**Those of you who read match reports for the controversy, read on to the end!**

We all turned up on a damp and dark evening, watching the end of the 3rd’s match with a late winner against Ely 1sts. While we were standing there cold and impatient, the feeling in the air had a feverishly optimistic and enthusiastic feel. I could already sense that this was going to be a good match and everyone was up for it. And boy was I right.

Drill Sergeant Ian took us off for a quick warm up over on the rugby pitch. Low light, push ups in the mud…this wasn’t just a hockey warm up. We were being readied for battle.

Once we got on the pitch, the intensity was rising, quick passing warm-up, and the strikers on the keeper. No confusion about where we were all playing this week and what we were doing. The plan was set, and we were ready to execute. Sort of.

When the push back came, we surged forward, dominating the early possession and midfield. Unsurprisingly, we had our first goal within 5 minutes. The ball ricocheted to me at the top of the D. My eyes lit up like a dog being thrown a treat, and after a somewhat aggressive shout of “LAURIIEEE’SSSSSS”…slap. It was in. Despite not having the best contact, it quickly bobbled through players and the keeper’s legs, and we were 1-0 up. They all count!

We were very much in control from the restart, with some great passing within the midfield and running off the ball up front. Some lovely under the shoulder passes by Tom South and Jim, and it did not take long to find a second, albeit from a short corner rather than the fluid open play. Tom South delivered it. A short corner came in, and with a sterling assist from Jim, Tom, ferociously flicked to the bottom left corner, with too much on it that even a defender’s foot couldn’t keep it out. I hear he’s still in Addenbrookes.

While I am mentioning Jim’s assist, he was a menace to their back line all night. Running at the ‘wrong side of 50’, all we needed was pace and a wide line. They even had to revert to ‘tactical feet’ to stop us going by, which in any other league would have resulted in multiple cards. They could not cope with our brilliance, with Jo and Andy also piling in on the action. It was probably just the lack of a final ball that limited our number of goals in this match.

Closing out the half, we looked very good for our two goals, and should have been further in front. South were most definitely happy and coasting. However, during the last 5 minutes of the half we had started to become a little complacent, running forward in search of more goals, and leaving too much space in front of the defence. This was quite rightly picked up in the half time team chat – but we carried on doing it in the second half. This was an error which led to their two goals.

Before we get to that though, we scored again with Jim making it 3-0 around the 10-minute mark. With speed and precision to fly past two defenders, I was expecting British Airways to call and congratulate us on breaking Concorde’s record. A swift one-two with club legend Barton, a 180 pirouette at the top of the D (it was more manly than it sounds), and ping into the bottom left corner. Fantastic.

Then it started to go a little bit wrong with tired legs and a drop in fitness. Their young, fast and skillful front line started to capitalize on the space and overpowered our defence. Fitness is wasted on the youth! I think I can technically say that now at 33. Anyway, one of their goals was your typical pinball machine, coming off legs and a post, before finally making it over the line. If it hadn’t have gone in, there was, no doubt, a P flick on the cards. The other one I can’t really remember, but I am sure it would have come from the quality on show up front.

So the score comes back to 3-2, and South start getting a little bit frazzled. The pressure was on. Were we to lose it, in the same way we let St Ives back in last week, or could we close it out in a controlled swagger?

Special mention goes to Matt in goal during this period. The goal count could have been so much worse. St Neots must have been through at least 5 times on the keeper with decent through balls, but Matt’s cat like reflexes and speed off his line shut down each attempt. I think the young players were more careful about not getting taken out than doing something with the ball. I totally sympathise and understand their decision! The whole back line also played a pivotal role in keeping the score down at this point too and were probably left a little more exposed than the first half.

Again, before I get into the controversy of the day, I feel that Tom South deserves special mention. Not really for his excellent play, but the fact he provided a large share of the comedy for the evening. His first was a joint effort with Rob Barton. After some Tom trickery at the top of the D, all I hear is a shout from Barton of “GO ON TOM, YOU DESERVE A GOAL!” (slight paraphrasing), only for Rob to block a decent shot on target from the top of the D with his leg.

Not long after this, obviously realizing we needed added composure during this time of pressure, his figure skating skills were brought out on pitch to confuse the opposition. Approaching the ball at speed, and sliding at least 5 meters, he struck at least three poses that would have given him solid tens at dancing on ice. All before crumpling into a heap at the end. Solid 5’s instead. Unfortunately for him he was meant to be playing hockey and pulled his groin in the process. Still, out of the box thinking is held in high regard at Cambridge South.

And we come to the controversial moment of the game, 5 minutes from the end in a hotly contested battle. With South leading 3-2, under a lot of pressure there was a South break away. I am not quite sure how the initial foul happened, to who and even the precise location, but the play was stopped somewhere around the 25-yard line. I decided to take a quick free hit to myself on the 25 line, ghosted two players and undercut it over a diving keeper into the back of the net. Now, I thought I was at least somewhere close to where the foul was committed when I took the free hit. Looking back now, the fact that everyone just stood still, half-hearted defensive tackles coming in… confusion reigned. Suffice to say, I was none the wiser to what had just happened and played to the whistle. However, Rob was troubled and will not doubt have nightmares tonight over the decision. He maaaaay have mentioned to me after the game that the foul maaaay have occurred a decent distance away, possibly up to 20 meters. Well, again, they all count if they are given, but there was some sympathy for St. Neots here. The fourth goal effectively killed the tie with no way back for St. Neots. Could this moment have changed the game?

In the midst of all of this, there was handling of balls which the umpires really didn’t appreciate, some attempts at washing balls, and a lot of ball changes trying to find official balls rather than training balls after the handling of balls. I can categorically affirm this was not some extravagant time-wasting technique devised in the covid era, neither an attempt to handle balls on purpose.

Oh, and I can’t forget to mention the green card for “attitude” from a player.  Naughty player.

So here we are, not even proverbially limping over the line, 4-2 up at the end of a hard-fought and thoroughly enjoyable encounter. If we had lost that match, we would only have had ourselves to blame. Fortunately, we came away with a great result, looking forward to carrying momentum into the match on the 19th December. Who is on tinsel duty?