The College football season is now in full swing with the second round of fixtures taking place last weekend, and with more surprising results making it increasingly difficult to envisage how the season will pan out – as well as providing me with the chance to continue to make excuses for my increasingly wide of the mark pre-season predictions.

There were just three fixtures in the Premier League, with Pembroke, Downing, Churchill and Selwyn all not in action over the weekend. Jesus look to be more and more of a force to be reckoned with as Ritchie Ashmead’s boys secured a second consecutive comfortable victory by overcoming Gonville and Caius on Saturday. Caius’s poor start to the season is leaving much to be desired (well mainly desiring goals and points). Trinity Hall likewise really haven’t got out of the starting blocks, as they were humbled 7-0 by St John’s, who have responded superbly to their opening day defeat against the Lesser-Hill college Churchill. The biggest shock of the top division however came at Oxford Road as Queens’ took all three points against Fitz. The less said about that the better.

In Division Two, newly promoted side Robinson continue to set the tier alight with another crushing victory; Trinity were their victim for this week. St Catherine’s have also maintained their 100 per cent start to the season with a win over last year’s promotion nearly-men Darwin, making it two straight defeats for the OAPs following defeat mid-week to the elusive Long Road. Elsewhere, King’s recorded their first win of the season against potential strugglers Emma, whilst Queens’ IIs improved on last week’s outing by only shipping six goals against Homerton, compared to the nine they conceded against Girton last time out.

Premier League

 

Fitzwilliam 0-1 Queens’

Queens’: Marshall

Not much to see here.

Queens’ well and truly announced themselves as a side not be messed with in their superb win over Fitzwilliam. In what was a tight and well fought fixture, Queens’ managed to grab the only goal of the game through Marshall mid-way through the first period, a lead they were able to hold onto following some resolute defending that proved too difficult for Fitz to breakdown. The win leaves Queens’ with six points from their opening two fixtures, a superb start for the newly promoted side – sending shockwaves across the college football spectrum in the process. They will hope to carry their momentum into Cuppers next weekend when they face Division Two outfit Trinity. Fitz meanwhile will know they will have to pick themselves up quickly if they want to beat League champions Downing in the opening round of Cuppers, a match that was unfortunately overlooked by Sky Sports for Super Sunday.

Gonville and Caius 0-3 Jesus

Jesus: Ashmead (x2), Law

Jesus continue to perform miracles as they comfortably beat Gonville and Caius over the weekend, building on their impressive performance against champions Downing last week. Captain Ashmead and disciple Law completed a holy trinity of goals that leaves the team top on goal difference, and undoubtedly the league’s early pace-setters. Wins remain elusive for Caius meanwhile, although it is too early to ask for their rivals’ divine intervention. With a bye in the Cup next week, the Premier League strugglers will hope to regroup before taking on a resurrected St John’s side, who will be in high spirits following their demolition of Trinity Hall. Jesus likewise have a bye for the first round of Cuppers.

Trinity Hall 0-7 St John’s

St John’s: Gaskell (x3), Selway (x3), Newbitt

St John’s have bounced back from their opening day set-back against Churchill with a superb win over Trinity Hall, netting seven in what can only be described as a grim afternoon for Tit Hall – an adjective that is worryingly becoming more relevant to their season as a whole. Hat tricks for both Gaskell and Selway with a bit of Newbitt to boot ensured an easy afternoon for the John’s boys; however, they were still left wanting more following two dubious penalty calls that were not given. The win will certainly give St John’s a (not really needed) confidence boost before their opening round cup tie against minnows Corpus Christi, and they will also look to build on this performance in the league. It’s fair to say that Trinity Hall meanwhile have not started the season as well as they would have liked. In fact, if I were them, I would be slightly concerned. A bit. A Newbitt.

Churchill P-P Selwyn – Postponed due to Selwyn alumni fixture

 

Division Two

 

St Catherine’s 2-0 Darwin

St Catherine’s: Bolderson, Hart

St Catherine’s remain joint top of the Second Division following victory over Darwin in their second fixture of the season. Goals from Bolderson and Hart did the damage as Darwin continue to struggle to evolve into a side that look able to make the jump into the top flight. St Catz meanwhile will look to maintain their early season momentum when they take on Premier League strugglers Trinity Hall in Cuppers, a fixture they most will now see as very winnable.

King’s 2-1 Emma

King’s: Mercer

Emma: Bell (x2)

King’s recorded their first victory under the stewardship of Zack Case with a scrappy 2-1 win over Emma. Elliot Bell opened the scoring, latching onto a - and I quote - “defence splitting pass from none other than myself [Zack Case]”. Emma levelled the scores through Charlie Mercer before half time, helped by some poor King’s defending, but King’s stole the points when Bell netted his and King’s second through an excellent, but highly controversial, free kick. King’s face Magdalene in the opening weekend of Cuppers – with current Varsity Sports Editor Angus Satow expected to turnout for Magdalene's Third Division side. Emma will feel hard done by having lost out in controversial circumstances, however they know they will have to quickly move on with high flying Robinson the visitors for their opening Cuppers tie.

Trinity 0-4 Robinson

Robinson: Bougeard (x2), Adebayo, Procter

Robinson have stormed ahead in Division Two following another strong performance on the road, this time away at Trinity. Bougeard undoubtedly looks key to their success, having now netted six goals in his first two games, bagging a brace in this one. The fixture itself was a rather tight game that perhaps flattered the visitors. However, despite Trinity perhaps shading the first half hour, Robinson grabbed two goals in quick succession, putting them in a comfortable position at half time. The second half saw Trinity dominate the ball but they were unable to break Robinson down, even when injuries left the away side struggling with nine players. Robinson added their third and fourth goals on the break late on, sealing the points and their position at the top of Division Two. Trinity will perhaps see this as an opportunity missed, but they will take heart from a solid display despite the result. The Robinson juggernaut meanwhile marches on. It’s Emma in Cuppers for them, while Trinity face Premier League surprise package Queens’.

 

Queens’ IIs 1-6 Homerton

Queens’ IIs seem a bit like a fish out of water, having now shipped 15 goals in their opening two games, leaving them cast adrift at the bottom of the table and sinking quicker than the Titanic (what, too soon?). Homerton have responded well to their opening day defeat to St Catherine’s, although they will know tougher tests lie ahead for them.

Midweek Result:

Long Road 4–1 Darwin

Darwin: OG

The ever elusive Long Road managed to record an impressive win over Darwin last week. Darwin clearly weren’t happy with the choice of referee, who, unbeknown to them, turned out to be a Long Road student. In any case, the kids overcame the OAPs, resulting in a far from impressive start to the season for Darwin.