the oppo applying the pressure. But we held on and victory was ours!

Thanks have to go to Quayley who came on as super sub after Ellie had a nasty hit on the knee and also to everyone who braved the cold to support us on the sidelines!

Report: I don't know whether it was the determination to do better than last week, the fact that we were playing a promoted team that we knew were beatable or the enforced indoor warm up...whatever it was...in the pouring rain and freezing cold we got a great result to finish the first half of the season!

Reigate applied plenty of pressure but everything came together this week and, despite a fair few short corners to defend, they failed to find a way through the solid defence and determined mid field. The 2 goals came as result of short corners in the first half, scored by Bev and Rose. It could have been more; Lara was unlucky not to score in the second half, the shot flying just past the wrong side of the post.

Everyone contributed to this result but girl of the game went to Liz G who showed absolute determination in making sure Reigate went away with no points.

Report:
Mmmmmm......a sobering experience indeed. 5-0 down by half time. Now I know what the Reds must have felt like going into half time in Istanbul back in 2005. Surbiton must have thought that Christmas had come early so lacking in oomph were Cheam Ladies 2s. Lack of oomph + Ladies 2s = does not add up.

The second half was a blessed return to what the 2s are known for - balls, backbone, courage and determination with everyone contributing. The half ended 0-0 with Surbiton never really looking like scoring.

Notable performances from Claire Mostert for battling and playing some creative stuff and Frankie and Sinead for doing the simple things well. Thanks also to Bev B for stepping in to goal at short notice and to Katie P for filling in so ably. A final thanks to Charlotte K for lightening the collective mood of the defensive 5 during one of several corners by declaring (loudly) that she is "actually quite a good umpire!"

So yesterday was a lesson learned the hard way, unfortnately, but we have the chance to put things right on Saturday and we will. Be warned, Ladies, the "Martina" look is here to stay! Shame about the muscles....

Report: Home advantage didn't seem to help this week as we were ultimately well beaten by a strong Spencer team.

Against the run of play Nicki scored to put us 1-0 up early in the first half. We couldn't hold on to the lead though and they equalised going into half time.

We battled hard but struggled to cope with the constant pressure and Spencer scored 3 more goals in the final 10 minutes. I think everyone, including the supporters on the sideline, was relieved to hear the final whistle.

Good luck next week.

Report: Playing at 4.30 under flood lights weren't ideal conditions and Richmond were clearly up for a win at all costs, demonstrated by an overhead smash by one of their players aimed right at Meg's head (isn't that lacrosse?). Lots of effort but not quite as much reward this week.

A great save from Meg stopped Richmond taking an early lead and then, following a succession of short corners, Liz G scored to give us the lead going into half time. A well taken goal by Richmond brought things level mid way through the second half and this led to a very panicky remainder of the match, not helped by 2 short corners played after the final whistle had blown. Richmond weren't able to capitalise though and we came away with a hard fought point.

Report: Well we all knew that a win would come eventually.

In miserable weather, we came out deserved winners showing that as long as we play our game we are a match for anyone in this league - but we knew that anyway!

At half time we were 2 nil up due to lovely build up play and very well put away goals by Nicki. The defence held their own and the mid field were linking well.

Second half, and with a new keeper duly padded up, and clearly determined to overcome the deficit, Barnes came out fighting. But shortly after they came close to closing the gap, we extended our lead with another goal from Nicki. 3-0. We were starting to look home and dry (in the metaphorical sense only of course!).

2 more goals from Rose and Gill towards the end of the game helped to make the score line look a little flattering but I don't think we can say no to goal difference. Praise has to go to the newly formed defence as the clean sheet reflects some great marking, tackles and determination along with the odd save from the keeper. Ellie and Sinead settled in well and Frankie was deservedly girl of the game.

Roses's comment at half to the effect of "lets make it 5-0" was clearly out of a crystal ball!

Next up - Richmond. They only narrowly beat us last year with half the team off skiing. Think its revenge time....

