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Panthers romp to fourth straight KO title
Posted: 2011-05-05
Too much to take: Kaywell Outerbridge cannot believe Cardinals have lost a fourth straight B final via golden goal rule
By Kaywell Outerbridge
Women’s B KO final
Bluebirds 1 Cardinals 0
(Extra time golden goal)
Bluebirds are the 2010/11 Women’s B Division Knockout Champions
A rather stiff and fatigued Bluebirds team faced Cardinals in the final of the knockout tournament with another guest appearance; this time in the guise of Kath Davies, who dusted off her kit and stepped in as the eleventh player. It took Bluebirds about 15 minutes to get the muscles loosened up from the previous day’s semi finals, but then the game took on the intensity of a match that both teams wanted to win. It could have gone either way as both team played extremely well with one, two touches on the ball, spreading it wide and sometimes through the middle. Each team had chances to score and with both teams having five penalty corners each neither team was able to convert any. Cardinals tried various scenarios of passing from these penalty corners and with the occasional scramble in the ‘D’ couldn’t get the ball into the back of the net due to some great saves by Bluebirds’ ‘keeper Carla Pedro and her defence. At the end of 70 minutes the game was deadlocked.
Cardinals’ defence had worked very hard to break down the Bluebirds forward line and ‘keeper Holly Augustus was outstanding whilst Bluebirds had effectively prevented the Cardinals midfield from building their attacks by closely marking Helen Marshall and Candy Foggo. By this time both teams began to tire and with the match going into 15 minutes of extra time; hence the dreaded golden goal scenario and Cardinals know this situation all to well having lost the previous three B final tournaments in exactly the same way. A quickly taken free hit just outside the Cardinals circle by Bluebirds centre forward, Laura Bardgett, found Sarah Smith who fired a shot at the goal in the 76th minute only to be saved by the athletic ‘keeper Augustus. However the deflected ball fell back into the path of Smith who saw an opening and slotted the ball into the back of the net to secure the victory for Bluebirds. This, by far, was considered to be the best B final in quite some time as both these teams are not only experienced but have always played well against each other.
Our two juniors Alyah Williams and Lindsay Matthews also played in this knock out final and continue to improve.
Women’s A KO final:
Budgies 2 Wildcats 1
Budgies are the 2010/11 Women’s A Division Knock Out Champions
With Budgies on a high from beating Ravens 2-0 the day before managed an early goal from a penalty corner by Erica Furtado in the fourth minute when Keishae Robinson slipped the ball to her right to find Erica Furtado open who fired home a cracker of a shot into the back of Wildcats’ goal. Before the end of the first half, Budgies’ Robinson doubled the lead in the 31st minute dribbling into the ‘D’ and with a reverse stick shot at goal got past Wildcats’ ‘keeper’ Anti Gibson. Wildcats, who defeated Swallows 6-0 in the semi finals the day before, continued building the pressure on Budgies defence and Zuri Phillips pull a goal back in the 47th minute after converting a penalty corner. However, Budgies were not going to let them have another goal as the game ended 2-1 to Budgies, giving them the a Division Knockout title.
Men’s KO final
Panthers 8 Upstarts 1
Panthers are the 2010/11 Men’s Knock Out Champions
Defending Knockout Champions Panthers defeated Upstarts 8-1 in the final to win their fourth consecutive Knockout Cup title. Penalty corner specialist Dave Horan opened the scoring for Panthers with a goal off a penalty corner in the 10th minute. Field goals from Justin Barritt in the 15th minute, Jeremy Shrubb a minute later and Phil Philpott in the 22nd minute put Panthers in firm control. Upstarts’ Steve Miles scoring from a penalty corner in the 30th minute as the first half ended 4-1 to Panthers. With that lead, Panthers stepped up the offence in the second half with Tony Ward scoring field goals in the 43rd and 63rd minute and seconds later a great field goal from Panthers’ Rudy D’Cunha made it 7-1. Eleven year old junior Justin Ray scored the final goal as a result of a deflection off his stick to secure Panthers the winners of the Knock Out finals much to the delight and celebration to those who witnessed this final on the concourse. Justin Ray also assists Panthers in the league games seen on many occasions beating his opposition with his good stick work.
