Wapping’s men were given a lesson by Cambridge University as they fell to a 4-1 defeat in East Premier A at the weekend.
Having won their first two matches in fine style, the east Londoners struggled to get a foothold on the slippery turf at Wilberforce Road.
Behind inside 10 minutes to a smart finish, they struggled to contain the home forwards, with Ollie Davies, captain Will Cairns and player-coach Warren D’Souza all picking up cards.
Wapping were back on level terms before the break as Belgian Gaston Golstein teed up Adam Fallis for the finish, but they could capitalise on spells of dominance in the second half.
Cambridge regained the lead on a counter attack with 10 minutes remaining and, as Wapping then pushed forward in search of an equaliser, added two late goals to make sure.
D’Souza will hope his men can bounce back when they host Cambridge City at Lee Valley this weekend.
The women were also left empty-handed for a third week in succession after a 2-0 loss at Canterbury seconds.
The home side took the lead with a strike from the top of the D after only three minutes, but Wapping produced some strong play from Lucy Todd, Natasha Close and Sophie Tomkinson.
Canterbury doubled their lead from the penalty spot, just past Kate Brannelly’s dive, but the visitors kept working hard to try and find a way back.
Two short corners went just wide, while Brannelly made some fine saves at the other end to deny the hosts any more goals.
The men’s seconds beat Spalding 2-1 with goals from Bobby Watson and Matthew Hyden, while Caspar Paulus, Tom Brownil and Chris Holland struck as the thirds beat Cambridge University seconds 3-0.
Giles Barton and Sam Peel found the net as the seventh team beat Colchester seconds 2-1, with Jon Lowe’s goal enough for the ninths to beat Braintree seconds.
Tom Scrase hit four as the 11th team beat Brentwood fifths 7-3, with Atif Ayaz, Alex Springer and Hamish Tomlinson also netting.
Kate Silbermann and Emma Skinner scored as the women’s seconds beat Harpenden 2-0 and Pascaline Dubois bagged a brace in the third team’s 2-1 win over Upminster seconds.
Molly Smith and Caroline Dale netted as the sevenths beat Witham seconds 2-0.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here