A couple of weeks ago the firsts had a chance to take the league by the scruff of the neck when they played Croydon 2. They very nearly messed it up badly, but a three goal comeback in the last 10 minutes secured them a draw. There were two problems - not enough chances taken and too many penalties given away. Both teams went away with a point and this week's return match was now crucial to both team's league hopes.
Croydon turned up with a strong team. As well as their tall Dutchman, Joost Zierikzee, they had Croydon 1 regular Jane Belfourd and plenty of experience in Nigel Hudspith and Kim Jones. And it was Croydon who came out firing, their attack moved the ball around smoothly and their defence marked us tightly and hassled every pass. The effect was immediate on the scoreboard and Supernova were soon 0-3 down and looking vulnerable.
But the Nova attack finally started to make space and Jo Taylor opened up the Nova scoring with a nicely taken long shot. Then Tom Drew slotted in from a smart move off the back before popping in a penalty after he was fouled under the post. It was 3-all and Croydon were starting to slow down from their athletic start. Up stepped Supernova's new legend that is Nomz and she slotted home two mid-distance shots to put Nova two up. But Croydon didn't let their heads drop and came storming back - first with a runner, then one from downtown before hitting the lead with a free pass that took advantage of a mistake in the Supernova defence. Naomi equalised with a long shot, but Croydon hit back again with two more goals. By now Naomi was feeling the magic touch and even scored another long shot with nary a collector in sight.
Half time and Croydon led by one goal, 7-8. Tony Hooker came on for Dewald Wilkin to provide a bit more height under the post. The half time talk was to stick with the game plan in attack, but we needed to stop the defensive leaks that were letting Croydon score. To help counter Croydon's fast running attacks, Ben's division switched to collect.
The second half began cagily for both teams. Naomi evened up the score with a runner to get her fifth for the match, but then both defences began to take hold and the scoring stopped for a while. It was Croydon who broke the deadlock with another shot from downtown, but then suffered an injury to their specialist post-player, Joost, who hobbled off with a twisted ankle. The enforced substitution meant Croydon lost a lot of height around the post and allowed Tom Drew to regain his normal lofty advantage. And it was Tom that started the charge home with the equaliser off the back court. Tony Hooker then found himself alone at distance and with the Supernova posse urging him, "Sink it, Tony", he was happy to oblige with a long shot from downtown. Jo Taylor increased the advantage to two goals with a runner and a quick check with the ref confirmed there was just five minutes left on the clock. The collect defence at Ben's end had been working effectively all half, but Croydon managed to get one back with a long shot from the centre.
It was now squeaky bum time - one goal in it with three minutes to play. Everyone on the sidelines was on the edge of their seat. But, Captain Martin had it all in hand and his division took control of the game tempo and played brilliant possession korfball. Twice Croydon got a turnover, but an interception each from Tom Drew and Tony Hooker meant that Croydon did not get a shot on goal in those crucial final minutes. The ref blew full time and the court filled with celebrating Supernovans.
The stats told the story - Croydon kept to two second half goals and a grand total of zero penalties conceded through the match. Naomi's shot returned from a few weeks absence and she bagged a crucial five goals. Tom also found his shot off the back that had deserted him over the last couple of games and he scored two of those together with a penalty as well. But credit to Croydon - we have had two fantastic, nail-biting matches with them over the space of three weeks, both played in the best spirit and great games to watch and, after 100 minutes of korfball, a solitary goal separated the two teams.
Team:
Ben Cawley, Tom Drew (3), Martin Petrie, Dewald Wilken,
Catherine Bear, Jessica Davies, Naomi Maynard (5), Jo Taylor (2)
Tony Hooker (1) (sub for Dewald Wilkin, 25 mins)
Match Report: Supernova 1 (11) - Croydon 2 (10), 06/02/2011
