The season is edging ever closer to a conclusion in the Collegiate football league and with the stakes higher than ever, it remains all to play for in the top two divisions.

In the Premier Division, Jesus are now on the brink of winning their first title for 16 years after they overcame Cuppers holders St John’s in their fixture. However, they remain well aware of both Queens’ and Churchill’s positioning to potentially thwart them, with both newly promoted sides holding games in hand over the league leaders. Whilst Queens’ game against Trinity Hall was postponed,  Churchill meanwhile were able to gain revenge for their cup defeat to Hill rivals Fitzwilliam on penalties last week by beating them in the league, ironically by netting a penalty. The win leaves them second, 6 points behind Jesus with a game in hand, and also with the league leaders still to face. Queens’ sit third, with two games in hand over the champions elect. At the bottom, Pembroke look to be in danger of dropping out of the top flight after they were held to a draw by Gonville and Caius. The point keeps Pembroke 3 points above the drop zone, but with Caius still to play hapless Tit Hall, things could be about to get a lot scarier for last year’s league and cup runners up.

In Division Two, the promotion we already knew was confirmed over the weekend after Robinson managed to beat Queens’ IIs. In stunning fashion however, the previously unknown entity that is Long Road have also managed to pull off a shock promotion themselves after they beat Girton in their midweek title showdown last week as well as Emma in their other game in hand, leaving them joint top with perennial leaders Robinson. The result means heartbreak for Girton, who for the second year running, narrowly miss out on promotion to the top flight. Both Long Road and Robinson have 21 points from their 8 fixtures, and they will face each other in a title showdown at the end of the month. Elsewhere, Trinity recorded a big win over Darwin to pull themselves further clear of trouble, however with so many games in hand for so many colleges below them, they are still not mathematically safe.

And finally, in the last remaining Cuppers quarter final, Robinson safely progressed to the last four after dumping Premier League side Selwyn out of the competition with a 4-1 win. They will face Fitzwilliam on the weekend of the 20th February.

 

Cuppers Quarter Final

Selwyn 1-4 Robinson

Robinson: Sibley (x2), Donega, Cotterell

Frustration reigned at Robinson and Selwyn colleges last weekend when their much anticipated cup showdown was called off by the mutual nemesis of the weather. But, after seven tense and nerve racking days, the two sides met over the weekend to decide who would face favourites Fitzwilliam in the semi-final.

It was Robinson who were the most fired up of the two sides and they took the game to Selwyn from the get-go. Friend, Bougeard and Donega were bossing the midfield and Robinson looked by far the more likely team to take the lead, with Cotterell almost converting a Donega corner and Donega himself missing a volley from ten yards.

But it was Selwyn who would strike first, catching the division two side by surprise. A break down the left hand side resulted in a cross that was partially cleared, only for it to fall to a Selwyn midfielder who produced a stunning half-volley to make it 1-0.

Stunned, but not undeterred, the newly promoted side stuck at it to reassert their early dominance of the play. They got their reward soon after. A lovely ball over the top from Adebayo found Sibley one on one with the keeper, who he lobbed with a first-time dink. Robinson continued to dominate but it took a good stop from Harrison from a Selwyn counter to keep the scores level.

The second half was all Robinson, however, and Selwyn hardly produced a chance. The breakthrough finally came after full back Weston lofted a beautiful pass the over the home defence to Sibley who rifled in from a tight angle. Not long after that a beautiful team move set Cotterell though and his shot, although half-saved by the keeper, trickled over the line. A few minutes later Donega ran through and converted his initial blocked shot by slotting the ball into the roof of the net. The final twenty five minutes saw Selwyn try and pour forward but to no avail. The Robinson defensive unit was tight and if anything Robinson looked the more likely to score and perhaps should have converted a few counter-attacking moves.

At Full-Time, there could be no quibbling who was the deserved winner. Robinson progress, and they face a mouth-watering tie against Fitzwilliam in the semi-final. That should be a cracker.

 

Premier League

Churchill 1-0 Fitzwilliam

Churchill: Waller

Churchill haven’t won the title for nearly ten years, with success last coming in the 2006-2007 campaign. As we all know, they won’t win Cuppers this year – Fitz put pay to that. But the title dream is still very much alive for the Hill College, and victory over Fitzwilliam here keeps them very much in the hunt.

The game itself was divided by a penalty, in the same manner that their cup tie went down to the lottery of a penalty shootout. The two sides of course looked very different to the week before, with Fitz contracting their university players, whilst Churchill had to contend with more injury problems. The only goal of the game came early on in the first half. A through ball by Nick Waller sent Berridge-Dunn in through the channel, but just as he was about to pull the trigger, a rash tackle from Tom Dunn-Massey brought him down. Without hesitation nor dispute, the referee pointed to the spot. Waller converted the kick, not his best penalty as he sent it down the middle, but according to him he had “already sent the keeper the wrong way with his eyes.”

Churchill again went close before the interval when Jonny Holland sent a shot crashing onto the underside of the crossbar after showing neat feet in the box. But at half time, the home side held the advantage.

