Cheam Ladies 4th XI

Report: After a bit of sleepy start the team sprang into action - the hangover cures did work after all! The first goal arriving as a result of a fantastic run by Lucy ducking and diving her way around the oppo, a smart pass through to Alex who, very cheekily held back until the goalie was committed, popped it through the keepers legs. Nice one Alex. We forgot that we needed to maintain the lead allowing the oppo to break away, and then failing to remember how to block tackle, let one in.

So 1-1 at half time we went back on pitch ready for battle. A plethera of runs with many near misses causing masses of frustration until Lucy started one of her 'dodge em' runs. a nice firm pass into Andrea who slammed the ball into the backboard (and managed to stay on her feet this time too). Midfield and defence stood firm in their determination not to let any more in to grab the points. two games and six points ladies. The fabulous fours are back on a mission. Bring it on!

Report: And the team was quick off the starting blocks this week with Andrea cracking in the first goal from a rebound shouting, "Get in", as she smacked the ball into the back of the net whilst in the air. We conceded a goal having got caught out with all the mid field pretending to be forwards (steady now ladies) but soon made up for it when Q passed a classic feed in to Alex who duly obliged with a goal. Bev was reasonably busy and certainly didn't have much opportunity to get cold. First half ended 2-1 up despite a few dodgy passes. Second half started and there were several promising runs especially from Goldie driving the ball down the right hand side, a classic pass back to Q who planted it firmly into the net. Final whistle and the score line at 3-1 so another 3 points in the bag. We just have to stop Andrea lying down on the job so often in the match.....

Report: No two ways about it girls - we were robbed. Having gone into the lead quite quickly in the first half via a 'crafted' goal from Alex, we were robbed of a second goal by the defenders shin stopping a certain goal. Play moved quickly around the pitch but we could not equalise. Rose injured meant losing a stalwart on the back row. Second half began with us one up only to be leveled when the oppo were awarded a short corner. Heads up we started from scratch only to lose another member of the rock steady defence with Ads going off with a blow to the face. Now playing without a sub put pressure on the rest of the team and despite putting everything we had into the game we could not pull another goal back. adding to the frustration was the oppo stopping yet another goal on the line with a defenders foot - confident we had been awarded a p flick the ump gave a penalty corner. Next week gives us a b! it of breathing space to regroup and readyourselves for the next league game. Up the fours!

Report: Well it was an exciting prospect playing top of the league in front of the cameras.However the weather was not the best for "little black frocks and stilettos" Sorry Ads our shin pads would have got very soggy under tights so unfortunately Cheam kit had to do.Apart from several cases of near hyperthermia the team played exceptionally well in monsoon conditions. Alex's goal came from a quick break by Lucy W down the right wing, who fired in a fab cross from which Alex scored.The opposition although attacking did not look particularly threatening until a bit of a mess up in defence led to Bev having no chance in stopping their goal.Undetered we kept on creating chances but unfortunately the winning goal evaded us...

Well done everyone especially Rose (great tennis shot!!) and Laura for their sterling performances in defence.Looking forward to the second half of the season and more great performances.

Thanks to all those who braved the elements Bev in goal, Sarah doing the subs, Sharpey who umpired and the supporters.
Also an impressive turn out by the 4s at the Christmas do..I hope you all enjoyed yourselves!!! Enjoy the season's festivities and see you all in Jan.

Report: Another comprehensive win for the 4s! A strong start led to total domination. The 1st goal was a bit of a scramble in the D with Alex popping up to score. A period of great passing and shooting followed however the OG's keeper was a different class. A miss hit by Alex enabled Sarah to scoop the ball (with back to goal) over the diving keeper. The third goal was hockey from the top drawer...good work on the right from Rose, Lucy E and Sarah saw Lois playing the killer cross leaving Alex to slam home. Many more attacks came with the keeper making save after save.

The 2nd half was full of frustration as we looked to boost our goal difference. Again their keeper thwarted attack after attack. With a few minutes remaining Andrea found the back board; Quayley's long pass from a free hit found her on the top of the D and this time she did not disappoint!!

Another very good performance from all, amazing what a win does for confidence. Lets keep it going. Don't worry you won't come across a keeper like that again...infact I wonder if the 1s have!?

Report: Oh what a day for the return of the fabulous fours! A fast start to the game saw a quick goal from Laura Phillips who capitalised on a good cross into the D with Laura slamming the ball firmly into the back board. The match continued with movement up and down the pitch and a plethera of assaults on the goal. The second goal coming from Alex tipping in a stonking cross from Chezza after the forward line drove the oppo backwards. Laura, having got the taste of the goalmouth picked up another cross from the side driven in by Sara and finished it just as superbly as the first goal. The team were on a roll again. Lucy Wakefield made a couple of steaming runs through the middle dodging several players to win short corners, despite having a rotton cold she gave it 110%. Not to be outdone, Andrea got in on the act picking up a good rebound and plonking it into the goal whilst on her knees (no need to! pray for the gaol mate.
Half time and we were pretty chuffed with ourselves, too chuffed and we allowed to oppo to claw one back early in the second half; it was their one and only though.
Another of many runs and good cross into the D resulted in Andrea laying the ball back to Michelle for a typical Q style finish.
Good defending kept the oppo out of the goal along with some sterling keeping from Bev with the lethal right foot.
Job done the team retired for tea.
A cracking game with an even better result. Onward ladies - we have much to play for just like last season:)

Report: We started this game with the same good spirit and determination as the previous week with goals going in at both ends before the half time whistle. We scored, they equalised and so it was until 2 all at half time. Lucy Wakefield making the first goal for Cheam with an amazing drive from the half way line and remaining as cool as a cucumber to firmly place the ball in the back of the net. Lizzie, who obviously has jet propelled boots made it goal number two collecting and finishing the drive on the right post.

