GU16 Calypsos Reach T2 Final on Goal Difference

GU16 Calypsos 1 - 5 Bromley & Beckenham (A)

A depleted Calypsos side lined up to fulfil a grudge league match, bookended by the half term holiday, against a full-strength Bromley & Beckenham (B&B) team was never an easy assignment, in a spring-like weather in the South East London Suburb, even though our girls have already beaten B&B twice in as many competitions this season.

B&B set their stall out and continued with their aggressive game plan that was exemplified in the cup loss to Calypsos three weeks earlier. Surbiton duly obliged with another defensive structure even though it was under a different coach and staffed with a largely changed personnel on the day. The home side established their lead as early as in the first minute. Quite often in the first half, the Greens’ overall play understandably lacked cohesion and balls were found wandering from the word go. B&B compounded Calypsos’ misery with two more clinical goals before the break by exploiting the open space with the Greens searching for an answer to halt the tidal wave. Meanwhile, Blair, our draft keeper, made a number of athletic saves to keep the score ‘respectable’ and the match possibly in a recoverable position before the break.

The team talk at half time saw Calypsos performance improve but not before conceding another goal in the opening minutes of the second half. A careless stick tackle inside the D gave away a short corner, and ultimately the fourth goal of the match. A tactical switch saw Henkes, our leading striker, move to a defensive holding midfield/sweeper position to patrol the back whilst driving the ball forward through route 101. It was ugly to watch but effective in game management. It served B&B a warning and paid dividends with the Greens collecting their first short corner of match. It led to Henkes driving in the rebound emphatically. It was consequential, in determining whether Calypsos or B& B would finish top of the T2 League Group C.

With a quarter of hour remaining, however, the hosts punished the Greens with the same playbook score – a clean drive from a short corner after another careless stick tackle inside the D. That cut our girls’ six goal cushion in goal difference at the start of the match, to two as we entered the final stages of game. Blair held her nerves with a number of decisive saves before Calypsos finally crossed the finishing line.

This raw occasion may have got the better of Calypsos but their competitive endeavours picked up as the match went on. The Greens lost the battle this afternoon, but won the war by holding onto the top spot of T2 League Group C to qualify for the T2 Final in March. Congratulations!

Scorer: Henkes

Result: 0-3 (HT), 1-5 (FT)