IF St. Anne were a football fan, as opposed to being the patron saint of knitting, she would surely find her college first team incredibly perplexing.
The home side demonstrated again why they have infuriated spectators this season. Their stylish victory over Brasenose. in a repeat of last year’s Cuppers final, showed that they are capable of wreaking havoc over their opponents, but they are yet to find any consistency, having lost to Christ Church in their opening game.
Before kick off, Brasenose bemoaned the absence of six first team players, and for good reason. Immediately, St. Anne’s exploited the away side’s makeshift defence when the impressive Jacob Lloyd continued his good form by scoring his fourth goal of the season.
Following Robbie McDonald’s whipped in corner, the striker’s flailing leg diverted the ball beyond the arms of Brasenose’s outstretched ‘keeper to make it 1-0. Rather than celebrating, Lloyd looked surprised, either because of the fortuitous nature of his touch, or by the amount of room he was given by the hapless Brasenose defence. Immediately afterwards, Brasenose replicated this blunder- luckily for them, St. Anne’s were unable this time to toe poke it into the back of the net.
Following this second error, the Brasenose WAG contingent arrived in all their Primark glory. Unfortunately, their presence did little to revitalise their players, who continued to struggle against the home side, particularly in aerial contests.
At the back, St. Anne’s were authoritative and organised, with Fox and Hollindale towering over the Brasenose strikers. The away side’s only opportunity of the first half came from midfielder Yeoh, whose determined run resulted in a misdirected shot which was ultimately of no concern to the keeper. By this stage, the most vocal Brasenose WAG was channelling her energies into a phone call.
If total aerial domination was not enough, St. Anne’s then proved stylish on the counter attack, stringing sixteen passes together only for midfielder Stuart Clark to shoot wide in the thirtieth minute. Nonetheless, the home side stretched their lead shortly afterwards when McDonald impressively beat his man before side footing it into the back of the net. Brasenose restarted with greater pride and vigour, competing strongly against Steve and Stuart Clark for balls in the middle of the park. In turn, St. Anne’s became complacent, abandoning their urgency that had served them so well in the first half.
A clumsy challenge on Yeoh offered Brasenose the chance to reduce their deficit to one goal, but the tame free kick that followed gave keeper Butler no trouble. Shortly afterwards, the visiting No. 9 penetrated the St. Anne’s defence, only to be denied by a parry from Mike Butler. Whereas Brasenose did not take these chances, the home side were alert enough to inflict further humiliation on their opponents by adding two more goals in the final fifteen minutes.
If St. Anne’s are proving to be Oxford’s Liverpool, then Ed Border has aptly been nicknamed Peter Crouch by his team mates. Like the England striker, Border has a deceptively good touch, demonstrating this to great effect by scoring the home side’s third goal. Having received the ball with his back against the goal, the tall forward swiftly turned his defender, before comprehensively beating the ‘keeper.
Border’s strike quashed any hope of a Brasenose comeback, with the home side resuming their dominance over visibly deflated opponents. Jacob Lloyd’s second goal of the game scored made the score 4-0, reversing the score of last year’s Cuppers final. Whilst this moment of revenge will undoubtedly satisfy St. Anne’s, the three points will matter much more if they are serious in their quest for silverware.
Lloyd banks three points for Anne’s
