The M4s arrived in Bishop’s Stortford in bullish mood after we had all got confused by the location of the opposition’s ground, struggled for parking and tried desperately hard not to run over any of the hundreds of pupils attending college. A short warm up led by John Gourd meant that South were ready for whatever skipper JJ had planned as a follow up. Thankfully, JJ’s plank of wood remained at home and we carried out a more conventional pass-move-strike drill, which was far less strenuous than last weekend’s shenanigans.

South started slowly and conceded from a well-struck penalty corner early in the first quarter. A disappointment, but heads didn’t drop. In an incredibly even first half, South had as many opportunities to score as Stortford but failed to capitalise. It was towards the second quarter when South finally found their feet. The new three man backline featuring debutants James Hayes and Simon Kitchen began to dominate, Simon in particular proving very effective at crushing all before him whilst James marshalled the back line with the sort of aggression that Tony Adams would have been proud of.

The second half was characterised by South dominating the play, with Stortford trying to use the long ball to unleash their potent forward line, who looked incredibly bored by this stage due to their lack of activity. Cambridge’s midfield worked hard to provide the frontline of Oli Weston, Creed Jr. and Paul South with ammunition. Keishi in particular used his pace to terrorise Stortford’s back line to great effect whilst the best Seb could do was a pea-roller of a push pass to a bewildered JJ in an uncharacteristic lapse of concentration.

South’s superior fitness was telling towards the final quarter of the game. Whilst Stortford tired, Cambridge looked composed and continued probing for openings incessantly. By now South were dominating possession but couldn’t quite manufacture that killer chance. The elusive equaliser finally arrived as Paul pounced on a save from Rob’s shot to finish off a slick move, much to our opponents’ chagrin. This sparked a final flurry from Stortford who somehow managed to get three unmarked forwards in South’s circle before their move finally broke down; the stress of which turned MSG a distinctive red colour. Frightening indeed!

A competitive friendly between two well-matched teams, with a deserved 1-1 draw the result. Thanks to our friends at Stortford for a welcoming and decent fixture.