Southampton City 2 – 20 Cardiff Harlequins
Zenith West Division 1
22nd November 2008
When even your goalkeeper is hailing his team’s offensive performance as ‘the best we’ve ever played’, then it’s a safe assumption that things are clicking into place. What makes this victory over Southampton City even more impressive is the fact that Harlequins travelled to the south coast with the bare minimum of 10 players – meaning no substitutes – and played the last 12 minutes a man short, after injury forced Wales u19s midfielder Nathan Harding from the field. Despite tired and aching legs throughout the Cardiff side, they still managed to outscore their opponents 2-1 whilst playing with a man less, such was the guts and sheer workrate that defined their performance.
Cardiff didn’t have it all their own way – for once, Chris Lee struggled to win clean possession from the face off and good work from the Southampton wingmen meant he was often isolated in the middle. It took a few choice words at the quarter time break to resolve the issue, although the visitors hardly stuttered into the game, quickly earning a 6-0 lead by the break. One of Cardiff’s biggest weapons is simply the number of candidates who can be a threat – last week Andy Morgan scored a record 9 goals - this week, Canadian attackman Scott Belland lead the way with 7 goals and 4 assists as Southampton just could not get to grips with his handling and strength. Cardiff’s dominance continued through the second quarter, as a clinical defence allowed the attack to be patient and rely on off-ball movement rather than individual dodging. The result was another seven goals without reply and the victory was beyond question with a 13-0 lead at halftime.
An invigorated Southampton returned to the field for the second half, and with Cardiff beginning to tire, the hosts mad more of a fist of it. Harlequins found the gaps at the back with less regularity, and some inspired goalkeeping restricted them to four goals in the quarter. Southampton responded with a goal of their own, straight out of the top drawer. Catching Andy Morgan overextending behind the cage, the Southampton attackman drove to the goal before diving and flicking the ball around a prostate Grindle, with a finish of genuine quality. The pattern continued into the last period, until Harding came off with a back injury and Southampton stepped up the aggression, chasing down the ball and putting Cardiff’s exhausted troops under pressure. It resulted in a goal from the man-up situation created by Harding’s absence, but Harlequins’ defence were imperious and well-marshalled by Grindle between the sticks. In attack, the visitors were happy to run down the clock and played keep-ball but were hounded by a tenacious and still-fresh Southampton midfield keen to close the gap. Ultimately, the experience within the Cardiff roster began to tell and they found the net twice, including a last second individual effort from Wales midfielder Alan Croft. It was no more than they deserved, and they’ll hope to maintain their good form as they head to London for a SEMLA Flags clash against Walcountian Blues next week.
Aberystwyth University 3 – 18 Cardiff Harlequins A
Zenith West Division 2
22nd November 2008
Harlequins A bounced back from their defeat to Penarth two weeks ago with a comprehensive destruction of Aberystwyth University, catapulting themselves into second in West Division 2 and back into contention for the league title. Nick Mahoney continued his fine form, top scoring with seven goals, and cannot be far from a first team call up. Rhys Jones and James Gibson added eight more between them, with the rest scored by Dave Elmes, John Baileff and Laurence Kerrigan.
