Catz bruise Hugh's ambition
On a freezing afternoon, high-flying St Hugh's were beaten in a game pitching together two of the form sides in the division.
Catz went into the tie on the back of successive victories, having scored 11 goals in the process, while Hugh's impressive unbeaten run in the league had seen them take up second spot coming into the game. Two Catz strikes, from Ramsey Jourdan and Dan Congela, severely hampered Hugh's chances of ending the season in top spot.
For Hugh's, an injury to leading scorer Bob Forder forced a reshuffle in the line-up, with Josh Green ploughing a lone furrow up front.
Catz lined up in similar fashion, with Jourdan being fed by the ever-dangerous Rob England and captain Owen "golden boy" Price.
One interesting aside from the proceedings was the sight of twin brothers playing on opposing teams. Archie and Will Hardiment, of Catz and Hugh's respectively, are both left-footed, but that is where the similarities end, with Archie a skillful and delicate attack-minded midfielder, and Will a hugely dependable defender with a dangerous long throw.
Having begun the game on opposite flanks, on-lookers were treated to the sight of brother marking brother when Archie moved his way over to Catz' right wing.
From the outset Catz set out to make things as difficult as possible for the Hugh's forwards, with Owen Price calling for no-nonsense defending, and his back four responding superbly.
Chances were few in a frenetic first half, with Catz shading the attacking play. Shots by Archie Hardiment and Price were saved by Hugh's goalkeeper Will Wilson.
The deadlock was nearly broken on the stroke of halftime when Jourdan was put clean through on goal, but put the ball the wrong side of the left-hand post with only the keeper to beat.
The second half brought more goals and drama. With merely a minute to go, a neat one-two on the edge of the box put Jourdan through. This time he made no mistake, crashing the ball in from 12 yards.
An immediate response came in the way of an Olly Thomas equaliser, when he reacted quickest when Phil Hudson spilled a deflected shot.
Things got worse for Catz when Ben Isaacs was shown a red card for appearing to elbow Josh Hantman in the face off the ball, sparking a 10-man brawl.
Despite being a man short, St. Catherine's continued to press, and were rewarded with the winner in the closing stages. A high ball into the box swirled in the wind and dropped beyond the despairing reach of Wilson. The ball found the unlikely head of right-back Dan Congela, who celebrated in imperious style.
Hugh's never got back into the game, and but for a superb save from Wilson at the other end after a fine solo run from Price, Catz may have increased the margin of victory.
At the final whistle St. Catherine's were jubilant, and one might wonder whether their league position belies a team in a rich vein of form. Hugh's, however, must be wondering how they failed to capitalise on their numerical advantage.
27th Jan 2005