SATURDAY
Women’s B KO Semi finals
Swifts 0 Bluebirds 1
With Bluebirds fielding a team of only 10 players they found themselves up against B league winners Swifts in the knock out semi-finals. In order to make up the full team of eleven, Bluebirds coach, Helen Trussell, donned the royal blue kit and borrowed shin pads, socks and headband. She turned in an amazing performance shutting down the ‘B’ league’s leading goal scorer, Ryanne Bardgett, as Bluebirds stepped up to the challenge and, despite the obvious age difference - under 18’s Swifts against the ‘mature’ Bluebirds - kept up the pace until the final whistle. The only goal in the fast flowing match was in the 42nd minute from a penalty corner when captain, Kris Soares, pushed the ball to Deborah Sagurs who fired it from the left hand side of the circle. Kim Hughes, Kris Soares, Helen Trussell and Helen Gullick were outstanding in the Bluebirds defence managing to contain the onslaught of Swifts attacks until the final whistle as they held on for the victory that took them to the final.
Cardinals 2 Canaries 1
Cardinals welcomed Laura Robinson who is home on a school break, together with their two juniors Alyah Williams and Lindsay Matthews in this semi final match. Cardinals went out in front in the fourth minute through a beautifully executed penalty stroke by Helen Marshall and she doubled their lead converting another penalty stroke in the 12th minute. Cardinals missed their chances to increase their lead from two penalty corners, and the first half ended 2-0 to the Cardinals.
The second half commenced with a little less aggression by both sides, but Cardinals, through the persistence of Zaynab Brown, Williams and Matthews, didn’t hesitate to continuously hassle the Canaries’ defence. Cardinals’ ‘text book’ variations on their three penalty corners in this half were either strategically stopped by Canaries’ ‘keeper’ Tami Ray, or their shots at goal went wide. Canaries’ Gabriela Grabic pulled a goal back in the 42nd minute after scoring from a penalty corner, but they failed to find the equaliser as Cardinals hung on for victory.
Women’s A KO semi finals:
Ravens 0 Budgies 2
Budgies put pressure on Ravens early gaining two penalty corners. In the 24th minute a penalty corner by Budgies’ Keishae Robinson slipped to the right, to find Erica Furtado who fired home a shot at goal to make it 1-0 to Budgies. The play went back and forth, with the Budgies defence of Marcia Ford, Tracy Houghton, Jenn Beech and Kristin Rego holding their own, along with ‘keeper Candace DeSilva who made some fantastic saves in the first half. Ravens were unsuccessful in converting their nine penalty corners.
In the second half Budgies pushed forward, again attacking Ravens’ defence. Budgies’ Stephanie Adderley tipped the ball into the Ravens’ net in the 62nd minute sealing the deal for Budgies.
Wildcats 6 Swallows 0
This semi final match saw Wildcats thrash Swallows with a score of 6-0. Wildcats’ Eva Dillas scored a field goal as early as the fourth minute to give Wildcats a 1-0 lead at the half. The second half commenced with more goals and Susanna Almeida scored a field goal in the 45th minute; Maria Pichery a field goal a minute later and Gail Thorne a field goal in the 56th minute. Wildcats’ Almeida scored her second field goal in the 63rd minute for goal number five and completed her hat-trick of field goals in the 67th minute to close out the Wildcats scoring.
Men’s KO semi finals
Chameleons 2 Panthers 3
In the semi finals on Saturday, April 30, Panthers beat league champions Chameleons 3-2 in an intense game. Panthers’ Jeremy Shrubb opened the score in the 45th minute after a great dribble by Tony Ward with the score of 1-0. Chameleons were quick to equalize in the 62nd minute through a penalty stroke by Paul Deans. However, in the 64th minute Panthers’ Justin Barritt got a 3-1 lead from a field goal and another field goal two minutes later from Mark “Beaver” Ray. Junior Justin Ray was played for a bit in the first half and did quite well.
Chameleons threatened to come back in the game with a goal off a penalty corner from Paul Deans in the 68th minute but were unsuccessful in finding an equalizer.
Upstarts 4 Rebels 0
Hopes of a Rebels walkover into the final of the knock out took a severe dent. Both teams started short with 10-men Upstarts up against eight Rebels players.
Initially Rebels had a bright start not fully realizing their depleted numbers, but as the game wore on the extra work required to make up for three less players began to have an effect and at the half the Upstarts’ Bruce Smith led his team with two goals in the 31st and 34th minutes, the second goal being an excellent effort from a pass from the left to attacker Smith on the right post who neatly deflected the pass up and into the net.
The second half had some highlights of good one-two passing from Rebels who still seemed determined to wring out a token goal from a lost cause, leading to periods of pressure in which all the Upstarts retreated into their half in fear of giving up their lead. Inevitably, this allowed for some quick breakaway situations and with a weary defence unable to deal with the numerical difference, Upstarts’ Smith managed to squeeze out two additional goals of the day notching up all four Upstarts goals in their lopsided win.
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