There may have been smatterings of rain falling around Queens’ College Sports Ground on Wednesday, but there was a little sunshine through the solemn clouds. The Cambridge Men’s Blues were opening their season against Warwick, and there could be no better start to the year than three points. Yet, this scene accurately portrayed a pathetic fallacy about Cambridge’s performance; mostly glum, and a little bit wet, but with rays of hope and optimism to demonstrate that there is no reason why they cannot do well this year in BUCS.

Captained this year by Reece Linney, the Blues started well in damp conditions and controlled the first quarter, as Warwick attempted to keep them out. However, the pressure soon told as Aaran Mehmood slipped Asa Campbell in on goal, and the latter clipped the ball delightfully past the oncoming keeper to open his, and the team’s, account for the season in the 22nd minute. Mehmood, who was devilish and excellent all game, could have helped double the lead shortly after, but chose not to play the final pass and instead shot wide. This Cambridge dominance was rarely challenged in the first half, the best Warwick chance being a corner that missed everyone and rattled off the post. A couple of chances went begging at the end of the first half but nonetheless, a satisfactory start from the Blues.

Never has the adage ‘a game of two halves’ been more prevalent. Warwick had a newfound confidence that meant Cambridge found themselves on the back foot, and Warwick had handball appeal. Sure enough, just past the hour mark, Warwick equalised after some sloppy defending. This was the Blues’ first test of what is sure to be a challenging season, and things began to fall apart from this point. Five minutes afterwards, another goal for the away team materialised in a scrappy passage of play where some deflections took the ball past an unfortunate Aram Sarkissian. The next goal, however, could not be attributed to bad luck.

After Warwick had taken the lead, their captain could be heard telling the team to be “aggressive” and to “go back to basics”. Perhaps Cambridge should have heeded his words. In a complete moment of madness, a Cambridge substitute stepped onto the pitch and caught the ball, assuming it had gone out. It had not. The resulting free kick was launched into the Cantabridgian box and headed back to a midfielder standing on the edge. He trickled a tame effort towards Sarkissian, who had had a decent game up to this point, and it went through his legs and in to make it 3-1.

It was an extremely humbling moment for Cambridge, who brought on fresher Jesse Tapnack to change the dynamic. However, it was to no avail. Cambridge pulled one back after a careless challenge from Warwick allowed Deniz Ozer to find the corner from the penalty spot in the 87th minute. But Warwick hung to claim an overall deserved win. Cambridge had strong periods, but lacked the discipline to hold onto the lead they had earned. Coach Tom Blatch will have plenty to think about for the Blues’ next game, and hopefully, they come with a stronger mentality to push for a win as they start the 2024-25 season. I’m sure, past all the rain and gloom, there is somewhere over the rainbow for this team.