Cheam Ladies 3rd XI

Report: We anticipated a cold day, however, the sun was shining over CHC. As we warmed up to Rach's weird drills (or yoga stretches even!) we were certain of a win; if i'm honest, we presumed it would be a game we could bag relatively comfortably (without sounding like we're on top of the league and too big for our boots)... We had a good win against the oppo on their turf, although we could have hit 10 (if not more) against the backboard then... so for good reason, we were optimistic! It worked for the first 20 minutes of the game. The midfield worked incredibly well to support the two forwards... Rach(el) played a solid supporting role with Tiri and Amelia hungry to show off their incredible ball control and shooting ability! It wasn't long into the first half when our star scorer Grace put one in the back of the net - the goal was worked beautifully with a feed from defence up the wing and a cross fr! om Rach(na) having one-two'd with Tiri on the right! Approaching second half, Cheam 3s got a wee bit complacent and conceded (although, our defence were convinced it was never a goal-shall leave that one for the replay!). Thanks to some clever substitutions from Craigy and Pankster (who stepped in for Catriona - thanks guys) we managed a come back - Grace for seconds! Great goal... We're now fired up and raring to go with cheers from the side line... but it wasn't over - Guildford weren't about to give this up without a fight...they pulled another one back to make it 2-2....to cut a long a story short, final score was 3-2 to us!!! Quayley, I don't quite remember how you managed that one (obviously, our celebration showed how much it meant) but perhaps you could elaborate?? hehe. Final score Cheam 3 Guildford 2!!! Happy days! Ellie and Catriona, you were both missed...

p.s. special special mention to Kate our amaaaazing new keeper, who I think was a gymnast in her last life (i've never seen agility quite like it and I think the team and anyone watching would concur!!!).

Report: Lets start with the highlights of the game - not so cold (Catriona may say otherwise), Amelia scored the opening goal of the game (and a cracker at that), haribo treats at half time and Rach(na) nicknamed Edgar Davids (if you want to know why, we invite you to support our next game - quid pro quo if you like!).

Right, back to the game...we started out on the back foot (lets be honest)... however, we managed to score the opening goal and things looked up from that point on... however, we soon found ourselved at 1-1 (HOW!!! WHERE DID THEY COME FROM?) ok, i think they caught us on the counter attack, but still! At half time, we found ourselves at 3-1 down!!! oh dear! However, those haribos really did give us umph! We didn't concede and we stuck to our game plan...spread play wide and release the hit outs from defence round the back and up the wing! It worked and we came so close (I mean millimetres...ok ok, not that close!) to scoring! We gave it everything and if we were being scored on the second half alone we would have come away with a draw for sure!!! Good work and lets take the positives from this game going in against Guildford next week!

Kate, that diving save in the top right corner of our goal - WOW! If Garry Linekar did a Match of the Day on our game, you'd win the gong for save of the season! We'd have an "absolutely incredible" from Alan Hansen ;-)

Report: Now, we all know what happened the last time we played Mitcham Ladies 1s...lets not say it out loud...and ladies, we shouldn't hang our heads in shame or be walking around with brown bags over our heads! No need for such drastic measures... we learned from it and second time round, we were better informed, practiced and stuck to our formation! Final score 2-0 but, that's a good result (if there's ever a definition for a good defeat, this would be it!)... We did good (I say we, but I wasn't actually playing!). The team stuck their necks out (not literally - seriously, don't believe everything you read!). Good game which stored us with confidence...

Report: After a disappointing game against Surrey Uni last week, the 3's were ready to get stuck in this week. We were missing Katie (who has a rather suspicious 'hockey' injury) and Rachna, who has the flu, which left us with only 11 players. However we all stepped up to all the challenge. Luckily Laura Philips stepped in as centre back (there is no position that she can't play), and we gained not one but two Tiri girls as both Amy and Anna played for us.

Cheam were unlucky not to get a goal, as a lot of the action was in our attacking D. However Merton had a strong defence and keeper, and despite Clio and Emilia's best efforts (and at one point even Mary and Quayley's) we couldnt' manage to nudge it over the line. There were some plus points to take forward though - we have finally got the hang of Shot or Short - and Grace and Rose took the the new formation of four across the midfield really well. I am excited about the rest of the season now that things finally seem to be falling into place! Well played everyone.

Report: Despite the long travel, we all made it! The atmosphere in the changing room was upbeat and extremely positive given our rather disappointing game against... anyway, moving on!

We say hello to Grace once again who has added pace and superb ball distribution in our midfield. We had Anna Tiny Tiri playing up front alongside our scorers Clio and Rach - Anna superbly skilled her way past the oppo's Defenders - keep at it, that goal will come! Although we didn't concede any goals, Lara made some good saves and kept the moral high towards the last 20 minutes of the game with her vocal skills! Last but not least, thanks to Emily from the 4s who had a great game too - excellent man marking and great positioning!

We discovered our positions early on in the game and we made the oppo play to our pace and to our game plan. They clearly were in cahoots... so much so that they had to bring on their coach/side line captain (that No. 50) as a sub! Rose did an incredible job at keeping the ball off No. 50. In the end No. 50 ended up switching to the left side of midfield...Emily had her covered their too!

Our defenders - Mary, Painter, Quales and Fiona... you all did extremely well. Communication at the back was spot on and we managed to get the ball up the top of the field for a lot of the game. We only conceded one or two short corners which were easily dealt with. We had a moment of panic when someone cleared the ball off the back line...but what's a game without a moment of excitement ey!

Midfielders - You all worked extremely hard and stuck to the game plan of playing the ball wide at every opportunity. Well done Saoirse on the right! It worked well and with our strong momentum in the first half we managed our first goal of the game from Rach within 20 minutes (or thereabouts)...followed by what could have been another 2 or 3 before half time had it not been for their keeper's stick and gloves.

Second half - also started off well. We managed to rotate the team a little bit more as we had an extra player on the bench. Although the pace of the game dipped a little bit, we managed a second goal from Clio. The ball worked its way up the pitch from our midfield again, and with an assist from Rach, Clio smacked the back board to make it 2 - 0.

The last 10 minutes of the game were hard work. We kept fighting for what was a thoroughly deserved win. Well done girls and lets keep up the good work for next Sat.

Report: After a nightmare of a game the previous week the super 3s pulled it together and managed a well fought draw with London Wayfarers. It was a great team performance with everyone contributing. Welcome back to Grace who deservedly was voted gotg. Just pipping Anna by one vote on her debut for the 3s. Thanks also to Lara and Amy from the 4s who never stopped running!! Chezza with a cameo performance in the second half after Ruth left for work and Lucy for Yorks!
Here's to a win in our next league game (funnily enough as this is a v late report I know the result...)

Report: Despite the now usual Friday night panic as we searched for an extra player, the Cheam 3's played a brilliant game against a tough opposition and scored their first win of the season!

We started a bit shakily as Kenley got off to a strong start, however once Cheam settled in to their positions we gradually got stronger. The defence, stalwarted by Qualyey and Dawn J in the middle had an excellent first half, clearing 4 short corners in a row. Some great runs by Clio finally ended in a goal for Emilia Stenner - her first for the 3's! After half time Kenley took us by suprise (not sure what was in their water bottles)and scored a quick goal. However by this point the 3's were not letting this one go and Clio scored an great goal of the back of a well-executed set piece. We then dug our heels in and some strong defending from Rose and Mary out on the sides meant hardly anyone got near our D. Those that did learnt their lesson with Lexi on form as GK.

A great start to the season, and I am looking forward to the rest of it!