v Surbiton, (Away), 07/08/07.
Lost 0 - 1
An evenly balanced affair tilted the way of the form side on a sunny afternoon in South-West London. James Mulcair’s 46th minute goal was all that separated the two sides on the day, but left them very much poles apart in the league table by the end.
With two wins from their opening two fixtures, Surbiton came into the match with momentum. The best chances of the first period fell to the home side, but wasteful finishing and the good form of Ben Cowling in the Canterbury goal let the visitors off the hook. However, it proved to be the case that Canterbury would return the favour in kind later on in the match.
Canterbury had been weakened on the morning of the fixture by the late withdrawal of recently engaged Jess Dowsing, who had scored in both games the previous weekend. Coach Darryl Cassidy took his place in the squad, but he was in no state of mind to play following the defeat of the All Blacks to the French the day before.
Without their international crop, Surbiton appeared an efficient and hard-working unit, well marshalled by player-coach Karl Stagno. His opposite number on the day, Brian Garcia, added a semblance of control to the Canterbury midfield and was well supported by Stewart Keir and Rob Pryce on either side. However, Canterbury’s first half attacking forays were snuffed out by the well drilled home defence.
Despite the home sides chances, the first period brought no goals and at the break it would have been Canterbury who were the happier with that statistic. However, any feeling the visitors may have had that a change in their fortunes was about to arrive was dealt a hammer blow when Mulcair rolled the ball into the net. Cowling’s initial save saw the ball lodge somewhere in his protective kit, only for it to subsequently squirm out and land at Mulcair’s feet for the simplest of tap ins.
The remaining 25 minutes saw Canterbury enjoy their best spell of the game, winning penalty corners and creating chances. The pressure created never came to fruition though and an inability to produce anything meaningful in the D cost the visitors any hope of an equaliser. As the final whistle went, Canterbury were left to rue another missed opportunity.
Next weekend sees Canterbury host Havant and East Grinstead in what promises to be an exciting and crucial weekend in their season.
Squad: Bassano-Harper, Cassidy, Cowling, Dunn, Farrar, Garcia, Hare S, Harper, Hayward, Keir, Kimber, Pedersen, Pryce C, Pryce R, Richford, Stevens.