English Universities nick a narrow win against Scotland in the Steel City.
England Universities |
1-0 |
Scotland Universities |
Krief 75 |
|
|
Wednesday 8 April 2009
Sheffield United FC hosted higher education representative football on Wednesday as English Universities beat their Scottish counterparts by a single goal, thanks to second half substitute Dominic Krief.
The Leeds Met midfielder raced onto a loose ball in the 75th minute, rounding Ashley Brown in the Scottish goal before coolly placing the ball into the empty net after England had hit the visitors on the break through Charlie Mpi and Marquin Smith.
From the outset, English Universities had looked to get the ball forward quickly, using the aerial threat of Adam Cunnington and the pace of Shane Gill and Steve Davies. The pick of the English chances in the first half fell to Davies, with his low shot producing a good save from Ashley Brown in the Scottish goal and Cunnington who headed wide under pressure from Scott Fusco.
It was all level at the break but the Scots were in the ascendancy at the start of the second half and Aaron Ratchford in the English goal made two excellent saves to keep the scores level.
Whilst both sides created chances, as the game progressed a draw looked like the most probable outcome until Krief pounced to give the English the lead. The Scots then piled forward in hope of a late equaliser, but the English defence held firm to seal the victory.
The effort from the players and coaches of both teams was applauded by George Carney, BUCS Football Development Manager. “The work that goes in to representative football by our volunteers is second to none,” he said.
“Both teams are looked after by dedicated coaches and the players certainly enjoy the experience and will remember these games as it is something they cannot buy or learn from their studies. It is a massive achievement to play representative football and lots of universities can be proud of the players and programmes they are developing to keep raising the standard across the HE sector.”
Matt Holdstock, BUCS Football Development Administrator commented on the standard of the match, “Both teams had players who were at the top of their game, highlighting the excellent calibre of player that the HE sector is now producing. Adding in the traditional Anglo-Scottish rivalry provided good entertainment for spectators and produced an excellent showcase of university football.”
The next match for English Universities will see the squad travel to Guernsey on 27 April where they will hope to replicate last year’s victory in the same fixture.
The Teams
English Universities
Aaron Ratchford – Leeds, Ben Christensen – Northumbria, Alun Griffiths – Leeds, Liam Green – Loughborough (14. Dominic Krief – Leeds Met), Omar Tatriki – Loughborough, Mike Cooper – Chichester (16. Marquin Smith – Nottingham Trent), Steve Davies – UWE Hartpury (15. Scott McCubbin – Nottingham), Ashley Nicholls – East Anglia, Shane Gill – Worcester (17. Charlie Mpi – Loughborough), Adam Cunnington – Northampton (12. Mikel Suarez – Loughborough), Paul Casey – UWE Hartpury (18. Jordan Barnes – Leeds).
Substitutes not used: Lee Molyneaux (UWE Hartpury), David Coombes (Loughborough), Simon Lynn (Birmingham).
Scottish Universities
Ashley Brown – Glasgow, Mark McCullagh – Stirling, Scott Fusco – Edinburgh, Alistair Mackinnon – Edinburgh, Jamie Redman – Edinburgh (15. Oli Antoni – Heriot Watt), Omar Kader – Heriot Watt, Chris O’Day – Glasgow (14. Gavin Malin - Napier), Chris McKee – Stirling, Lars Berger – (17. Peder Beck Friis - Edinburgh), Lee Nicholl – Stirling, Calum Forbes – Stirling.