19/02/25: Blues 2-1 Loughborough III

After a week with no game the Blues were looking to keep our momentum going and continue our relegation/promotion(?!) battle. This week was Loughborough 3s who had caused us (with a bit of help from Asa) trouble in the past. That being said, given our current form, we were confident that we had them this time. But almost immediately from kick off it became clear that this game would be a battle. Lough looked dangerous on the attack and their high press was causing lots of issues. That being said, our forwards were also having some joy. And it wasn't long before a questionable elastico and some tidy footwork from Deniz got us ahead. Despite being 1-0 up, going into half time we were pretty unhappy with a first half performance that had been very scrappy.

The half-time talk was very Cambridge, more like what I would imagine a seminar involves with a big group discussion. Probably a good job as there were lots of things we needed to do better. Starting the second half I think there were some points that stuck but for the most part it remained just as scrappy. The game continued at about 100mph for a while. But a substitution from Blatchy, bringing on Aaran, brought some calm. After this Cambridge were getting plenty of chances but we couldn't quite get a goal. Much to everyone's delight we also tried out our new corner routine which forced their keeper to make a brilliant save. However, it was also from one of these corners that disaster struck. Through a misunderstanding, a blatant foul and a quick counter, the game was tied. After this the game once again descended into scrappiness. But it wasn't long before a beautiful ball from Deniz put Cai through on goal who (of course) put us back in the lead. There was also a debacle about offside but the ref overruled the lino to give us a goal (maybe not so bad?). Following this Cambridge did another few substitutions with Josiah and Harry brought on to see the game out, soon followed by Will, which they did. FT 2-1.

Goals: Deniz Ozer, Cai La Trobe-Roberts

Assists: Aaron Kay, Deniz Ozer

✍️ Aaron Kay