Cambridge University Women’s Association Football Club (CUWAFC) continued their winning start to the Midlands 2B League season with a superb 3–0 victory over De Montfort University (DMU) at Fenners’ on Wednesday afternoon.

Despite a dominant display that restricted the Leicester-based side to lofted balls into the box and sporadic counterattacks,   Light Blues’ required clinical finishing up front to come home with all three points. And it was sublime work through set pieces in particular that carried the home side through – just reward for the hours put in on the training pitch.

With confidence high after last week’s 3–2 win in a nail-biting contest against the University of East Anglia, CUWAFC looked threatening early doors but it was not until 22 minutes into the game that they struck. A foul on the lively Ceylon Hickman resulted in a direct free kick 25 yards out from the DMU goal, which the Light Blues’ captain Gerda Bachrati curled into the back of the net to give the home side a deserved lead.

Seconds later, they almost doubled it. DMU were afforded no space straight from the kick-off, and the Light Blues seized the ball and drove towards the away side’s goal, only to win another free kick in almost the exact same place. This time, though, Bachrati was not quite as accurate, with the ball zooming agonisingly over the bar and onto the top of the net.

Not to be deterred, however, CUWAFC fought hard in the middle to shut down any DMU opportunities and the match became somewhat scrappy, with fouls flying in all directions. Nonetheless, this kept the away side pressed back and any DMU free kicks from the halfway line that had the potential to cause danger were confidently cleared by the heads of Linnea Gradin, Marielle Brown and Beccie Graves at the back. 

And they maintained their potency up front: a counter by the Light Blues resulted in another direct free kick, from which Hickman put the ball into a dangerous area, forcing the DMU keeper to take drastic action and clear. With the half-time interval beckoning, a back-post header from Brown drifted agonisingly across the goal line, without a Light Blue player able to convert, before finally CUWAFC were able to break through the DMU resistance with a world-class solo goal from Liz Ashcroft. Picking up the ball in the middle of the park, she produced a gorgeous, mazy run to break through the away side defence and find the space to fire a shot across the keeper into the goal and give the Light Blues a deserved 2–0. 

Resolute CUWAFC refuse to yield to late UEA pressure

The second half stuck to the narrative of the first: CUWAFC kept DMU under the cosh but, despite monopolising possession, they were unable to find a way past DMU’s excellent goalkeeper. In their eagerness to grab the third that would surely seal the game, the Light Blues were drawn higher and higher up the field to leave themselves vulnerable to the counterattack, and it took some superb defending from Graves and Brown to keep DMU out.

Set pieces remained CUWAFC’s biggest weapon, with substitute Heidi Mogstad crashing a free kick against the crossbar. Seconds later, Becca Hirst’s fierce shot from range also found the woodwork. As in the first half, DMU were heavily restricted and struggled to find an opening, their only real chance of the half coming from a retaliatory free kick which Laura Bleehen comfortably dealt with at her back post.

As the match headed towards its conclusion, fortune smiled upon CUWAFC to undermine the superb resistance that DMU had shown: a rare goalkeeping error from the away side was quickly pounced on by Henny Horsler, who picked the ball up from the scrambling keeper and, at the second attempt, grabbed her first ever goal for the Light Blues to leave the score at 3–0 in favour of the home side.

And in the dying moments, it could have been more: both Gradin and Hickman sent Hirst’s corners flying towards the keeper but superb saves kept the score static. Nonetheless, it was a result to savour for CUWAFC: a well-deserved three points were sweetened by a satisfying clean sheet and the reaction of the home supporters, who had enjoyed a superb display of football from their side. 

CUWAFC: Bleehen, Graves, Brown, Malley, Bachrati (c), Edwards, Gradin, Cohen, Ashcroft, Hirst, Horsler, Hickman

Substitutes: Conlon, Crockett, Luff, Mogstad