Saturday October 18th, 2008

CAMBS Ladies Premier League

Cambridge City Ladies 3rd XI (2) vs Market Deeping Ladies 1st XI (1)

Deeping came out fighting with spectacular passing between the backs and midfield.  Kirsten Hackett and Ellie Allam defended tirelessly as City fought back with a string of attacks.
At the other end of the pitch, Deeping’s forwards took advantage of accurate passing from Gemma Anderson and Gemma Catlin in midfield, leading to lots of attacks on goal. 
Eventually City broke the deadlock with an unstoppable shot.
Deeping fought back and within minutes a brilliant pass from Becky Allam at the half way line set Sarah Smith up on a run through to goal where she slipped it into the right corner.
The second half saw City’s home umpires dispute each others’ decisions leading to some frustration in both teams. 
Infuriatingly a momentary loss of concentration from Deeping led to City snatching an undeserved goal just before the final whistle.
Player of the Match – Sarah Smith

CAMBS Ladies Div 2

Market Deeping Ladies 2nd XI (3) vs Newmarket Ladies 2nd XI (0)

Deeping’s second team ladies continued their good form with a 3rd league victory in a row, pushing them to second in Cambridge Div Two.
Initially Newmarket started the better but their attacks were snuffed out by sound defence particularly from youngsters Rachel Gale and Grace MacDonald.
Almost against the run of play Deeping produced yet another lovely passing move between Sophie Goodrum (who was forced to limp off soon after) and Nicky Buckby, for skipper Buckby to score. Excellent play by Debs Wilding in midfield kept Deeping on top for the rest of the first half.
Now Deeping continued to push Newmarket and in the second half they totally dominated the play. Wilding played a lovely pass for Katrina Kennedy to run on to in space and she struck a well angled shot to score her first goal for the club. She quickly made it two after an excellent pass from Nicky Buckby.

CAMBS Mens Div 2 N

Market Deeping 1st IX (2) vs Cambridge University 3rd XI (0)

With star striker Paul Tancred off kissing the blarney stone, Deeping knew that goals would have to come from somewhere else – but they started well, playing some nice hockey and keeping possession for most of the half. John Plant scored from a short corner half way though the half to make it 1-0 at half time.
The second half was much like the first with Deeping dominating the game for all but a 10 minute period. A mistake in the midfield turned the ball over to Cambridge who broke which pace then fortunately messed up the finish.
As Deeping rode out this rocky period of the game, Andy Kind hit a fortuitous pass into the D for James Sharpe to deflect his third goal in three games. After this promoted Deeping dominated for the rest of the game and they still remain unbeaten in Division Two North.

CAMBS Mens Div 4 NW

Market Deeping 2nd XI (1) vs City of Peterborough 5th XI (0)

Deeping's good start to the season continued with their first home game of the new campaign. Peterborough 5th have frequently beaten Deeping in recent seasons, and with just 11 players available, Deeping knew they would have to work hard.
Deeping started fast, but tried to force the ball too often, squandering possession when a simple ball would have done. An unfamiliar back line looked edgy, the centre backs Brewer and Maxey turned inside out on more than one occasion. Deeping reverted to a conventional back four.
Both teams struggled to find any rhythm in a poor and scrappy first half which Peterborough probably edged, forcing Brewer to clear off the line while on his knees, and 'keeper Stuart Ireland into a couple of smart saves. 
It was clear that any goal could prove crucial and Neil Burford was the provider for Deeping, streaking down the right before cutting the ball back for Phil Arnold to sweep home from close range.
This settled Deeping, and they began to look good for their lead, though they still greeted the final whistle with relief.
MOTM: Neil Burford - always a willing outlet on the right.

CAMBS Mens Div 6 NW

Long Sutton 3rd XI (0) vs Market Deeping 3rd XI (0)

Deeping stayed unbeaten by the skin of their teeth and the width of the post as Long Sutton piled on the pressure from start to finish. Stripped of several of their stars of the previous week, Deeping were lucky to muster the bare 11 as one player failed to show but an unexpected extra umpire released Andrew Gregson to play at left back. After a reasonable first five minutes Deeping were quickly under the cosh when it became clear that skipper Kevin Baker was also unwell, taking the engine room of their midfield out of the game.
A mainly young and fit Sutton side played some excellent build-up hockey but foundered again and again on a hugely experienced and determined Deeping defence. Perfect positional ‘keeping and kicking by Ray Isaacs made it very tough to score when they did break through, while newcomer Karl Taylor continued to mysteriously appear in all the right positions in defence. Deeping did break out occasionally and often looked very dangerous in the build up, but couldn’t convert half chances.
Deeping improved after a stern halftime discussion, with veteran Kev Richardson having a huge game at right back and Rob Glover working for two in midfield. Unfortunately Sutton improved too and it was good to see Alex Gale managing to fulfil both his attacking and defending roles at left half. Occasionally Deeping would break out and Ben Walden troubled Sutton’s defence. Then after a string of penalty corners Sutton appeared to have scored but a penalty flick was awarded. When this went wide, Deeping found renewed strength and even came close to scoring a late winner, completely against the run of play.