Cambridge South 2nds, sponsored by PwC, recovered from last weeks poor showing at Boston to record a deserved victory over a competent and competitive Alford side.

South started the match quickly, forcing the Alford team deep and winning a number of short corners. From one of these Al Sinclair saw an initial shot saved, only for the rebound to fall straight to him, unmarked, five yards out. Al’s follow up shot was a miss-hit, the sort of wildly looping ball that is actually very difficult for ‘keepers to deal with, so it was perhaps no surprise that it found it’s way past the Alford stopper to give South the lead.

Having started fast, South then found themselves in a game as Alford came back strongly at them. Alford have a dangerous centre-forward, who was playing very high up the pitch. With the rest of their forwards keeping width but staying deep and also with the South defence seemingly intent on pushing up to compress play and ‘help’ in the attacking, some large gaps in the defensive system were appearing, with centre-back George Wych left especially isolated, one-on-one with the danger man, often twenty or thirty yards from help. Alford exploited this with a long ball game, pinging the ball up to their high forward, hoping that he, with the full width of the pitch to work with and only the unsupported George to beat, could get into the circle and get a shot in. This he did a number of times, and it took some smart work from ‘keeper Steve Parker to preserve South’s early advantage. In fact, said centre-forward was heard to mutter after about twenty minutes “We should be 4-1 up!”, and while that was an exaggeration he had the semblance of a point.

Having got through this dodgy phase without damage, South then knocked the stuffing out of Alford by doubling their lead. The ball was feed into the circle to Rob Barton. Just like the opening goal, the initial shot was saved, but not cleared. Also, the Alford goalkeeper bumped into one of his defenders, sending both to the floor. Rob picked up the rebound and got a reverse stick shot off before the ‘keeper had had the opportunity to regain his feet. This shot found the target despite the desperate efforts of a defender rushing back.

If a goal has ever changed a game as much as this second effort did, then I’ve rarely seen it. From being a distinct threat to the South net, forcing shots and corners, Alford were suddenly unable to penetrate the South 25, never mind the circle. At the other end, South’s team play, which had been so noticeably absent at Boston, was back with a vengeance. Players ran into space, people called for the ball, triangles were being set-up all over the pitch and the Alford defence was being given a thorough workout. That South didn’t extend their lead before the interval was down mostly to good goalkeeping, somewhat to chances being snatched when there was more time available.

The second half began with Alford upping their workrate and getting a foothold back into the match. South were still moving the ball around well and creating the better chances, but after the complete lull of the second part of the first half, Parky in goal was back to being more than a mere spectator.

Alford’s improved play saw them pull a goal back after around ten minutes of the period. South’s defence had been on the retreat for a couple of minutes, dropping deeper into their own half, inviting pressure that saw them struggling to clear their lines. This eventually led to a scramble at the top of the circle, with two South defenders foregoing the chance to clear the ball when it was on their sticks. Alford’s experienced central midfielder took advantage of all the hesitation, thumping a shot as soon as he had any chance of being near the ball, which flew out of the crowd and into the far corner. A prime example of the value of seeing more than two yards ahead of oneself and therefore doing something decisive with the ball, but from a defensive standpoint a really soft goal to concede.

Fortunately this period of play was just an aberration, as the defence reset their line outside the 25 rather than 10 yards from their byline and once again held Alford at arms length. At the other end, the chances continued to come, and the lead was quickly back up to two goals. A move broke down with the ball running free on the Alford 25. Al picked it up, moved towards the right channel, beat two men to get himself to the edge of the circle and fired unstoppably into the far corner.

The next few minutes were all about Al, and when/whether he would get his hattrick. It seemed he had when a goalmouth scramble ended with him turning home from close range, only to discover that a short had been awarded fractions of a second before he found the finish. From the resulting short, the initial shot was saved but the ball was quickly re-gathered by South. It was worked square to Al at left slip, taking the ‘keeper out of the play. With only a defender on the line, Al shot…wide! But it was only a matter of time. Tim Clapp picked up a ball in central midfield and passed straight up to Al. A beautiful first touch managed to combine bringing the ball under control and beating the last defender, setting Al clean through one-on-one. The ‘keeper rushed out to meet and spread himself, only to see the ball driven over him and into his goal.

South 2nds showed gentlemanly politeness in the final minutes of the game, as Alford were given the opportunity for the last say. A short corner was given, the shot was true and on target, heading for the bottom corner. A defensive stick got a piece of it, raising it upwards but still goalwards. It would have gone in if it hadn’t struck Jan’s shoulder as he stood in the goalline. The Alford Umpire’s initial decision was only to award a short, prompting Jan to tell her “It’s a flick, it hit me on the shoulder and it was going in.” Despite teammates (notably Ron) fervent attempts to shut him up, Jan had said enough to convince the Umpires to consult each other, the discussion ending up with the flick being given. The centre-forwards finish was good, the final score of 4-2 had been reached, and the Lemon-of-the-Match voting was a foregone conclusion!

Skipper Kevin Rowland was pleased with the day, saying “The team fully turned things around this week after lasts weeks disappointing game. It was positive passing and possession that led to our chances being converted into goals and a good win today, achieved by fluid, decisive and sharp teamwork”.