Cambridge Handball Club games against Chelsea and Islington II sees them slip to double defeat

The Cambridge Handball Club sides put on strong displays against their respective oppositions this weekend at Moulton College, but ultimately left empty handed.

The men’s side will rue mistakes in attack against Islington II in a game that could have brought them to second in the table had other results gone their way, whilst the women’s side fought hard with only seven players against a Chelsea side with strength in depth.

The men’s side will now have a month’s break before returning for their final game of the season against Bristol at the University of Cambridge Sports Centre, whilst the women’s side will face West London Eagles in the coming weeks.

Cambridge Men’s 21 – 26 Islington II – Regional League South 1:

The men’s side welcomed Oscar Castaigne, Toby Barber and George Brownsell back to the side for the game against Islington II, whilst David Moleski was forced to sit out through injury.

The visitors started the game quickly with three rapid goals, two from Lucas Figueredo and one from Benedek Papay, before Cambridge got on the scoresheet through Vykintas Stuckis and Jandro Garcia Costa respectively.

Stuckis and Garcia repeated their tricks again for Cambridge’s next two goals, however the defense was reluctant to step out and meet the crossing Islington attackers, allowing Alistair Adams to breach Michael Te Vrugt’s net twice in quick succession from nine metres after centre Figueredo stepped off to treat an injury.

Meanwhile, Cambridge could not find the back of Karnan Sembian’s net for Islington in attack, with Castaigne the only player to add a goal in a tense middle period of the first half in which both Stuckis and Garcia received two minute suspensions.

Coach Agnes Foeglein called a time out at 23 minutes to emplore the Cambridge defence to meet the Islington players in attack, which paid dividends with the home side getting tighter when off the ball, although the influential Figueredo was still able to add a final goal before the close of the half for the away side, whilst Ross Waldron closed the scoring for Cambridge from the right wing, leaving the half time score at 6-12.

The start of the second half was much stronger for Cambridge, with Waldron adding another two from the wing soon after the break, Barber and Garcia respectively breaking through a gap on the right side to afford him plenty of space for the shots.

The Cambridge attack was also able to find Theo Miani at line, who dutifully found the top corner of Sembian’s goal from six metres. In defence, things remained tight even with Stuckis out briefly after receiving another dubious suspension, with coach Foeglein opting to briefly man mark Figueredo to keep him out of action.

A quick cameo from Kevin Guy at left wing brought two goals for the home side, one from the penalty spot and another from a sublime fast break, whilst Toby Barber took advantage of a reluctant Islington defence to notch two goals of his own from nine metres.

However, as the second half wore on, the Cambridge defence began to slip, and in spite of the increased efficiency in attack, too many cheap goals from nine metres were conceded, with Papay in particular finding the net several times from right back.

Stuckis and Garcia remained amongst the goals for the home side towards the end of the second half, with Jan Guzik having the final word from right wing to leave the final scoreline at 21-26 in favour of the visitors.

Lessons to be learned then before the men’s side welcome Bristol to the Cambridge University Sports Centre on March 24 for the final game of the season.

Player of the match: Ross Waldron

Cambridge Women’s 9 – 38 Chelsea – Premier Handball League South:

The women’s side were in for a long slog after only being able to field seven players in a bottom of the table clash against Chelsea, but in spite of the visitors’ superior they still managed to show moments of class in an otherwise tough game.

Julia Wilkinson made her debut for the women’s side in goal, with Pippa Mugan in front of her at centre, Arwen Tarling and Sam Yun Yap at left and right back respectively, Solange Chea and Asha Hall at left and right wing, whilst Agi Foeglein opened the game at line.

A tetchy first few minutes saw several mistakes and wide shots from Chelsea in attack, whilst Cambridge were not able to find the final touch in offense themselves, creating some good spaces to shoot but either misfiring or stumbling at the final pass.

Foeglein was threatening at line in combination with Mugan, but for the most part the Chelsea defence were able to tame her efforts. In attack, the away side started to make use of their greater numbers on the fast break, with Sofie Angeltveit taking advantage.

Maren Aune also started to assert some dominance on the game from right back, leaping high above the Cambridge defence from nine metres to dispatch into Wilkinson’s net.

As the half wore on, Foeglein’s persistence paid dividends as she spun centre defender Rebecca Jones to find the Chelsea net, whilst Mugan added a goal herself low to the keeper’s left from nine metres.

But for their hard work, Cambridge could not stem the flow of goals, with the power of Aune at back continuing to breach the Cambridge defence, as well as Ines Durand from wing and on the fast break. Wilkinson, however, developed considerably as the half wore on, saving several shots from wing and the Chelsea fast break much to the delight of coach Jandro Garcia Costa.

Foeglein was able to add two more goals from nine metres herself before the half closed out, with the scoreline reading 4-16 at the break.

Marjorie Saison put her stamp on the game immediately after the break with two quick goals for Chelsea, before Asha Hall had everyone applauding with a superb shot from outside of nine metres to bring the home side their first goal of the half.

But the Chelsea dominance was ultimately too much for the seven Cambridge players, as Chelsea began to run away with the game, Jones at line and Aune at right back in particular putting the hammer down.

It would have been more if not for Wilkinson continuing her heroics in goal, saving several fast breaks and line shots as well as three penalties in an eye-catching performance.

Yap was rewarded for her persistence on the wings with a goal low to the keeper’s near post, while Hall added another goal from long range. Foeglein found the back of the Chelsea net from line once more in the second before Tarling closed out the scoring for the home side, as the final tally read 9-38 in favour of Chelsea.

A spirited display then from the women’s side in the face of their depleted numbers, and plenty of positives to take into their final two games, both against West London Eagles in London and University Sports Centre respectively, particularly Wilkinson’s standout performance in goal.

Player of the match: Julia Wilkinson