The day was cool and breezy with an overcast sky giving passing showers but that wasn’t enough to dampen the enthusiasm of the Hornets supporters who gathered in the grandstand to watch the Hornets take on Cambridge University Press FC. Manager Dale Vince put out a team selected to make use of the wide open spaces of a good pitch that was even and well covered by grass and the plan worked a treat as the visitors overpowered their hosts. Speed and goal scoring were the key elements with Heathcote and Smith up front and a solid midfield and defence that coped with any threat from the home forwards.
Debenham started brightly and James Heathcote was immediately into his game running past two defenders before being tackled by the third and Cambridge’s Isaac Smith ran into the Hornets’ box but his shot sailed high over the bar. On 9 minutes Ben Bowler’s pass set up James Heathcote again but his shot was mis-hit and the Debenham players were switching the ball around and attacking from all directions. Rob Kemp made a good run up the right wing and Kevin Barker made a good interception but it took until the 15th minute for Debenham’s pressure to break the deadlock. Captain Ed Cussons took possession of the ball in his left sided central defensive position and sent a delightfully weighted pass up to JAMES HEATHCOTE  who ran into the penalty area unchallenged before slipping the ball past Joseph Egan in the home goal and into the net. A good goal, simply made with good passing and skilfully executed.
Sam Chilvers showed us that he has the confidence to play in this team as he took a high cross comfortably and dealt with an in-swinging corner with ease then Debenham were denied what looked like a certain penalty kick when Ed Cussons got into the penalty area and had a shot at goal blocked but he retrieved the loose ball and sent a pass across the six yard line where Nathan Vincent was free and about to put the ball into the open goal when Cambridge’s Alfie Dixon bundled into him from directly behind and dumped Nathan on the deck as the ball went away from the goal. Mr Keeble the referee however didn’t see any thing wrong and amazed the travelling supporters by allowing play to continue despite the protestations of the team captain.
Cambridge got forward again in the 25th minute as a shot from full back Simon Swinton went well wide of the left post then in the 28th minute a shot from Lewis Whitehead was pushed onto the foot of the left post by Sam Chilvers. James Heathcote took a pass from Tom Hardwick but shot over the bar from a good position in the 33rd minute before Liam Smith was injured as he was tackled and turning to chase the ball but ended up twisting his right knee and was taken off the field to be replaced by Ben Green a couple of minutes later. Debenham had another gilt edged chance to increase their lead in the 45th minute when Ben Green won the ball with a crisp tackle before sending a pass across the six yard line from the right wing and we were all amazed to see Nathan Vincent and a defender miss the ball before James Heathcote shot for goal from just six yards out and was disappointed to see the ball climb just over the bar. As the half ended a long forward pass bounced over the Cambridge keeper as he advanced from his goal and he was relieved to look round and see the ball bounce just wide of the left hand post. A late tackle on Tom Hardwick saw Jordan McDermott awarded a yellow card.

Half Time                 Cambridge University Press    0       Debenham LC FC    1
                                                                                     Heathcote  15

Debenham continued where they left off and applied pressure to the home defence. A cross from Ed Cussons was headed goalward by Nathan Vincent but the ball was deflected for a corner kick that was cleared allowing Cambridge to break quickly but as often happened a mi-directed pass saw their efforts come to nothing. More good midfield play saw Liam Bevis take the ball forward on 52 minutes and he sent a lovely through ball to BEN GREEN who ran into the penalty area and dribble the ball around the keeper before shooting into the empty net despite the efforts of a defender on the line.
Cambridge won a corner kick that Sam Chilvers cleared comfortably with a good punch before another clever free kick routine nearly brought a third goal for the Hornets. A clumsy tackle saw the hornets take a free kick 25 yards out in a central position with Liam Bevis and Ed Cussons standing over the ball. Liam ran over the ball as Ed played the ball into the penalty area where it was played to Liam again and he sent in a pass to Nathan Vincent but Nathan’s effort at goal was blocked away.
Cambridge began to  have a bit more possession as they tried to get something from the game but the quality of their final pass was sadly lacking and they were still restricted to long range efforts at goal that failed to trouble Sam although he did make a couple of good saves.
The 60th minute saw a  Cambridge corner kick cleared to James Heathcote who was free on the left side and as is his way he made a bee line for the goal at the other end but he hadn’t travelled more than 10 yards before he was brought to earth by a savage high tackle from Cambridge’s Alfie Dixon that prompted the referee Mr Keeble to brandish a straight red card. James was forced to leave the field a few minutes later as he struggled to play with a painful right leg but not before he had one last effort at goal when the ball came to him from a corner kick but his shot was blocked away. Marc Wake came into the fray to play up front so the balance of the team was unaffected.
Ben Bowler was replaced after 52 minutes by George Johnson after a hard working display of tough midfield action and George slotted into the right full back slot and performed well in the time he had on the pitch. A nice interception by George after 57 minutes saw Nathan Vincent chase for 30 yard and win the ball before feeding Marc Wake whose shot was blocked. Tom Hardwick blotted his copybook by getting booked after 75 minutes but the resulting free kick was sent high over the Debenham bar.
Cambridge continued to press and as is so often the case the team with 10 men seemed to find space and time to get forward but they never carved out a clear opportunity and the visitor’s defence were able to clear the ball. The Cambridge number 5 Russell Flitton was booked for a rash challenge as Debenham took control for the final ten minutes of the game and it was in the third minute of added time that BEN GREEN added to his tally for the match as he ran clear on the left wing. As he neared the penalty area two defenders barred his way so he flighted a ball between them and over the keeper to nestle in far corner of the net and make the final score 3-0 to the visitors.
A hard won three points against tough opponents and a good solid team performance in all areas of the pitch. Sam will be delighted to keep a clean sheet and three more goals is always good for the goal difference.

Final Score                 Cambridge University Press    0       Debenham LC FC    3
                                                                                       Heathcote  15
                                                                                       Green  52 93

Referee                Mr. D. Keeble        Assistant Referees   Mr. R. Bird   Mr. A. Kemp

Attendance           58

Cambridge UP FC Egan, Swinton, Dixon, R Paterson, Flitton, Watson Capt, Smith, Lambert, Whitehead,
                           McDermott, Rerizani        Substitutes  Beck, Blandford, Knaepel, C Paterson, Crick
Cautioned              McDermott, Flitton
Dismissed              Dixon

Debenham LC FC Chilvers, Kemp, Cussons Capt, Barker, Hardwick, Bloom, Bevis, Bowler, Vincent,
                           Heathcote, L.Smith       Substitutes  Johnson, Wake, Green, Beaton
Cautioned             Hardwick