Its back. The date that is marked out for every college footballer – the return of Cuppers! The weekend of week 5 saw the First Round of fixtures, with every college believing that with the right amount of quality and bit of luck, dreams of lifting that coveted trophy may well become a reality.

The biggest shock of the first round undoubtedly came from fourth division college Sidney Sussex, who dumped Premier League side Caius out in what is being talked about as one of the biggest giant-killings in Cuppers history. Elsewhere, there were wins for Jesus, Darwin, Homerton, Trinity Hall, Downing and Trinity.

There was just the one fixture in the Premier League over the weekend, with St John’s grabbing a third straight win at out-of-form Fitzwilliam to take them joint top with three games played. Coincidently, these two sides will meet again in a few weeks’ time, having been drawn together in the Second Round of Cuppers.

CUPPERS FIRST ROUND

Gonville and Caius I   1-3   Sidney Sussex I

In what is undoubtedly the shock of the tournament so far, Fourth Division side Sidney Sussex maintained their 100% start to the campaign with a superb away win at Premier Division side Gonville and Caius. In an even and well-natured contest, Sidney proved to have the clinical edge over their opponents, with goals from Henry Makings, Ethan Ezra and Aran McMahon doing the damage. Sidney’s marauding full back Will Deeley was singled out for individual praise by his Captain after the game for his tireless work rate and solid defensive performance. Sidney will be absolutely delighted to have made it through to the Second Round, where they will face the tough task of taking on the holders, Jesus. Caius meanwhile will have to pick themselves up quickly from this embarrassment before they face Fitzwilliam next in the league.

 Jesus I   3-2 (AET)   Queen’s I

Another classic cup tie, that could so easily have sent a shock with reverberations across the college football world. In a closely fought battle, Cup holders Jesus overcame a resilient Second Division Queen’s side who took the Premier League leaders all the way. Queen’s started the brighter, taking a deserved lead off the knee of Captain Alex Knight, which they held until the break. Jesus upped their game second half, and two goals in five minutes from Niall Purcell from a corner and a Tom O’Loughlin volley saw the game flipped on its head. But Queen’s weren’t about to throw in the towel. With the last attack of the game, deep into the stoppage time, Queen’s won a free kick on the edge of the box. Ali Marshall stepped up and duly converted, with the ball cannoning back off the cross bar and onto the back of unfortunate Jesus stopper Webster’s head before rolling into the net. The game went to Extra-Time, and with fatigue really beginning to affect both sides, Jesus grabbed a winner through Captain Connor Emerton with a header from an Ashmead corner. Jesus held on, meaning heart-break for Queen’s. The Holders have only lost one Cuppers tie in 3 years, but Queen’s pushed them close in this one!

King’s I   2-4    Darwin I

Second Division side Darwin are through to the Second Round after they upset Premier League side King’s away from home on Sunday. Darwin opened a two goal lead through Abraham Audu and Chris Hope, before King’s managed to pull one back. But Darwin ensured that no comeback was on the cards after Chris Hope added his second before Peter Griffith got in on the act, rendering King’s final goal of the game, from the spot, a meaningless one. Darwin progress and remain unbeaten in all competitions, whilst King’s crash out and are still yet to gain a positive result this season.

Emma I   2-3    Homerton I

Homerton came from behind twice to overcome Second Division front-runners Emma, avenging a 6-1 league defeat from earlier in the season in the process. Goals from Rohan Dodd, Rich Hume and Nick Jones were enough to send a shocked Emma side out of the tournament at the first time of asking. Homerton manager Miles Walker will take the plaudits for a change in system from a 4-4-2 to a 4-5-1, employing Guy Linch in a holding-midfield role, whilst Minkovski, Draper and Dodd were all praised for putting in excellent shifts. Homerton, who naturally were ecstatic with the result, will now look forward to a Second Round home tie against high-flying Robinson, who currently sit top of the Third Division. Emma travel to Darwin in their next league fixture, where they will hope to maintain their unbeaten league form.

Downing I   2-0   Clare I

In-form Downing are through to the Second Round after they overcame struggling Second Division side Clare in their cup opener. Goals from Churcher and Brodie secured Downing’s safe progression in spite of the absence of Captain Tom Coombes. Downing, who are currently sitting joint top of the Premier League, will face Darwin in the next round of the competition. Clare meanwhile will turn their attentions to picking up their league form, having not registered a goal yet in all competitions.

Selwyn I  2 -4   Trinity I

Second Division side Trinity knocked out Premier League opposition in the form of Selwyn in another cup upset with the help from a superb hat-trick for Ewan Bowlby. Stephen Rawson also got on the scoresheet for the visitors, cancelling out an own goal and Lewis Ball strike. Rawson also managed to lay on two assists for Bowlby, with Jack Brocksom and Boris Grubic teeing up the other goals for the victors. Both sides went into the game unbeaten, with Selwyn captain Matt Sullivan acknowledging the Division 2 side were “simply the better team.” The running from Trinity’s centre forward caused the home side problems throughout the game, however the cameo performance from fresher Alex Thompson showed signs of promising things to come for Selwyn, having looked lively coming on from the bench with 20 minutes to go.

Magdalene I   0-3   Trinity Hall   I

No shocks in this fixture as Premier League side Trinity Hall march into the second round after putting Magdalene to the sword. Magdalene currently sit firmly bottom of Division 3, and any hope of a cup reprieve from their poor league form was dashed by their Premier League opponents. Trinity Hall will face Corpus Christi, who received a Bye, in the next round.

Peterhouse I   2-5   Pembroke I

Fifth Division league leaders, the lowest ranked side in the competition, Peterhouse, faced last year’s Cupper finalists Pembroke in their opening game and fell to a 5-2 defeat. Pembroke will face Trinity in the Second Round.

Corpus Christi, Christ’s, Robinson, Fitzwilliam, St John’s, Girton, Churchill and St Catherine’s all received Byes for the First Round of Cuppers ties. Second Round ties will be played over the weekend of the 30th November.

PREMIER LEAGUE

Fitzwilliam I   1-2   St John’s I

Winless Fitzwilliam succumbed to another defeat against St John’s over the weekend in what was a closely contested and competitive clash. Fitzwilliam had started brightly and seized the initiative mid-way through the first half when Tom Hickey let fly from 20 yards, sending a low-drive into the bottom left hand corner. Fitz were perhaps the better side for the majority of the first period but invariably St John’s fought their way back, grabbing an equaliser through Nick Hilton who headed in from a Drysdale delivery. In a frantic and at times feisty second half, St John’s grabbed all three points seven minutes from time, when Alex Gaskell skipped through the Fitzwilliam defence before slotting home past Fitz keeper Kaisei Opara. Jubilant scenes ensued for John’s who have won all three of their opening games and are amongst the early front runners in the division, alongside Jesus and Downing, the latter John’s face next week. Fitzwilliam meanwhile still need to register some points on the board and quickly if they are to avoid an unlikely slip into trouble. They face Gonville and Caius next weekend.

PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE

Pos	College	P	W	D	L	GD	PTS
1	Jesus I	3	3	0	0	9	9
2	St Johns I	3	3	0	0	7	9
3	Downing I	3	3	0	0	5	9
4	Pembroke I	3	2	0	1	2	6
5	Selwyn I	2	1	1	0	1	4
6	Trinity Hall I	3	1	0	2	-2	3
7	Gonville & Caius I	3	0	1	2	-6	1
8	Fitzwilliam I	3	0	0	3	-3	0
9	King's I	2	0	0	2	-5	0
10	St Catharine's I	3	0	0	3	-8	0