For fun only.

Canterbury  5  -  2  Chester

Thanks Camquin for taking over N2N and doing a great job

 

N2S to triumph at home again

Game kicks off a 2pm, Canterbury so used to 3pm are still asleep and fail  to recover when the clock ticks past 3pm.

If you want updates on here they will probably have to come from your travelling faithful.....contributions from City Side fans are pretty rare, though somebody might follow this thread I suppose ?

In the absence of any actual Canterbury input, I have watched this pretty settled side home and away quite a few times.  They themselves have defended much better this year and the ageing but very effective lock combination of Corker and Cadman have served them particularly well.

Their backs are pretty settled as a unit over several years and have also grown as a unit I think. Their half backs are named Smart and Best I think and apart from being Pronouns, they are quite accurate adjectives IMO.

They have arguably the best attacking full back in our league in Aiden Moss.  All of the other backs are good too with perhaps Mackintosh the pick of the finishers  ?

They are going to attack with ball in hand from all over the park and they are good at it.  Plus there is a nasty slope at Merton Lane that takes some getting used to.

Perhaps somebody else will give to some more accurate and better informed info.....but FWIW they will be hard to stop on their own track IMO.

 

Canterbury are a good and attractive side with ball in hand, but from my limited experience of Nat1, they are not likely to be allowed that.  They are not (IMO) dissimilar to the Bishops Sortford side that went up from our league, but not the BS side that now sits mid-table.

Deva.....thanks for your interesting input.   I don't think you need to worry about the City Side camping on your line through multi-phase attacks.........you will either stop them consistently in midfield or will be kicking off again   In fact your biggest problem might be losing possession in their 22.

Canterbury 5 Chester 0. 

I hope I'm wrong and I sincerely wish Chester all the best in their endeavours.

Good luck fellas

 

All the best  

ST  

Though very early in the day to say "relegation certainties", the step up is pretty significant.

I'd say this is reflected in the league standings over the past few years. On the whole, newly-promoted sides have usually been mid-table at best in their first season in N1 regardless of whether or not they've absolutely strolled N2, and this could even be despite a pretty significant investment in personnel, link ups with Premiership/Championship clubs, etc. 

If Nat2N has been platying at a higher standard this year, and as ever this is the only game that gives us any indication, then they still have a solid chance.

Hee-hee.....here is another chance to try and promote a favourite idea of mine......which to be fair has gone down like a lead balloon at least once before.

which is.....why do we not ALL play one more game at the end of the season......north v south ?  We could have an annual trophy for the winners ?  great bragging rights ?

Say Canterbury have home advantage in the playoffs......that means the teams in first and third position in Nat2S would play away from home against their northern opponents in the same league position ?

It would then alternate home and away fixtures down the league.....culminating in last v last ?

The league with the highest number of league points in the fixtures....i.e. the normal scoring system......would be champions.  You would be playing for your league as well as your club ?

I would travel anywhere to watch that and it could be a money spinner ?  gate receipts split a la wendyball ?

A few years ago Blaydon and Tynedale took the step up in successive seasons and both were in the top half dozen positions in the league for a few years before dropping back to N2N. The secret to retaining a team's position in N1 would seem to be being able to replace the generation of players that secured promotion when their career's are drawing to a close. If Tyne hadn't started last season looking more like relegation candidates than a team that was going to push for promotion, it might have been even tighter at the top. I'm not going to make any rash predictions for next season like the Stourbridge mob (invariably disappointed afterwards), but another year's experience under their belt might make a difference to Tyne.

19-10

Maybe Chester will get another go next year, but I can't see past Caldy and the Students myself ?