What could have more drama, more nail-biting sleepless-night
inducing tension than the Semi-Finals of the 5-a-side Football
Cuppers? Exams, perhaps. If the matches at the Iffley Road Sports
Complex were lacking in anything it was in atmosphere as the
pressures of Sixth Week started to take their toll. St Catherine’s started with style against Somerville in
the first semi. A cute flick from midfield ruthlessly sliced the
Somerville team apart and Ben Isaacs pounced to put Catz 1-0 up.
Isaacs’ fruitful usage of the ball meant the score soon
multiplied to 2-0 as he royally thwacked a loose ball into the
corner of the net. Somerville tried gamely but too often resorted
to aimless shots from distance, with Catz more versatile and
proficient. Marshalled ably by the vociferous Attree in goal and
with the languid probing of Hardyment providing the instigation,
Catz were like a brand new efficient sports car with more
shots-tothe- pass than the slow, uneconomic old banger that was
Somerville. The second-half opened dramatically. Unaware that the
time-conscious referee had allowed Catz to take a quick kick-off,
the Somerville keeper was walking towards his goal,
back-to-the-ball as a shot was trickling towards the corner of
the unguarded net before he instinctively flung his foot towards
the ball to prevent it crossing the goal line. For the rest of
the half Catz were content to play for time, though Somerville
scored the goal of the day, a superb flowing move combining
defence, midfield and attack before Bennett finished precisely to
make it 2-1. It was but a consolation, as Catz deservedly reached
the final. St Hugh’s took on Magdalen in a more even match. Neither
team dominated a frenetic first half. An early Magdalen shot by
Chris Woodcock was palmed away well by ‘keeper Wilson. Amid
the physicality of the battle Hughs’ twinkle-toed Patterson
stood-out. Rolling his foot over the ball and dropping his
shoulder he consistently created space to enable him to let fly
with several stinging shots which the Magdalen ‘keeper Carl
Saunders did well to block. One 15-yard bullet was brilliantly
tipped over the cross-bar by the stopper who saw the ball very
late. The second half started in the same vein with Saunders
preventing Patterson scoring with a flick. Penalties seemed
inevitable before, with seconds left, Hughs’ Lockwood’s
hopeful toe-poke dribbled in agonising slow motion into the
corner of the net. Can anything really be as dramatic as
football?ARCHIVE: 6th week TT 2004
Hugh’s granted final berth
