A very wet and miserable Wednesday afternoon saw Cambridge 2nds, the Kingfishers, dispatch Birmingham 2nds with a final score of 9-6 in the first BUCS match of the season.

Within minutes the Kingfishers were up a goal courtesy of Raphaella Carruthers, a Kingies’ veteran who was instrumental in the team’s success last season. This was sharply answered by two goals from Birmingham, whose nifty attack forced the Cambridge defence to liven up and better their communication. Serenydd Everden did a great job at centre, fighting it out with a strong Birmingham counterpart. Most of Cambridge’s goals came off strong drives from freshers’ such as Sophie Moss and Felicity Villar and this was interspersed with periods of very scrappy back-and-forth play, with both teams failing to keep the ball safe. After some gritty and determined work in the midfield from Hannah Ronald, Emma Walsh and India Dunn in particular, Cambridge attack settled down and were up 6-3. In an unsettling turn, Birmingham came back strong with 3 quick goals after a time-out. This, coupled with Everden’s yellow card threw Cambridge into panic but was eventually answered by 3 well-deserved goals off the back of a solid, calm attack formation. Final score 9-6 to Cambridge.