Portsmouth University 4 - 22 Cardiff Harlequins
Zenith West Division 1
4th October 2008
This - Harlequins’ second ever season - should be a watershed year. Tipped as favourites for the race to the South of England Premiership, a Flags trophy to defend and a men’s second team entered into West Division 2, the Diamond Ground club are flying the flag for lacrosse in south Wales. And so the journey to the south coast promised much – an opportunity to study the impact of four players making their debut, and a chance to assess weaknesses before the first crunch match of the season against Cheltenham in 2 weeks.
If Harlequins go into that match as they finished this – ten goals in the last twenty minutes – then they will justify the early season confidence. Cardiff played the last quarter with fluency and selflessness, combining sharp ball movement with tireless running to carve open the student’s defence. Hat-tricks for Mike Peters on his debut and midfield engine Chris Lee were richly deserved, as was an assist for goalkeeper Matt Grindle making a rare sortie over the halfway line to set up Lee on the doorstep. A man of the match performance from new signing Adam Grey – returning from university in Swansea – was the highlight. Slotting comfortably into an attack role, the Wales midfielder lead the scoring with 6 goals and 3 assists.
However, the build up to the final onslaught was a performance of improvement by increment and an example of the benefits of pre-season friendlies. Pompey enjoyed much of the early possession, although a lack of direction meant they produced little by way of goalscoring chances. Harlequins in contrast were almost too direct, often attempting to forge an individual path to goal rather than assist better placed team mates. Defensively, things were little better - the visitors were either half a yard off the pace or extending too far, allowing Portsmouth in behind. Harlequins finished the first quarter with a lead of 4-0; individual finesse providing the goals rather than creative teamplay. Aware of early season rustiness, skipper Andy Morgan settled the troops and outlined a few areas to concentrate on and the second period saw a distinct increase in intensity. That lead to its own problems, as excellently crafted chances were squandered due to a lack of composure in front of goal. Three more scores were added, as well as a fine crease finish to get the home side onto the scoresheet and the halftime score was 7-1.
With the wheels now oiled, Harlequins rolled into the 3rd period and began to play with a little more freedom. Individuality gave way to unity, and the net bulged five more times - four of which came from the creativity of someone other than the goalscorer. At the back, Cardiff debutantes and Wales u19s stars Nathan Harding and Phill Pexton had by now settled into their defensive duties, and ratcheted up the aggression, forcing Portsmouth into mistakes. The high pressure did reveal some gaps in the Cardiff line, and the students added their second before the break. And so into that final period - ten goals for Harlequins were not to go without reply as Portsmouth found the net twice, leaving the visitors with a 22-4 victory and much to ponder on the journey back to the capital.
