1.30pm 30 November 2022
BUCS, Midlands 1A
Cambridge University 2 Oxford University 1 (att 17)
Cambridge and Oxford have met regularly in varsity football matches since the 1870s. The annual game was held at Wembley Stadium until well into the 1980s, although these days the venue is usually a nearby Football League ground.
This season, as well as the showpiece fixture, their first elevens are in the same BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport) league. They might attract crowds to the varsity fixture, but the attendance at the King's College and Selwyn College ground was small.
But while the setting might have been more modest than Wembley Stadium, or even the Abbey or Kassam Stadiums, the game was worthy of a bigger venue.
Oxford started well, and a penalty for a trip by the Cambridge goalkeeper gave them a deserved lead. But Cambridge hit back and it was 1-1 by half time.
The second half was very entertaining for the neutral. Oxford were the better side, but Cambridge were organised and determined and somehow kept them at bay. Not only that, but they pounced on a defensive error to score what turned out to be the winning goal.
Oxford's efforts to get back level grew increasingly frantic as the final whistle approached. Defeat was harsh, they'd hit the post three times, but it was a hard-earned reward for Cambridge's effort and commitment.
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