Varsity defeat brings Oxford Fury
Oxford University were the cause of their own undoing on Saturday morning at Marston. Their inability to handle Cambridge’s direct game plan from set pieces saw them lose a game they otherwise dominated. The morning started well enough, with the Oxford second string securing a well-earned victory over their Varsity victims.
The Furies, who have picked up the name of the Badgers this season courtesy of their black and white strip, gave a superlative display of one-touch football to overcome a spirited Tabs outfit. It was Cambridge who took the lead through a messy goal after a scrap in the goalmouth, however it took only a few minutes for Mouche Pearce, last year’s captain, to restore parity.
An excellent throw in caught the Tabs off-guard, and Pearce was lurking behind an inert back four to pounce for the equaliser. Left one-on-one with the keeper, she drew the ball out wide before launching an audacious curling lob over Lisa O’Dea in goal and into the far corner of the net. From that point on, Cambridge struggled to get back into the match, with play flowing freely through Pearce at the base of a midfield diamond and striker Ejiro Oviri causing no end of problems up front.
Oviri’s lightning pace and immense power earned her a hatful of opportunities, and she was unlucky not to walk away with a hat-trick and the match ball. As it was, she scored only one, the winner 15 minutes from the end. Bizarrely, it came from the least likely of her chances; a powerfully drilled shot from out wide just evading O’Dea’s fingertips for a lead that the Furies defended furiously to the end of the 90 minutes.
The second match of the day began with equal promise, as the Dark Blues swarmed all over their lighter-coloured rivals. Stefania Battistelli had the best of the opening exchanges, surging down the flanks only to see her efforts saved by the keeper or in one instance came hurtling back off the upright. The game was being played at a frenetic pace, with all the early chances falling Oxford’s way.
Courtney Hostetler nearly broke the deadlock as her shot into the side-net deceived half the crowd into believing she had scored, while the diminutive Ann Harvey was having an incredible physical influence on the game. Cambridge’s first attempt took half an hour to arrive when Emma Hagen spun and sliced a powerful low shot that was snaffled up by Oxford keeper Sian Williams on the second attempt.
Hagen soon got her revenge, as inept defending off a Cambridge corner allowed her ample space to force a clinical header goal-wards for the opener just moments later. The impressively vocal Cambridge support was in hysterics of joy, and few of them had even looked up by the time Hostetler was brought down in the box seconds after the restart, leaving the referee no choice but to award the penalty.
Hostetler picked herself up to take the kick only for the keeper Georgie Acons to get a firm hand to the ball to divert it onto the crossbar. Unfortunately for Acons, Hostetler’s impeccable reactions left her little to do as she simply ran forward and redirected the ball back to its original destination. With the game level at 1-1 Cambridge began to perk up, though the Oxford defence were more that up to the task.
Despite their efforts, the Blues could not find a way past the Tabs.
The Oxford Furies’ second string edged out their Cambridge rivals.
Inspired by a virtuoso performance by Maggie Murphy, the home side marshalled the play in the run-in to the interval to maintain equity going into the break. Nonetheless it didn’t last much longer, as the Tabs won another corner in the first phase of the second half that captain Claire Hollingsworth converted in an exact repeat of the visiting side’s first goal.
Despite these shambolic defensive errors, Oxford were displaying a guile and finesse that stood out from the route one tactics of their opponents. The difference was epitomised as the Dark Blues scored their second equaliser. Lucinda Mc- Donald received the ball in the box from a long throw-in, and with her back to goal flicked it over both her head and the keeper’s to land in the top corner of the net.
Whether it was a moment of pure magic or a spectacular and wonderful fluke, it captivated the crowd and lifted the home side. Hostetler, who had been the best player on the pitch throughout, raised her game a notch with a series of surging runs, shots and pinpoint crosses that threatened to earn Oxford the lead for the first time in the match. Batistelli was also gifted a chance from a skewed clearance that fell to her in space on the right wing only for her effort to fall into Acons’ hands.
Then, with the clock fast ticking down and extra time seeming almost a certainty, Oxford failed to deal with a Cambridge corner yet again, conceding a free-kick on the edge of the box in the aftermath. Clare Rustad paused briefly and composed herself before delivering a curling kick that nestled into the back of the net.
The hosts, clearly disappointed that a third failure to defend a set-piece had cost them a match they deserved to win, could only watch on in disgust as Cambridge held the ball up in the corner for what seemed like an eternity until the sad truth was announced by the final whistle: Cambridge are Varsity champions.
2nd Mar 2006