Season Review 2023-24
It has been another exciting season for CUAFC, winning an impressive four out of six Varsity matches against Oxford including victory in the inaugural Women’s Thirds match, cup success for the Men’s Blues, as well as strong league campaigns across the board. This year’s Blues Varsity match held special significance, marking the 150th anniversary of the inaugural Men’s Varsity match, as well as the 175th anniversary of the creation of the ‘Cambridge Rules’ of football.
A huge thank you to our incredible club presidents, captains and committee members for all their hard work throughout the year- none of this would be possible without their commitment and dedication to the club. GDBO.
Read on to hear from the captains of our 6 teams as they reflect on the highs (and lows) of their respective seasons. GDBO.
Men’s Blues: Cai La Trobe-Roberts
Football has the highest highs and the lowest lows, as the Men’s Blues experienced in a season that contained the full range of emotions.
Despite an incredibly unlucky series of injuries, with 10 of the regular squad of 16 out for significant periods of the season, the boys did not look for excuses and fought to keep a league, cup and Varsity treble on the cards with three games of the season remaining.
The season’s run-in saw us take on Nottingham in the cup final, before Varsity at the Abbey Stadium and wrapping the season up with the final league fixture at home against Loughborough. This started well, with victory in the cup bringing us some silverware. The Blues dictated the tempo of the game despite a horrendous pitch at the neutral venue in Birmingham, sealing a 2-1 victory through Aaron Kay’s 89th minute strike.
This winning run was cut short cruelly at the Varsity match. After falling behind in the 3rd minute to an unfortunate early goal which led to goalkeeper Aram Sarkissian having to leave the game with concussion, the Blues appeared nervous throughout the first half. Going into the interval 1-0 down, changes were made that helped spark the team back into life. A 73rd minute equaliser through Cai La Trobe-Roberts led to an electric atmosphere for the remainder of the game. Cambridge pressed persistently towards the end of the game but could not find a winner, leading to a penalty shootout. Despite practices after almost every session throughout the term, the first three Cambridge takers all missed, leading to a 3-0 shootout defeat following the 1-1 draw in normal time. There is no way more cruel to lose a football game, although all takers can be proud of their confidence to step up and take. This was clear from the crowd’s applause for all the players at the game’s conclusion, despite the result.
There remained a chance at redemption in the final league fixture. Requiring a win over title rivals Loughborough to clinch the league, things started well after Cai found Fortina Oshasha, who scored on his final appearance following 4 years with the Blues. Loughborough equalised in the 60th minute following an unfortunate slip at the back, before Kit Angel-Scott restored the lead after an exceptional through ball by Reece Linney in the 85th minute. The scoreline stayed like this until the fourth and final minute of added time, when a crossing free kick following a handball fell kindly for a Loughborough player to poke home with effectively the final kick of the season. The game ended 2-2 with the Blues missing out on the title by just a single point.
Agonising heartbreak can be the only way to sum up the end to the season, after coming within penalties and a single goal of a perfect treble season.
However, there remained a number of highlights to the season. Our 4-3 comeback win away against Nottingham and 6-1 demolition of De Montfort were particularly special, although for contrasting reasons. A cup win is also something to be proud of, especially in a season in which 30 different players represented the Blues due to the injury crisis.
In terms of individual success, first year HSPS student Deniz Ozer from Trinity Hall was the standout performer, claiming our player of the season award and topping the BUCS men’s assists chart for divisions 2 and above with 13 across the season. Joey Dalton also led a charge in the BUCS tables, finishing first in the Midlands scoring charts with 7 goals. Deniz and Cai were just behind with 5 each. Personally, one of the highlights of the season was returning from an unfortunate head injury in gameweek 3 just in time for Varsity and managing to score the equaliser. Given the result, this felt largely irrelevant after the game, but with hindsight it is a moment to be proud of.
I would like to end by thanking all past servants of CUAFC after this special anniversary; 150 years of a single fixture does not happen without people that really care about the club. I have made fantastic memories and met incredible people through this football club, neither of which would have been possible without your work. Alumni support at Varsity and throughout the season, in person or online, means so much to all the players and really helps build the positive atmosphere that we are always aiming for.
