OxBridge Games 2007: Football

It was the tie of the year. The match that every CUMaS footballer had been preparing for. Captain Yew Hong had his team all ready and fired up for the match.

And then the rain came. Unable to use a proper football pitch (through no fault of our Oxford counterparts), the substitute field came in the form of a soggy rugby pitch, which caused no more than a few in the team to feel downcast.

The strong winds put the Light Blues under tremendous pressure from the start. Like a twelfth man for Oxford, it took the long out of long balls. Heavy pressure from the Oxford strikers put the backline constantly under pressure. The CUMaS backline did well to keep them at bay for the opening period of the game, albeit with a little help from the linesman’s flag.

Cambridge got a massive boost in the 17th minute when in a rare Cambridge attack, the referee awarded a penalty for handball. Ju Xing’s powerful strike was unfortunately deemed too high.

Oxford then scored two quick successive goals. The first came after the Oxford striker beat the offside trap to slot in neatly. The second came in a defensive mix up, and the shot unfortunately deflected of Alex Teo and beat the ‘keeper. 2-0 to the home side at half time.



The wind continued through the second half and was to our advantage. It was a scrappy affair with both sides tussling for the ball in midfield. But Cambridge were not to be denied. A fortunate goal by Kevin Lau raised hopes, and later on, a good through ball finished by Voon Kiat leveled the scores. Cambridge was jubilant and in confident mood.

Oxford then pushed forward in search of a winner, and they found it in the 82nd minute when Cambridge’s failure to clear the ball gave Oxford the chance to score with a well taken shot.

Overall, it was a well balanced match and a good game for both sides. Cambridge will feel a little aggrieved by the result, but the close score line gives them confidence for the return match next year.



Written by Ian Chin