Match Report, Representative XI, Jan 23^rd 2005: Cambridge University 5 - 1 Arthurian League

The first game after Christmas against Cambridge University is traditionally the hardest of all the matches the Arthurian League Representative has to face throughout the season. This year, due to the University returning for term a week later than usual, the fixture was moved from its usual date at the beginning of January to a Monday evening towards the end of the month.

This caused havoc with the Arthurian League squad, with the final list of 14 being reduced to 10 on the morning of the game, following a spate of weekend injuries. It was only thanks to Piers Bourke, who happened to be working near to Kings Cross and have his boots with him that the side managed to make the trip at all.

Despite this, the XI that did travel consisted of some highly talented players. Matt Lowe returned to the side and was asked to play in central midfield, with John Bentham joining Harry Hoffen in attack. Lederman and Baker filled the wide midfield roles, with Steve Pledger making his first start of the season at centre-half and James Butcher maintaining his ever-present status in goal.

For the first fifteen minutes, the makeshift nature of the side seemed to have had no impact whatsoever as the visitors made a confident start, pressuring the home side into making some hurried clearances and generally forcing them onto the back foot.

It was then that a quite extraordinary period of football ensued, with the Arthurian League side conceding four goals in the space of twenty minutes, all of which could have been prevented quite easily.

With almost their first foray into opposition territory, a long ball over the top of the Arthurian League defence saw the quick University striker outpace James Morson and race through to fire past Butcher and give the home side an ill-deserved lead.

Five minutes later and it was an almost carbon-copy of a goal that doubled the lead, with hesitation between Butcher and Morson and a slightly deflected shot from the same Cambridge forward sending the ball into the unguarded net.

If the first two goals were careless, the third was criminal. A free-kick on the Cambridge right was curled into the box and despite everyone being marked at the point of delivery, somehow when the ball reached the far post a Cambridge player had acres of space to plant a header into the top corner.

With the morale of the Arthurian League side now flagging drastically, a fourth goal was conceded when a University midfielder was allowed to run through the middle of the defence and finish past the hapless Butcher, despite the attentions of several Arthurian League players.

A devastated visitor`s dressing room at half-time tried to come to terms with what had happened in the first forty-five minutes. Although there was plenty of effort, it was also clear that most of the team were playing well below their potential.

The second half, almost comically, began in exactly the same way as the first had. The Arthurian League made a promising start and sent in a number of dangerous balls into the Cambridge penalty area. Paul Molloy and Matt Lowe had control of the midfield and the University side were made to look distinctly ordinary.

But just as before, with the Rep team on top, they then conceded a dreadful goal. A clearance from the University penalty area found Piers Bourke in space, but as the students cleared their lines, Piers slipped at the crucial moment and presented the ball to the onrushing light blues. To give credit where it is due, they then executed an excellent counter-attack that cruelly exposed the lack of covering at the back and assumed a 5-0 lead with half and hour remaining.

To the credit of the visitors, who by now had realised it was not to be their night, they kept at it and managed a consolation goal of their own when Lederman converted a penalty after Pledger had been pushed in the back at a corner.

The pace dropped noticeably after that and the final score was 5-1 to the home side.

The train back to London contained some very tired and disappointed Arthurian League players. It had been a hugely disappointing result given the quality of the side that was put out.

It was also a painful lesson that Representative matches organised on a Monday night are not the most convenient to fulfil and careful consideration must be given to the scheduling of future matches so soon after the weekend.

Despite this, there were some commendable performances from the Reps. Matt Lowe was superb in central midfield and showed that he has the physical and mental strength to compete in the engine room of the side, despite his favoured position being up front.

He was ably supported by Paul Molloy, just back from a bad knee injury, who gave added steel to the midfield.

Steve Pledger was excellent at centre-half and Piers Bourke had another fine game at left-back, despite his one blemish with the fifth goal. The added responsibility of playing at the back forces Piers to simplify his game and thereby show himself to be an intelligent footballer.

The side now needs to pick itself up however, with three games remaining this season there is still plenty to play for.

Arthurian League XI (4-4-2): James Butcher (Lancing); Nick Warner (Harrow), Steve Pledger (Forest), James Morson (Witley), Piers Bourke (Harrow); David Lederman (Harrow), Matt Lowe (Eton), Paul Molloy (Harrow), Quentin Baker (Harrow); John Bentham (Westminster), Harry Hoffen (Harrow)