Finally, my biggest thank you of all goes out to the Blues players this season - such an incredible group of lads that have made this season an absolute pleasure despite the head injury and the heartbreaks.
UTFB
Women’s Blues: Abbie Hastie and Emilia Keavney
The Women’s Blues had an excellent cup run in the second half of the season, reaching the semi finals of the National Trophy. A gutsy performance away at Hertfordshire led to victory in extra time and a date with Loughborough at home. The girls put in a fantastic defensive performance against the visitors and an outstanding strike from midfielder Ella O’Connell was enough to progress to the semi finals. We were hampered by injury and a long journey for our semi against Exeter, and we were unfortunate to lose 2-1. In the league, the momentum generated by some good performances was checked by a combination of injuries and bad weather, which led to multiple postponements.
The pinnacle of the season was our Varsity match at the Abbey Stadium, home of Cambridge United. Our very final game saw the return to full fitness of virtually all our players, and our quality shone through as we defeated Oxford 3-0. Our victory meant the women’s teams won all 3 of their games against Oxford this year. It was an evening of beautiful football played under the lights and truly it summed up what it means to play for Cambridge; playing with your best friends in front your family and friends, and of course, beating Oxford. Our dominant performance was testament to the hard work of the squad all year. The three goals came from Ella O’Connell and a double for Ailie Rennie, who in her final appearance in Cambridge Blue excited the crowd with a 30 yard screamer, rightfully earning her player of the match. Thank you to all alumni who came to The Abbey to cheer us on or watched the livestream from afar, we felt your support and Cambridge’s twelfth man definitely contributed to the win! We hope to see as many of you as possible next year as we endeavour to continue Cambridge Women’s run of success.
Falcons (Men’s IIs): Thomas Edmonson
The Cambridge Falcons started the season off the back of a promotion to the third division of BUCS and a Varsity Win the year prior with a much changed squad. With only 4 returning players from the side that had lifted the hallowed cup the previous year, it was a fresh faced outfit with lots of rotation, and by the end of the year over 25 different players had represented the Falcs.
The signing of Frankie Merriman as manager boosted morale, even thought results did not necessarily go the way of the Falcs, and with only one win in the entire season building up to Varsity, it seemed certain that the Oxford 2s would break their 2 year duck and lift the cup in front of their home fans.
However, with players returning from the blues, the Falcs put in a mighty performance in Oxford to beat the Centaurs in their own backyard and make it 3 on the bounce. A day to remember for the Falcs, and a source of great pride for me personally.
As a first year, the Falcs were the first team I ever personally made an appearance for, getting 5 minutes at the end of a 4-1 win in first year pre season. Nearly 3 years later, I look back with pride at being able to represent such a fantastic side for the entirety of my time here at Cambridge. Results aside, the commitment from the lads was absolutely outstanding - it was an honour to share the pitch with everyone over the past 3 years. Special thanks must also go out to the wider club - outshouting Oxford at their own ground is evidence of the unity which runs through CUAFC, and highlights just how special this footballing outfit is.
Eagles (Women’s IIs): Georgia McConachie
The Eagles started the season with 16 new members, one of whom was our new coach, Larissa. It took us a while to gel to say the least, failing to yield more than a point in our first six fixtures. Sunday after Sunday we were coming up against bigger, stronger, older players, who give the ball plenty of airtime, leaving us scrambling to win those 50/50 balls. The whack-and-hope mentality of Sunday League always takes a bit of getting used to for new players. We ended Michaelmas term with our first three-point cumulation, which evidenced the hard work both the players and Larissa had put in to building chemistry on the pitch.
Lent term, as per tradition, saw most of our fixtures cancelled. English weather rained off all but two games, leaving us without practice ahead of the imminent varsity game. Given our Michaelmas term results, I was a little nervous to say the least. Almost an entirely new starting XI were three weeks away from facing Oxford Furies, well-practiced in BUCS-style, ground-based football, with minimal game time opportunity. Nonetheless, we trained hard and had friendlies with the other Women’s teams where possible to best prepare us for the day.
