20/11/24: Kestrels 3-1 De Montfort III

It was a fine Wednesday afternoon for some footy. Crisp, with clear skies, the Kestrels took on De Montfort in the next round of the cup hoping to maintain their unbeaten streak. Alex noted that this was the ‘strongest kestrels team yet’, notable given the captain himself was not actually playing.

It was an unsavoury start. It was clear that Jake Parish was fresh back from injury during the first ten minutes. Frantic pinball ensued as an intensely mediocre De Montfort side looked to pelt the ball up top- a trend that lasted the entire game. Yet, for their crude tactics, they managed to snag a goal early on in the first half as the kestrels were caught sleeping and a ricocheted break away say them tap in for the lead. An offside goal a couple of minutes later was a let off for the kestrels.

Alas, the kestrels looked to rebuild from after a sloppy first 20. And rebuild we did. The second quarter saw the football the kestrels had promised emerge as the passes began to stick. Cephas and Stan on either wing began to cause serious damage to the fullbacks, as the new centre back duo of Parish and Bowles settled in to control the game. Cephas’ endeavours looked to have paid off as he beat the fullback and chipped in a ball from the byline for a flick header from Felix into the far corner. Yet, their Lino was having none of it, and called it offside. Pandemonium from the Cambridge side, yet it was not a day of great linesmanning all round, and the game continued 0-1. 5 minutes later some classy one touch football saw Stan slide Felix through for a finish past the keeper to bring the half to an end at 1-1.

Physicality and aggression were deemed to be key for a successful second half. Parish was more concerned with returning abuse to the De Montfort sidelines throughout, a classy bunch who threatened to ‘wet you up’, and gave pretty much constant abuse to Ross for the entire game. ‘What ends you from Boris Johnson’ and ‘There is no way your name is Oshasha you nerdy prick’ were notable zingers from the sideline. A disjointed start to the first half with injury breaks was set back in motion as Dilan whipped in a delectable ball from a free kick for a header from Felix to send the Kestrels 2-1 up. A deserved lead was consolidated by dominant football, as wingbacks Noah and Dilan worked tirelessly, linking up with Monky to push the game forward. Another break from Stan saw recent sub Toby slide in for a back post finish. This didn’t seem to quieten the sidelines however, and a solid defensive set from the kestrels subs kept the De Montfort side at bay to finish the game 3-1.

Another successful result from the kestrels who look to push on in both the cup and the league in the coming weeks. UTFK UTFCUAFC 🩵

DOTD: Jake Parish

MOTM: Felix Kind

✍️: Felix Kind (🧐)

Goals: Felix Kind (2), Toby Bowles

Assists: Stan Knight(2), Dilan Shant