Homerton I clinched a fine 3–2 away victory over Gonville & Caius II on Saturday afternoon, with a spectacular late volley the fitting end to a thrilling and topsy-turvy game in the Cambridge University Association Football League (CUAFL) Division 3 game at Barton Road Sports Ground.

The last-gasp winner gave the away side their second consecutive victory to keep up their unbeaten start to the season, while Caius will be frustrated by their second narrow defeat in as many games, particularly because this was a game from which they should have taken all three points.

However, it was Homerton who made the first mark on the game, taking the lead thanks to a fine first-half goal from Nick Jones. The battles on the pitch were intense: any forward forays from either side were limited by a midfield stalemate, with the industry in the centre of the park from each side more or less cancelling each other out.

But the match's continually swinging pendulum eventually began to shift the Caians’ way, and it was they who found the next goal. Striker Adam Miller launched a piledriver of a shot from 25 yards out which cannoned back off the crossbar, and it was Caius’s Chris Rutter who was the sharpest to react: he tucked away the rebound from a tricky angle to ensure that the two sides were level at the half-time break.

And following the interval, it was the home side who were the quickest out of the starting blocks, with Marcus Fletcher scoring a superbly taken goal to give Caius the lead for the first time in the match. Played in by a sweetly timed through-ball from midfield, he kept his composure and, faced with a Homerton defender from around 30 yards out, he advanced, beat his man and rifled the ball into the top corner of the goal, leaving the Homerton keeper with no chance whatsoever.

Yet although the advantage was now with Caius, it was Homerton who managed to create and take the next clear goal-scoring opportunity, from which the equaliser arrived. The away side's main threat, Jones, managed to beat the Caius offside trap and maintain his composure, rounding Caius’s keeper Ethan Sorrell and tapping home to bag a brace. At 2–2, both teams had now both trailed and led, and the outcome was once again on a knife edge with only the last quarter of the game to play.

It was, therefore, perhaps fitting that it was a flash of brilliance which won such a hard-fought game. A Homerton set piece was only partially cleared by the Caius defence, with the ball looping up into the air near the edge of the penalty area. As it began its descent, Chinedum Echeta steadied himself underneath it and unleashed a sweetly struck volley that crashed into the back of the net past Sorrell's despairing dive. 

With minutes to go on the clock, Caius refused to go down without a fight. The Homertonians, under the cosh, had to survive some late attacks from the home side, one of which led to a moment of severe contention.

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A melee in the Homerton box ended up with a clash of bodies that left several players reeling, including Caius’s Rutter, who was left clutching his leg on the turf. Homerton cried for a foul; Caius appealed vociferously for a penalty. All eyes turned to the referee, Theo Ashcroft, who blew his whistle out of concern for Rutter's injury but did not satisfy Caius’s claims, citing the number of bodies that had impeded his view of the incident.

An inconclusive discussion ended up with Homerton sportingly giving the ball back to Caius, but it was a moment of controversy that the home side bitterly lamented as they were unable to break down the Homerton defence before the final whistle.

Homerton’s skipper, Toby Brown, was in laconic mood for the post-match interview but was clearly delighted to come away with the spoils. “At the end of the day, three points is what it’s about. It definitely wasn’t a penalty. We’re looking forward to winning more matches, scoring more goals and getting more three points.”

Speaking to Varsity at the end of the game Caius captain Dom Jacques, on the other hand, had a bit more to say: “We got robbed of the game. We controlled the game for long periods of time and kept the pressure in the Homerton half, but credit to them for taking their chances well. It was three goals out of three shots, I think. We’ve got them in the Cuppers next week, so hopefully revenge will come.”

Looking to the future, though, Jacques felt bullish: “We got a really good Cuppers draw against a few weak teams like St John’s, Jesus, Emmanuel, Robinson and Queens’, so we should be getting through to that final quite easily.”

Gonville & Caius II: Sorrell, Rutter, Fletcher, Ashton, Blyton, Miller, Jacques (c), Neal, Harvey, Wells, Newman-Sanders

Substitutes: Pang, Schlindwein

Homerton I: Maroy, Jones, Boughton, Feucaltee, Cawthorne, Fryer, Echeta, Soyinka, Brown (c), Nestore, Patwary

Substitutes: Dodd

Referee: Theo Ashcroft

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