HOCKEY - Men's Varsity Match
Friday 5 March 2010
Cambridge University 1 – 3 Oxford University
The 110th Men’s Varsity match saw Oxford overcome the Light Blues to claim the trophy, with a superior first-half showing ultimately proving to be the difference between the two sides. Following a narrow last-minute Oxford victory in the women’s fixture, the defeat capped off a disappointing day for the Cambridge teams.
The game started at a high tempo, as Oxford looked to deprive the Cambridge midfielders of time on the ball with their intense pressuring in the middle of the pitch. Oxford had the early impetus, as their forward players combined to threaten the Cambridge circle. Stalwart Dave Saunders, collecting his fourth Blue, and his central defensive partner, Simon Sampson, did well to snuff out many of the early Dark Blue attacks, but eventually Cambridge succumbed to the Oxford pressure, and a barrage of Oxford short corners ensued. The first of these was squandered by the Oxford flicker, who failed to test Robinson in the Cambridge goal. Having had a sighter, the next attempt produced a fine save from the Light Blue ‘keeper, diving adeptly to his right-hand side to block the strike with his stick. It was, however, a case of third time lucky for Oxford, as the next corner was firmly dispatched into the corner of the goal to give them a 1-0 lead.
Cambridge attempted to put the Oxford defenders under pressure by stepping up the pitch, yet struggled to turn over the ball in doing so, and conceded another pair of corners from quick Oxford counter-offensives. The penalty corner specialist aimed the first of these at Cambridge’s left-hand post, but Dave Madden’s remarkable hand-eye coordination prevented Cambridge from conceding another goal as the top-corner-bound attempt was spectacularly blocked on the line by the defender’s outstretched stick. The Light Blues would not, however, be so fortunate with the next strike, which again found the corner of the goal to double Oxford’s lead.
Two goals down, Cambridge started to find some joy in attack, with a quality through ball from Chris Lee finding Stuart Jackson on the break. The Cambridge captain linked up well with Constantin Boye to create the Light Blues first real scoring chance, though Boye’s goal-bound flick was well deflected by the Oxford ‘keeper. Oxford’s early lead had clearly given the Dark Blue side a complacent air, which was not tolerated by the umpires, as a succession of their players were sin-binned for dissent and cynical challenges. In the dying minutes of the half, another Cambridge break found a way into the Oxford circle, with forward Paul Hicks unlucky not to close the deficit with an effort from near the baseline.
Two goals down at half time, the need to Cambridge to improve their ball retention, and to put the Oxford players under more pressure was clear for all to see. The Cambridge players returned to the pitch with this in mind, and enjoyed a period of dominance early in the half. The introduction of Nick Parkes, who had recovered from a broken finger in time to take part in the match, was key in providing additional strength and penetrative power to the Cambridge ranks, and the side’s continuous pressure led to a series of Light Blue corners. Unfortunately, the Cambridge corner routine did not run as smoothly as the Oxford one had, and despite having several chances to strike back at Oxford, the score remained 2-0 in their favour.
As the half progressed, the need for Cambridge to convert one of their chances became ever more apparent, and as they committed more and more players to their attacks, Oxford were able to win another penalty corner on the counter attack. Their star player, in something a purple patch, made no mistake with the flick, and with little of the half remaining and the score at 3-0, the match was effectively over. There was still time for Cambridge to threaten Oxford’s goal as man-of-the-match Parkes fired a stinging reverse-stick effort narrowly over the crossbar, and in the last play of the game, Cambridge were able to score a consolation goal as Saunders converted a well worked corner routine.
Though the result was not the desired one, and the disappointment of the Cambridge Blues was evident, the side will acknowledge a more clinical performance from their Oxford counterparts, and should take heart from their second-half improvement. As the season draws to a close, they will now hope to secure an unbeaten run-in in the East Premier League.
