Cardiff Harlequins 19 - 4 Croydon

SEMLA Intermediate Flags, Semi-final

21st February 2009

Proof, if were needed, that Cardiff have opened a new chapter in their pursuit of success this season came in the form of this magnificent semi-final win over highly-rated Croydon. The visitors sit atop of the East Division, with a perfect 13 wins from 13 games and are odds on favourites for the East playoff spot in the race for the Premiership. Harlequins on the other hand, are effectively third in the West with two defeats already costing them their chance of a play-off berth. Once again, Quins found themselves pitched as underdogs but rose to the occasion to produce a team performance better than any they have managed all year.

Harlequins huddle up before face off

There were plenty of nerves in the Harlequins dressing room pre-match, exacerbated by a delayed start as the referee made his way from an earlier game at nearby Penarth. Once they got going however, any sign of anxiety vanished and Cardiff were soon into their stride. Skipper Andy Morgan had despatched his troops with the simple message - win the small battles and let the rest follow – and Quins took this to heart, playing with drive and desire, and fighting for every scrap of loose ball. Indeed, the hosts were first off the mark as an early Croydon attack was dismantled and the Quins midfield broke quickly. Three passes, and around 8 seconds later, and Ben Fey was celebrating his return to action after a prolonged Christmas break with the opening score. Cardiff grabbed a second a few minutes later with a bullish drive from attackman Scott Belland, and the Canadian soon followed that with another to stretch the lead to 3, but the hosts did not have it all their own way. Croydon replied with a well-executed isolation play which caught the Quins backline off-guard, the slide arriving too late to prevent a shot, which beat Grindle low. The visitors are not top of the East without reason, and narrowed the gap to one through Dave Arnot, who used his superior strength and size to push past his marker and finish with customary coolness. Harlequins responded as Chris Lee won the resulting face-off, and leading goalscorer Alan Croft finished a superb passage of play from Quins to give them a 4-2 lead by the end of a frantic first period.

A few mistakes crept into Harlequins’ game in the second, as chances were missed and ball movement slowed. Belland kept the hosts in front with another fine drive, but poor shot selection cost them further chances on man-up situations. However, the Quins defence was exerting huge amounts of pressure on the visitors attack line, and continually thwarted their efforts on goal preventing the profligacy of Cardiff’s attack from becoming a problem. Cardiff added two more through Alan Croft and Adam Grey, whilst Croydon capitalised on glaring errors at the back to keep themselves in the hunt, trailing 7-4 at the halftime break.

It’s often said games are won and lost in the third quarter, but it could easily be argued that it was a consummate second half display which won this for Cardiff. Throughout the second half, time and again the Quins midfield were simply too strong or too fit for Croydon. Attackman Will Barrett added his name to the scoresheet with a third quarter hat-trick, but he was first to pay tribute to the spadework done by teammates as they ran tirelessly to win loose balls and break faster than the visitors, allowing Barrett to finish crisp, incisive attack plays. Belland had the beating of his man, and added his fourth before injury cut his afternoon short whilst goals flowed relentlessly throughout the half. Barrett grabbed two more in the final period and Grey grabbed his second, before fellow attackman Mike Peters got in on the action with an audacious finish with his back to goal. Despite the second half scoreline of 12-0, this was hardly one-way traffic however. Throughout, Croydon posed a significant danger to the home defence but ran up against the backline of Pexton, Morgan, Dewhurst, Panayidis and Grindle who were in inspired form. Morgan marshalled his troops with gusto, and pitched the defensive tactics perfectly to nullify Croydon’s threat and ensure a second half shutout to complement the scoring spree at the other end.

This was a fine and deserved victory for Harlequins. The selflessness and workrate provided the backbone to a win which sends them to Flags Finals day in a repeat of last year’s decider against Bath. Their opponents look to have sewn up the West Division promotion race already, and must be favourites against a Cardiff side they vanquished so comfortably in December, but as any sports fan knows, anyone can win it on the day.

Penarth 7 - 6 Cardiff Harlequins A

Zenith West Division 2

21st February 2009

For the second time in a week, these two sides clashed in another humdinger and once again the side from the Vale of Glamorgan prevailed. The victory puts clear water between Penarth and Quins at the top of West Division 2, and virtually assures their promotion. As the scoreline suggests, it was a Battle Royale throughout with Penarth pulling into an early lead but Quins constantly pegging them back. Without injured top scorer Nick Mahoney, and facing former Wales international goalkeeper James Richardson in net, Quins’ needed to find a way through the Penarth defence if they were to have any chance. Despite 4 goals from Wales u19 middie James Gibson, the hosts were able to keep their noses in front and close out the win during a frenetic final few minutes.