Report: A Tale of Two Halves

Cheam Ladies 2s came into this game on the back of 2 defeats but started extremely well against a fit and athletic Purley side. Given that this is only our 4th game of the season, fitness has improved with every game to the extent that we now have a side which is more or less up to full match fitness.

Cheam totally dominated the 1st half with PW's outstanding keeper singlehandedly repelling shots from Lara, Nicki and Bev on several occasions. Even Steph nearly scored in the first half. Good structure, movement and balance proved to be the watchwords for Cheam in the 1st half with everyone in the team disciplined about their individual roles. We went into half time at 0-0 but confident that we could get a result.

Purley came out for the second half much as they had in the 1st but we lost our discipline and shape and allowed them back in the game. We were punished as they they scored a soft goal and spent the rest of the match playing catch up. That said, Bev and Nicki both nearly scored and, were it not for PW's goalkeeper, we would have run out as worthy winners.

Lots of good aspects to report: the defence (hardly any corners conceded), making lots of chances, forcing lots of corners, structure, effort.

Not much bad stuff to be honest. We just need to take our chances and keep our heads.

No need to panic or be afraid of anyone in this league, we just need to dispose of our naivety and learn how to win at this level. We will.

Onwards and upwards!

Report: Odd to report on a loss by opening with the statement, "this was an excellent performance" but it is true of the Ladies 2's game against Epsom on Saturday.

We welcomed Sinead and Ellie C from the Ladies 3's as well as Frankie (again). Thanks, Amy, for being so accomodating.

After the debacle of the previous week, a reaction was needed and we took the battle to Epsom immediately, fighting for every ball, keeping possession and using a bit of nous. The main battle in the first half took place in the midfield with Cheam being equal to the oppo and Gill leading the way (how fit is this woman and what's her secret?). As the half wore on, Epsom began to take the initiative and were awarded a number of corners. Having been repelled for a long time by an excellent Cheam defence marshalled by Sallie and some truly fantastic saves from Annys, they finally scored.

The second half started in the same vein as the first with some nice runs down the right by Ellie ably assisted by some neat supply from Sinead. Epsom scored on the break to go 2 ahead with about 15 minutes to go. We didn't give up and hit the post and missed a few chances before we got one back via an exocet by Lara from a corner. Cue "Charge of the Light Brigade" with 5 minutes left on the clock and Lizzie nearly scoring at the end. In the end, time ran out for us but it makes me realise that, if we play like this every week, we can equal probably 75% of the teams in this league.

P.S. Your captain played like a muppet!

Report: OUCH!

We went into only our second match of the season with confidence gained from a convincing win the weekend before. We welcomed Lexi and Claire who both played for us for the first time.

We started well despite the heat with some neat touches from Nicki O, Bev Nicholson and tireless running from Gill McDonnell but THD gained the upper hand and the lead and Cheam went into half time very much second best and 2 goals down. Things improved substantially in the second half with us employing more common sense, keeping our structure, retaining more possession and getting the ball into the 'D'. That said, THD scored another 2 goals and ran out worthy winners in the end. No complaints about the result which we will forget about but with the knowledge that we have lots to work on for the next match which is against the league leaders.

Many thanks to Charlotte Kenyon and David Heller for umpiring.

Report: Alas, the summer is gone, the leaves are falling and yet it only feels like yesterday that we were celebrating last season's promotion. For various reasons, this was our first match of the season and we were expecting a rough ride in the new division. Maybe it was because we had a certain sargent major coach on the sidelines that made us come out of the blocks a bit quicker than usual. We welcomed Ellie Crabtree and Frankie from the 3's and Beckie who is new to the Club as well as old muckers, Nicki and Dot. Everyone did well with some great interplay between Nicki Osborne and Bev Nicholson and some excellent runs on the outside right by newcomer, Ellie Crabtree. All 5 goals were scored before half time with Nicki claiming a couple even though one was almost certainly scored by the oppo but the dubious goals panel met today and awarded the goal to Nicki as an incentive for Bev Torres-Nichols! on!! Well done all but don't be lulled as there are far greater challenges ahead.