MATCH REPORT

A cold day in Long Sutton saw 4th placed Sutton welcome 2nd place Cambridge South to the Peele Leisure Centre. Also welcomed was the Long Sutton Head Coach Neil Evans, here to watch over his charges for the second time this season. After a run of disappointing results for the home side the ladies were looking to up their game against tough opponents, the earlier game in the season having finished 1 a piece, but at the same time show Evans that Tuesday night training is a high quality learning school. The team talks in the dressing room before the game did not give a clue as to how the game was to pan out. From the first whistle the home side had effort, verve, intensity and a tempo to their game which had been missing of late. The first 10 minutes of the game Long Sutton dominated, pushing Cambridge back, not giving them time on the ball and closing down every time. All that was missing from the pressure was a goal. Nevertheless Sutton continued to probe, but as the time progressed Cambridge were allowed to get a foothold in the game and there were a couple of uncomfortable moments where forays into the home side D led to shots that only just missed the target. Lorraine Wallis in the home goal was as vocal as ever and the defence of Lauren Cooper, Lisa Baker Tania White ably led again by Gemma Parr stepped up to calm fears and ensure that the marking became tighter. Going forward Sutton looked very good. Emmie and Connie Gittins, Louise Southgate, Amber Jones in midfield and the two screens in skipper Jo Bland and Charlie Leuty worked tirelessly to keep the momentum going and keep Sutton pressing forward. The link play between Leah Goodley and forward Lyn Tancred worked well and circle penetrations were very high. Just the end part missing. Then from one such move into the circle and after a smothered stop by the Cambridge keeper there was skipper Bland on hand to caress the ball back over the line to give the home side the lead. From there Sutton changed gear again and with clever tactics Cambridge were finding it harder and harder to clear their lines and within minutes Sutton had doubled their lead when another run into the D saw the ball stopped illegally from the goal line and a flick was awarded. Up stepped White from the back to calmly score and the home side were two to the good. With Wallis and Parr extremely vocal at the back Cambridge found it hard to get momentum going forward, and their short passage of promising play where they could have caused Sutton problems was largely beginning to fade. Evans on the side lines and Manager Lawrie Sullivan were able to tweak and change where necessary. The intensity was so very good from the home team and the play moving forwards was exhilarating to watch. Long Sutton continued to probe and just before half time the ball found its way to Leuty at the top of the D who stroked the ball high in the air and to everyone's astonishment on the pitch instead of the aerialed ball launching itself over the surrounding fence, it somehow managed to hold up and effectively lobbed the keeper and landed in the back of the goal. Half time 3-0 to the home side. Jess Burton was introduced to rotate the defenders and keep the high tempo going and the second half got under way. Once again the first 10 minutes saw a more even game as Cambridge fought to try and get a foothold in the game but the feet of keeper Wallis and Baler and Cooper mopping up at the back effectively shut the away team down. Once the game had settled down Long Sutton were back in the groove and the order was restored. With 15 minutes to go Leuty made a break from midfield and played an exquisite ball through to Tancred who as she got into the D and with the keeper advancing stroked a calm shot low and past the keepers right hand side into the far corner of the net for a 4-0 lead. Effectively game over but performance wise Sutton did not let up. A sixth short corner was awarded and from the initial Tancred strike there was Baker positioned to deflect the ball past the keeper to give Sutton a 5-0 advantage. That in effect was the end of the scoring and a very rewarding win for the home side which has moved them to third in the table. Evans was delighted after the game the work ethics and intensity was first rate and just what the team needed after a recent blip in results. Next week Long Sutton are away to Cambridge Nomads where they will be looking to continue this run.