| City and Uni cobbled together on Bristol |
| Cardiff City / Uni Squad |
| Dave Thomas, Josh Cockburn, Aidan Dickson, Holly Sisley, Sukh Gill, Donna, Caroline, Craig, Joey |
Well the day kicked off overcast in Cardiff meaning no one bothered with any suncream. Big mistake. Aidan and Taff's rushed shopping trip to get some in an increasingly sunny Bristol failed to find anywhere open before games started and we all got burnt to bollocks. None of which excuses the performances in the most splendidly run tournament of the year.
First up came an Oxford and Abingdon combined side, an onerous proposition considering we had two half teams of people who'd never played together before! It didn't take long for the Oxfordshire maestros to build a 2-0 lead, but after showing some excellent defensive skills Cardiff found enough time to allow Craig to equalise. Indeed, at 2-2 we even managed an excrutiatingly close miss that could have claimed an unlikely victory against our eventual group winners. No prizes for guessing it was Taff unable to convert from the sidelines!
Next up were Kwiek (who we were also playing at the nomads tournament at this point). We got the kids side but it made no difference as they won anyway. Josh very skillfully saw to it that Taff will never mark anyone his own size by sidelining him for the one game where he might have experienced something new, and Kwiek's well organised pubescents took full advantage winning 3-1. Craig, with a 3 foot height advantage netted Cardiff's only goal from up in the clouds...
Old rivals and hosts Bristol City took to the field against us next and gained some 'sweet revenge' for the drubbing we gave them last week at the Oxford tournament. Best not to mention then that most of Cardiff's first team were at another tournament and most of the second string were resting or injured. Taff finally getting his backside in gear meant it wasn't a whitewash, but since Bristol City's captain demonstrated his ability to get decisions reversed whenever it suited him this was always going to be an uphill struggle.
When your luck's out it's really out, as Cardiff discovered in the next game against Exeter 2. Craig got benched for scoring too many goals and Exeter scored with the one decent shot we let them have. Josh had already put us in front by then and was busy making sure that Exeter weren't likely to get another goal, while Taff concerned himself bouncing the ball off every bit of the Exeter korf. If that wasn't bad enough, Holly's splendid run of rebounding was brought to an abrupt halt by yet another busted ankle, and the time lost while we helped her off the pitch meant we couldn't find a winning goal. Get well soon Holly!
Our final group game saw us finally clicking into gear as Horfield's first team were put to the sword. Taff finally found his shooting boots and the returning Craig added a longshot for good measure. Naturally this wasn't good enough to move us up into the middle section of the tournament and we entered the 9th - 12th placings a mere two points behind third in our group.
Well having clinically disposed of the first string Horfield side, the reserves sould be no trouble right? Wrong! Cardiff ponced and prevaricated, chucking random passes all over and shooting like total beginners. Josh and Taff somehow found moments of normality to slot simple goals but at the halfway stage Cardiff were 3-2 down. It took an inspired moment of play and a great opportunist shot from Caroline to turn things round, and as her first goal celebrations died down the tide turned. Josh sunk a midrange shot and Taff rounded the win off with another of his jump-catch-shoot-land efforts, this time incorporating a half-turn to face the korf before letting go.
Cardiff's final game of the day was against a surprisingly underperforming Nottingham side. Probably a mixture of third team with some fourths and fifths thrown in for good measure as this was another club at the Nomads event too. This was probably a game too far for Cardiff who succumbed meekly, the highspot being Donna's excellently taken goal.
So a slightly disappointing tenth out of twelve which doesn't seem fair considering we won two games and drew two, but a valuable learning experience for debutante Sukh and another chance for Holly and Aidan to hone their skills. Aidan in particular was unlucky not to score after a tidy all round display with few errors and plenty of good rebounding. Holly was even less lucky, picking up an injury in a game in which she looked likely to get on the scoreboard. Of the university half of the side, Craig looked particularly dangerous around the post and Joey showed a searing turn of pace which will surely prove useful once he works out the direct route to the post. Caroline's maiden tournament goal was a genuine highlight of the day and came at a crucial time, while Donna showed more ability than anyone at keeping opponents scoreless.
Massive credit also due to all at Bristol korf club for staging such a
brilliant tournament. Pitches and facilities at Dingley Dell were first class
and the organisation smooth - we'll be back next year!
| Scorers | |
| Taff | 6 |
| Guests | 6 |
| Josh | 3 |
No pictures again - forgot camera
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