The second round of the 2020/21 Cuppers football tournament took place this weekend (08/05-09/05) as eight teams progressed to next weekend’s (15/05-16/05) quarter-finals, with Fitzwilliam I continuing their dominance in the competition with an 11-0 away win at Magdalene I as last year’s other finalists, Queens’ I, were knocked out in a 2-0 home defeat to Churchill I. Varsity reporters attended the Queens’ I v Churchill I, Magdalene I v Fitzwilliam I, Jesus I v Corpus Christi I and St John’s I v Robinson I fixtures.

The Queens’ v Churchill fixture didn’t have a strong start with no sustained possession for either side, as it took some time to get to grips with the windy and slippery conditions. The first half was goalless, with both sides having equal but fleeting moments of possession, along with some clear goal-scoring opportunities.

The weather worsened in the second half, and both teams initially struggled to control the midfield. The deadlock was broken in the 60th minute by Eddie Furlong, the Churchill number 8, who after a mazy run and a penalty box scramble, struck the ball cleanly into the top left corner from around the penalty spot. Churchill began to dominate, and doubled their lead with a free kick by Wicken in the 82nd minute to make it 2-0 at full-time. With this result, Churchill avenged Queen’s after they lost 1-0 to them in last year’s semi-final.

Queen’s I

Starting XI: Dom Lee, Rasmus Larsen, Russel Ziman, Sam Spinks, Joe Giles, Bernardo Lustrini, Ed McCarthy (C), Toby Clark, Saket Koti, Will Gorman, Sean Cusack

Subs: Harry Cookson, Ilyaz Sayenko, Ben Harvey

Churchill

Starting XI: Sam Jordan, George Colville, Osa Iluobe, Sam Ernest, Athi Chellappa, Eddie Furlong, Charlie Hatch, George Crawley, Jed Asemota, Callum Farrow, Ed Wicken (C)

Subs: Joe Helm, Oscar De Wit, Demi Obembe

Elsewhere, third-division Magdalene I hosted first-division Fitzwilliam I in Saturday’s 3pm kick-off. With Magdalene receiving a bye in the first round, an element of uncertainty surrounded the home team’s potential against one of the tournament favourites.

But in fine Fitzwilliam fashion, the goal-scoring began after a mere six minutes, with winger Sean Peedle slotting an effort into the bottom corner after a looping cross from left-back Tom Young.

Magdalene responded well to this early setback, countering the attacking ferocity of the away team with a dose of physicality. However, this did not last long. Striker Theo Williamson made it 2-0 in the twentieth minute, followed by a Magdalene own-goal fifteen minutes later. Fitz looked ready to continue the dominance exerted in their 7-0 thrashing of Trinity I last weekend.

Just shy of the half-time whistle, Fitz struck twice in quick succession. Centre-back Jake Marshall headed home a Peedle corner, while central-midfielder Tom Randell’s firm strike brought the first half to a 5-0 close.

Attacking-midfielder Lumi Kanwei opened the second half with a solid first-time finish. He then secured his brace in the seventieth minute, after a powerful solo run from substitute Olamide Ogunnaike provided a well-deserved assist.

With fifteen minutes left, Randell made it 8-0 with his second goal of the day, quickly followed by Peedle bagging his own brace, and a minute later Young’s strike rounded the score to 10-0. Just for good measure, substitute Elias Bresnick’s tenacious finish closed the scoring at 11-0.

Magdalene

Starting XI: Dominic Neave, Jack Curson, Rishi Goswami, Matt Joll, Sam Sandhu, Vernon Samejeu, Nathan Silver, Jacob Deasy, Felix Matheson, Joey Dalton, James Walker (C)

Subs: Qingyun Chen, Tom Carlton, Phil Gamble, Will Ross, Antonio Rolo Duarte

Fitzwilliam

Starting XI: Adib Badri (C), Tom Young, Cavan Farrow, Jake Marshall, Hector Cox, Ellis Birch, Tom Randell, Lumi Kanwei, Jed Odagbu, Sean Peedle, Theo Williamson

Subs: Olamide Ogunnaike, Ben Shires, Elias Bresnick

Meanwhile Premier League side Corpus Christi won away at Second Division side Jesus in a lively affair that could have gone either way. The opening twenty minutes were punctuated by several chances, as Jesus captain Angus Harron went close from twenty yards with an effort that almost nestled in the bottom corner.

