Selwyn I earned their revenge over St John’s I on a rainy Saturday morning with a dominant 5–2 home win against the side that had ousted them from CUAFL Cuppers tournament a fortnight ago.

With the Johnians having followed up their victory over the Selwynites with a comfortable victory over Gonville & Caius I last week, the away side were in a confident mood, inexplicably listening to Michael Bublé in the changing rooms as they looked to extend their unbeaten run to three matches. But a reinvigorated Selwyn side never looked like securing anything but their three points of the CUAFL Premier League season, as they played with fluency and newfound confidence after their fine point against reigning champions Queens’ I last week.

The Johnians did begin the match on the front foot, with strong work down the right wing from Michael Samuelson-Beulah putting Selwyn under pressure, and giving the away side the chance to use the monumental throws of Ben McCleery to test the Selwyn defence. But, as the torrential rain poured down, McCleery seemed unable to get sufficient grip and Selwyn, buoyed by the unavailability of St John’s most threatening avenue of attack, drove forward with fast and cohesive passing moves.

And it was through such an inch-perfect pass that they took the lead: veteran Dave Hawes slid striker Sam Makin through who, after having rounded keeper Dan Osborne, stroked the ball home. 

The tough conditions were hampering the quality of the football on display, and the majority of the half was characterised by tight-fought battles in the centre of the park. Heavy challenges from Selwyn’s Josh Brocklesby and Joe Hudson were more than matched by the Johnians’ Ned Gompertz. 

However, both sides still carried a threat: moments after Selwyn winger Charlie Stone fired a shot agonisingly wide of the right-hand post after excellent work from Luke Diana, St John’s found the equaliser. A clever through-ball bisected the home side’s centre-backs and found Sam Smith, whose powerful low shot was somehow kept out by a strong right hand from Selwyn keeper Keir Baker. But it was pushed out into the path of the onrushing Johnian attacker, who tapped home to level the scores on the stroke of half-time. 

Selwyn denied maiden win by late Queens’ equaliser

Disappointed to have been pegged back just before the interval, Selwyn rallied and subjected the away side to spells of intense pressure which the Johnians struggled to match at the other end. Shortly after Alex Thompson’s dangerous cross was superbly cleared by Aiden Shields, Brocklesby’s well-measured pass found Makin, who beat the offside trap and notched his second of the match with a calm finish.

Crisp passing across the midfield  and balls down the channels kept the Selwyn side looking potent, and this time it was Thompson who found himself with plenty of time to slide the ball under Osborne to add the home side’s third. And while Baker was forced into pulling off the save of the match as the industrious work of Charlie Selway and Gompertz in midfield gave Euan Salter the opportunity to drive a fierce volley that the Selwyn keeper’s fingertips kept out, the Johnians were struggling to hold onto the ball. 

Their profligacy is possession was indeed evident as Selwyn grabbed their fourth: a misplaced pass towards the left wing saw the home side’s fullback Diana seize upon the loose ball, drive forward and whip in a teasing cross which Thompson stroked home to take the score to 4–1.

Stunned, the Johnians looked to fight back. A goalmouth scramble following a rare McCleery long throw saw the ball trickle narrowly past the Selwyn post, and they were unable to capitalise on poor handling from Baker as he spilt a routine catch from a Gompertz freekick. And, despite struggling to maintain a consistent threat, they did pull a goal back as Selway skipped inside and fired a ‘worldie’ that nestled perfectly in the top corner. 

Yet Selwyn were soon to nullify any potential threat of an unlikely St John’s comeback with a ‘worldie’ of their own: picking up the ball in the centre of the park, Matthew Sullivan drove forward and unleashed a swerving, dipping piledriver that zoomed past Osborne before he could react. 

Such a sumptuous strike – worthy of winning any game  – capped off a fine morning for Selwyn. Indeed, as winger Charlie Stone told Varsity after the game: “It was a much-needed win really after our poor start to the season, and it was nice to get it against the Johnians after they knocked us out of Cuppers. But we’re starting to come into our own – we were so unlucky not to nick all three points against Queens’ – and this has given us a real platform to build on and I’m confident we can go on to claim a few more scalps, especially in this league that still looks like it could be anyone’s come the end of the season.”

Selwyn I: Baker, Diana, Hudson (c), Roweth, Dodd, Brocklesby, Sullivan, Hawes, Thompson, Stone, Makin

Substitutes: Higgins Toon, Robertson, Parkins

St John's I: Osborne, Salter, McCleery, Shields, Campbell, Hearn, Selway, Gompertz (c), Samuelson-Beulah, Newbitt, Smith