Light blue once again reigned supreme as Cambridge Women’s Blues emerged 3-2 victors in a riveting season opener against Oxford. In a game lit up by drastic momentum shifts and moments of individual magic, Alissa Sattentau’s sparkling second-half brace proved enough to secure three points for the home side.

Cambridge initially appeared to have carried their momentum from an outstanding 2023-24 campaign, finding the top right corner of the Oxford net barely a minute into proceedings courtesy of Lara Branston’s driven effort from outside the area. Having been stunned by Cambridge’s immediate intensity, Oxford seemed ignited after the restart, drawing a fine save from Sophie Perret before blazing a prime opportunity to equalise over the bar in the fourth minute. Subsequently, the visitors began to find their swagger, exposing the Cambridge defence with a blend of attractive midfield passing moves and driving runs down the flanks.

“Once on the scoresheet, Oxford continued to exhibit their creative flair with some delightful technical football”

For all Oxford’s attacking dynamism, it was a Cambridge goal-keeping error that eventually yielded a 26th-minute equaliser, after Katie Glendening’s hopeful strike slipped through the gloves of a dejected Sophie Perret. Once on the scoresheet, Oxford continued to exhibit their creative flair with some delightful technical football but were unable to convert sustained pressure into tangible results.

At halftime, Oxford would have been disappointed to remain level, having been largely dominant against a highly inexperienced Cambridge outfit featuring just three returning players from last season. However, in spite of having found themselves firmly on the back foot for much of the opening 45 minutes, Cambridge re-emerged from the break revitalised, pressing notably higher with a renewed intensity. Moments into the second half, Mia Farndon headed an inviting cross narrowly wide, before Alissa Sattentau coolly slotted Sakina Dhirani’s incisive ball home to restore Cambridge’s lead in the 50th minute, capping off a remarkable turnaround.

Dave Mellor’s shrewd tactical decision to switch to a 4-3-3 shape, alongside Sattentau’s panache and a stellar showing from Beth Harris enabled Cambridge to stretch a tiring Oxford defence. As time elapsed in the game, Oxford started to subside in the face of a new look light blues side that grew into their own, the visitors becoming increasingly passive and devoid of their former potency against a markedly more solid Cambridge defensive unit.

“In the following minutes, the flames of Oxbridge rivalry began to be stoked by a couple of hefty challenges”

Victory appeared to be on the horizon when a moment of footballing wizardry from Sattentau put Cambridge 3-1 up in the 70th minute; the light blues’ number 9 twisting and turning her way through a wall of Oxford shirts, somehow fashioning a pocket of space and unfurling an awesome finish into the top left corner from 25 yards out to bag her second goal of the half. In the following minutes, the flames of Oxbridge rivalry began to be stoked by a couple of hefty challenges, with rising tempers on both sides eventually culminating in a stern telling off for the Oxford coach for his criticism of the referee.

Things were soon to improve for the Oxford gaffer however – his side finally managed to find a foothold in the second half as it entered its closing stages. Waves of Oxford attacks threatened to put an end to Cambridge’s two-goal cushion, rekindling the tension in what had been a previously one-sided half.

A mistimed challenge in the dying seconds of the match gave Oxford a free kick on the edge of the area, which Kezia Elston expertly whipped into the bottom right corner. Elston’s brilliant finish provided a degree of consolation for Oxford, who had finally managed to rediscover the attacking brand of football that had seen them control the first 45 minutes of the game.

At the final whistle, 3-2 felt like a justified result; both sides had enjoyed lengthy periods of dominance, but it was Cambridge who were ultimately the more clinical in what was a seesawing, captivating derby. The manner in which Cambridge’s fledging squad grew in stature across the match, before taking the game by the scruff of the neck in an exceptional second-half performance, should give the light blues plenty of cause for optimism for the 2024/25 campaign.