Half time arrived on this freezing cold afternoon (what is it with all the late matches, eh?)and we went back out with good spirit and good intent. Plenty of runs at the oppos goal but a couple of slightly sloppy passes allowed them to score their number three and the winning goal.

All said and done, the team gave 110% effort and although having lost again, we are scoring goals ladies and the losing gap has been just one goal for the past two weeks - we are on the up once more to become the fantastic fours!

Report: A much improved performance on the previous weeks despite the final score. this was a match that could have gone either way with fast pace movement of the ball up and down the pitch. Fast and furious attacks on both ends being repelled by all boarders. Bev did a stunning job in our goal with kicks that the England football team would have envied (including nearly decapitating one of the oppo! Half time saw us level pegging at nil all. The second half started with the same pace and a very enjoyable game ensued with the oppo sneaking one in just 10 minutes or so from the end. A close game by all accounts, including the umpires who were highly complimentary about the quality of the play. So Cheam 4s - we can do it, just have to keep plugging away and not give up. Well played everyone!

Report: Not one of our best performances but we were outgunned by extreme youth on the part of the opposition, lots of pushing and some dodgey umpiring. Down 2-1 at half time we were quite up beat as it wasn't a big gap. our only goal coming from Lucy Wakefield with one of her classic 'in the right place at the right time and immaculate timing to finish' type goals - the girl is getting really good at these.

second half started at despite numerous attacks it would not cross the line. Then our luck changed for the worse. A scrambled goal went in having cleared it a couple of times to make it 3-1. This was then followed by a call from the umpire at the opposite end of the pitch for a P flick claiming that one of our players had stopped it on the line with her foot (given the poor light and time of day I'd love to know how he could have been that sure). Alas, yours truly didn't stand a chance. To add salt to the wound, a fifth goal was allowed after the other umpire ha blown the whistle for a foul. As far as the team is concerned, it was 3-1 which would have been the sportmanlike end to quite a rough game.

Report: A big oops this week. Despite several flurries of attacks in the opposition's D the ball just would not make contact with the backboard for us. Several grazed knees later and we were 3-0 down with two very quick forwards taking every opportunity to break away from the defenders. As a team we were equally matched but just didn't build in the same way as the match against Camberley.

However, it's not over yet and we have plenty of time this season to redeem ourselves and rise to the challenge once more. So don't be downhearted ladies -we shall be victorious again.

Report: Faced with a strong opposition we were lack lustre in the first half, enough said.
We drew the second half 1-1 with Lizzie making a spectacular run down the right and crossing the ball to Lucy who remained as cool as a cucumber to pop it into the back of the goal. the play in the second half was far more in line with last weeks performance but, alas, we simply ran out of time to make up the deficit.
next week Ladies, next week :)

Report: Nice to see that everyone read last week's report!

Two goals within the first ten minutes in the first half with Andrea leading the way. Emelia, who now has a goal scoring image to maintain, popped number two in using the oppos shin pads for a slight deflection (it was going in anyway). We relaxed a little for a few moments and let the oppo pull one back but not again after that.

Finishing 2-1 up at half time we went back out to maintain our goal scoring average of last season (5 being our lucky number.
Andrea, chasing her goal average of last year, put another into the back of the net for goal number three. Amy soon followed with a debut goal cleanly chipped in. Goal number five rightly going to Lucy E from a fantastic cross fired to the top of the D from Emelia. Lucy finishing with a classic sweeping strike hammering past the goalie.

We couldn't single out only one player for the vote as everyone had played their socks off, working together superbly as a team. Definitely our best and most enjoyable game of the season so far.

Home turf next week girls - don't forget our lucky number!!!

Report: MMM... not quite the first half we would have desired and no hot sun to blame, perhaps it was the wind slowing down the thinking in the D or an allergic reaction to their defence..?:(
Second half we started to be our normal selves and two goals came very quickly from Andrea after some great movements down the pitch. Lucy Edwards making a couple of storming runs from our 25 yard line and finally being rewarded with goal number three. Laura played a great game in defence, normally playing up front.
Finally the fantatic fours return on good form. Carry on the good work girls and let's crush Camberly this week!

Report: Phew, what a scorcher. temperature raised by the wonderful heat reflective wall alongside the pitch. Cheam scored the first goal with a wonderfully finished short pass run from Emilia. The oppos scored as the defence had suffered a touch of heat stroke (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it).
A level playing field second half. Qualylie netted us back into the lead with a lovely touch in on the post. Sadly,heat stroke hit the defence again and another goal scored by the opposition to finish up at 2-2. just one point in the bag this week but we are ready for our next challenge all the more determined to win next week.

Report: What a scorcher of a day to play a game like this. Heads up as the oppo are in a much higher division in the Middx league. The score line does not reflect the strength of the fours if matched equally against a team. Despite the midday heat the team gave it everything in an effort to win this one. The shots on goal were plenty but their defence sturdy to the last blocking loads.
Our only goal coming from Louise with a cracking shot giving a resounding thud as it hit the back board.
A good warm up match for the first league match next week - lets go get em girls

Report: and once again, the fearsome fours get off to a fabulous flying start!

Team 4 settled so quickly we barely had time to see the first of Emily's four goals hit the back of the net. The team worked the ball up the field to leave the opposition flagging behind. Quick running and superb passing on the part of all the team resulted in Emily putting us four up by half time. a couple more could have gone in had the oppo not stopped the ball with a players foot (oops - not seen by the ump, hmmm).
Second half and the Skip smacked a cracking shot into the back of the net from a short corner. Minutes later, Louise decidedly that playing sweeper was getting boring and went up front to score. our goalie did have a couple of touches - just enough to stretch the big toe....

First game of the season and 6-0 result, a fab start to the season.