The second story was a more one-sided affair. Fitz, aided by Churchill dropping down to ten men when Berridge Dunn went off with an ankle injury, seized control of the game as Churchill set up the barricades and closed the borders. Parking the bus they did, but they did it well, successfully repelling Fitz for the remaining 45 minutes, with the visitors unable to break down their solid two banks of four despite long periods of possession and territory. A few good saves from the home side’s keeper and a couple of efforts from distance by Fitz’s Dan Sandbach was the closest they came, but in the end, Churchill held out for a vital win.

 

Jesus 1-0 St John’s

Jesus: Ashmead

Having led from the week one, Jesus know they are now just a whisker away from lifting the Premier League title. But they will also know, that with Churchill still to face, and Queens’ holding two games in hand, the title could easily end up being decided by the finest of margins.

Small margins matter and a narrow 1-0 win over former title contenders St John’s proves it. Whilst St John’s are now out of the running for the title, Jesus still had a job to do over the Cuppers holders and they were inspired by their Captain Ashmead. He bagged the only goal of the game, but conceivably could and probably should have scored more.

The win leaves them with one to play on 21 points and a strong goal difference to boot. Beat Churchill, and it could be their year.

 

Pembroke 3-3 Gonville and Caius

Pembroke: Oldfield (x2), Allan

Pembroke may be in the semi-finals of Cuppers, but they are slowly slipping into trouble. Whilst they may sit two places above the drop, their three point cushion over opponents Caius is no longer looking so comfortable. Cuppers runners up for two years straight, league runners up last year after promotion, will the golden generation pass without any silverware to show for it?

Caius meanwhile came into this game determined to beat the drop, and they still can. Although Selwyn, who sit two points above them, have two games in hand, they know that all of their remaining fixtures are hardly walkovers. Fixtures against two title chasing sides in Churchill and Queens’ still to come, and also games against Fitz and Champions Downing also in the offing, mean they are very much involved in a battle for survival.

Caius caught an injury plagued Pembroke side napping early on. They raced into a 2-0 lead inside the first twenty minutes. But Pembroke were jolted into life, and they managed to pull it back level before the break. Just as the moment it looked like they may take control of the game however, they made another slow start to the Second Half, as Caius again took the lead. Clinging on for what would have been their second win of the season, a win that would have pulled them off the bottom, Caius ultimately fell short as Pembroke levelled with 10 minutes to go. This triggered a frantic final few moments to the game, with both sides seeing efforts cleared off the line with seconds ticking away.

In the end, this relegation showdown finished all square. Caius remain 3 points behind the home side, but with a fixture against Tit Hall still to come, they will back themselves to get out of trouble. Pembroke, beware.

 

Tit Hall P-P Queens’

 

Division Two

Queens IIs 1-4 RobinsonØ  Sibley x 3, OG  Having earnt a cup semi final spot on the Sunday, Robinson found themselves low on energy by Sunday. However, they knew that a win over Queens’ second string side would mathematically secure them promotion. Suddenly, they found a second wind. With no substitutes, and ten of the eleven having played 90 minutes less than 24 hours earlier meaning some were carrying knocks, it was unsurprising that Robinson started slowly. Although controlling possession and the tempo of play it was proving difficult to break down Queens’ defence. The deserved breakthrough came from Sibley, who produced a running volley to slot home from a Donega corner. A spirited Queens then grew into the game and created two decent chances for themselves, one a shot skewed well wide from the edge of the area, the other a half-chance originating from a short back-pass. But Robinson were clearly in control and looked like scoring frequently. Sibley completed his hat-trick with two well-worked goals to give ‘Binson a 3-0 lead at the break. The second half was a different matter. Feeling fatigued and with the gale-force wind in their face, Robinson struggled to get fluency in their game and Queens, bringing on a few first team players, held the impetus. However, very few chances were created for all their territory and possession. With twenty minutes to go they pulled one back from a corner, but failed to build on this as Binson kept the door firmly shut. In the last ten minutes Robinson finally got into the opposition half. A nice Donega flick was taken on by Procter who fired a ball across the face, leaving a helpless Queens defender only able to put the ball into the top corner. Robinson saw out the win and can look forward to Premier League football next year.

 

Emma 1-3 Long Road

Long Road also mathematically secured promotion during the week as they managed to defeat struggling Emma 3-1. The win moves them on to 21 points, joint top with the leaders, who they play before the end of the month in what promises to be an enticing encounter. Emma meanwhile sit second bottom, but with the bottom of the second tier still tight, they know that safety is not out of reach. They face Darwin and St Catharine’s in their remaining fixtures.

 

Darwin 1-4 Trinity

Trinity recorded back to back wins after they beat Darwin, who are the only side to have beaten Premier League bound Robinson thus far. The win moves them to within a point of their opponents and 5 points from the drop zone with a game in hand. Yet both they and Darwin are still not yet safe, and they know they will have to get points from their remaining three games against Queens’ IIs, Homerton and King’s if they want to ensure survival. They also have a Plate semi final to look forward to. Darwin face Emma in their remaining fixture.