Half an hour in, Luka Jovanovic took the ball down beautifully but could only manage an effort straight at the keeper. The deadlock was broken after 63 minutes, with Matt Jayasekara bundling in a cross at the near post to put Corpus 1-0 up. Their lead didn’t last long though, as two minutes later the Corpus goalkeeper spilled a tame effort right into the path of Harry Regan, who slotted home to make it 1-1. Corpus had a chance to go ahead a few minutes later, but Seb Baynes saw his shot fly narrowly wide of the post.

Late drama ensued as an 87th minute trip in the box led to a Corpus penalty, dispatched with ease by Baynes into the bottom left corner to make it 2-1 to the visitors. In the closing seconds of the game, Jake Barker made a superb save to preserve Corpus’s lead, acrobatically tipping Angus Harron’s long-range effort over the crossbar.

Jesus

Starting XI: Hamish Macgregor, Jamie Brannighan, Jamie Newnham, Daniel Starkey, Charlie Abbot, Cormac Parks, Alex Landell-Mills, Harry Crook, Harry Regan, Angus Harron (C), Luka Jovanovic

Subs: Will Zeng, Matt Griffiths, Will Fleming

Corpus Christi

Starting XI: Jake Barker, Ben Farrar, Arun Thirunavukarasu (C) ,Sam Rogers, Michael Hare, Leo Von Der Haar,Cos Burdett  Ermeyas Girma, Matt Jayasekara, Conor Flynn, Seb Baynes

Subs: Ben Mulley, Maverick Fraser, Zack Hilburn

As for Sunday’s fixtures, the all-Premier League tie between St John’s and Robinson was a tense and entertaining affair. St John’s, the home side, started strongly and capitalised on their opportunities. Fifteen minutes in, striker Josh Adeyemi dribbled down the right wing and played an enticing cross into Lucca Martins, who finished smoothly. Two minutes later, John’s doubled their lead after Zac Gladman’s header was deemed to have crossed the line following a goalmouth scramble, putting them 2-0 up.

Ten minutes from halftime, Pugh scored a quickfire brace to tie the game, heading in a corner at the back post and then beating the keeper in a one-on-one.

However, John’s regained the lead through a strong header by Alex Mercer from a well-taken corner to make it 3-2 at the halfway mark.

The second half began with sustained Robinson pressure, hitting the post twice in 5 minutes. John’s were awarded a penalty in the 67th minute, Lucca Martins tucked away for 4-2. Alex Loan scored a consolation goal for the visitors in the third minute of added time, as St John’s won 4-3.

John’s

Starting XI: Mark Robinson, Michael Samuelson-Beulah, Abhik Vinod, Will Pocock, Matt Ball, Ikechi Mere, Jacob Davies, Lucca Martins, Zac Gladman, Alex Mercer, Josh Adeyemi

Subs: Tim D’Abouville, Jonathon Stelzer, Sang Wee, Tomos Mather, Rob Ritchie, Olu Osibeluwo

Robinson

Starting XI: Djihad Kramer, Ronan Cons, Jamie Gammell, Josiah Price, Lawrence Atkins, Alex Loan, Max Orviss, Re-em Tal, Ben Nohr, Percy Verity, George Pugh

Subs: Lami Mabifa, Vissarion Christodoulou, Jordan Urban, Oli Gottlieb

Elsewhere, King’s I won 5-2 at Christ’s I, while Sidney Sussex I beat Clare I 3-2, and Pembroke I overcame Emmanuel I 6-0 at home. Homerton I were due to play at home against Selwyn I but automatically progressed to the next round due to a player shortage, as confirmed to Varsity by Selwyn’s captain. .

Homerton will play away from home at Churchill in the quarter-finals, with King’s taking on Corpus Christi at home. Meanwhile Sidney Sussex will visit a goal-hungry Fitzwilliam, as St John’s take on Pembroke at home.

The defeated teams from the first round of Cuppers also got the Plate competition underway at the weekend, with St Catharine’s grabbing a 4-2 away win at Peterhouse. Downing bounced back from their tight defeat on penalties to Jesus (01/05) to defeat Trinity Hall 3-1, and will travel to St Catharine’s in the semi-final next weekend. Gonville & Caius also won 3-1 away at Girton, and will play at home in the semi-final to Darwin, who beat Trinity 3-2.