Cambridge South 3rds second friendly match after the recent weather-imposed hiatus saw them up against a new opponent: Leadenham Hockey Club. The previous week had provided a fairly gentle re-introduction as South faced Shefford & Sandy’s youth development team. Leadenham, who sat in third place in the northern section of Division 6NW, parallel with the 3rds, would prove a very different kettle of fish.

The enthusiasm of both squads for the game was evident in the number of players who turned up. South, due to a counting mishap by General Jelley (or was it his logistical staff?) had troops coming out of their ears: seventeen eventually showed, although one player agreed to a late-notice switch to help out the 4ths who had picked up a couple of injuries, to leave Herr Kommandant marshalling sixteen. Leadenham themselves brought a squad of fourteen which included a decent balance of older teenagers and adults.

The game began with the ball swinging end-to-end. South’s midfield were attempting to impose the level of dominance they have often achieved in league games, joining in with the attack wherever possible. Leadenham for their part played with their forwards pretty high and a midfield pushing on from deep so that, when they attacked, the South backline were often out-numbered. As a result, the game was quite open.

Despite the willingness of the Leadenham attack it was the visitors' keeper, rather than Chris C in the South goal, who was doing the majority of the work. South fashioned a number of chances in the opening half but couldn’t find the finishing touch. Slightly concerningly, for the second week in a row the short corners were showing significant hiccoughs, most routines breaking down without a shot even being attempted. Must do better is the message to all concerned.

South made the breakthrough in the second half. From a sideline in their own half, the back option to a supporting player was taken and crucially was taken early. This drew the Leadenham midfield upfield in an attempt to press and allowed the ball to be slipped out to Stu, wide right, with space in front of him to attack. Stu advanced towards the full-back, forcing him to engage, then slipped a pass to Rupert who now had a clear run to the goalline. Rupert took advantage to push into the circle and picked the right pass when pulling the ball back to the penalty spot, where Tim was arriving late to sweep into the far corner. A very good goal, and a prime example of going backwards to go forwards.

From that point, South’s control of the match increased as the visitors' midfield was worn down by the defensive work required, and so unable to support their forwards as well as before. South's short corners were still malfunctioning though, so the score remained at 1-0 at the final whistle.

In many ways, this was a useful outing for the 3rds. With the key matches of the season against Newmarket and St Neots 4ths coming up in the next two weeks and no competitive action since January, a close match against an evenly matched side was precisely what was called for. Before Christmas the 3rds had failed to raise teams for the friendly matches arrange to fill the fixture gap before meeting our promotion rivals and had subsequently slipped to two costly defeats. This time around the team has prepared properly so let’s hope we see the fruits of that in what may prove a defining period of the season.