Goals from Anna Hipkiss and Izzy Lowe gave us a 2-0 lead in the first 30 minutes with two excellent goals. Oxford managed to get one back before half-time, and we went into the changing rooms with a one goal lead. We scored early in the second half, which was a fortunate ping-pong from a corner, giving us a 3-1 lead. Oxford scored another shortly after, and the final 20 minutes saw some heavy defence from the Eagles to deny the Furies from an equaliser. While they came close a couple of times, goalkeeper Izzy Waldie protected the goal-line. The full-time whistle finally blew, and we had secured our victory, and I had never felt a greater sense of relief. The Blues women stormed the pitch in celebration of the second Varsity win for the women’s teams, not knowing they were yet to secure the third. A brilliant day for Cambridge women’s football, with 10 goals being put past Oxford between the women’s 2s and 3s collectively. Despite a rocky start to the season, and a game-less Lent, the Eagles played the best football I’d seen all year. Securing the win made our Sunday struggles worth it. It was a pleasure to wear the Captain’s armband for this amazing team.
Approaching Easter term, we have 8 fixtures left in the Sunday League, a tough amount of fixtures to play in exam term, with two per week for four weeks. We are now trying our best to facilitate a move to BUCS.
Thanks to all the supporters who made the trek to Oxford. We had significantly more supporters than Oxford did at their home ground which says a lot about how great this club is!
Kestrels (Men’s IIIs): Jake Parish
The Kestrels have had a very positive season, being both incredibly enjoyable to be a part of and playing to a very high standard. Having brought together a brilliant side including a plethora of experienced Falcs players, CUAFL’s finest and a couple of freshers.
While we didn’t play BUCS this year, a series of mostly very competitive friendlies left us undefeated with a large and highly capable squad going into Varsity. We also secured our third win from 3 against the Falcs this year playing an incredible variety of football putting ourselves in a brilliant position leading up to varsity.
The win was however not to be, an incredibly tight 1-0 loss against a side that has matched their 2s in BUCS all year. A few very strong penalty shouts on our side and feeling very comfortable throughout the game left us feeling very hard done by the result, although some exceptional work between the sticks from Moritz must also be recognised. I cannot recount much more of the game having received a head injury 20 minutes in and not having the heart to watch the replay yet.
Speaking of concussion I must thank Bryn who has been absolutely fantastic to work alongside and play under throughout his tenure. Volunteering to step up and doing a brilliant job in bringing together a group of players into a genuine team that have had a great season, hopefully building towards a huge season for the Kestrels next year.
Merlins (Women’s IIIs): Pauline Pfeuderer
On March 3rd 2024, the inaugural Third Team Women's Football Varsity match - an event that embodies the growth and progress of women's football at Cambridge and beyond was held.
We started our day early, as our coach from the Cambridge University Sports Centre departed at 7 am. We arrived at the Raw Charging Stadium, home to Oxford City FC, with enough time to do a thorough warm up, go through some match tactics and kicked off at 11 am. Our striker Irene Bermudo Báguena scored an early goal in the 5th minute of the match. While it was extremely foggy when we arrived in the morning, the sun came out during the first half of the match which made it even more enjoyable to play this match. Irene scored again in the 14th minute, making it 2-0 for Cambridge very early on during the match. Another beautiful goal from Irene in the 22nd minute brought us in a comfortable lead and closed Irene’s hat trick, and we managed to calm down the match a bit. A goal from our vice-captain Sabrina Ghosh just before the halftime break meant we went into halftime leading 4-0 after 45 minutes of a Cambridge dominated match. Our strategy for the second half was to score some more beautiful goals, keep our defensive play strong and leverage the speed of our wingers to create more opportunities for goals in our offensive play. Just after the 2nd half of the match started, I scored bringing the Merlins to a 5-0 lead in the 51st minute. 12 minutes later, in the 63rd minute I scored bringing the Merlins into a very comfortable 6-0 lead over Oxford’s Phoenixes. In the 84th minute our winger Isabella Romeo scored making it 7-0 for our team just around 5 minutes before the end of the match. We finished the match with a 7-0 win over Oxford’s Third Team and it was an overall great experience, especially as we had incredible support from the Cambridge University Association Football Club’s (CUAFC) other women’s and men’s teams throughout our match (see some celebration photographs at the end of the report).
The Merlins would like to thank all supports within and outside the club for making this day one to remember!
