Gonville & Caius I left it late to bag their first league victory of their CUAFL Premier League season, clinching a well-earned 1–0 away victory over Churchill I with a mere three minutes left on the clock on a rainy Saturday afternoon.

Both teams came into the game licking their wounds from previous defeats: the home side only had one point to show for their efforts from the first three games of the season, whereas Caius had suffered a chastening 4–1 home defeat to St John’s I last weekend. However, the Caians’ performance was simply unrecognisable from that, as they completely dominated possession, corners and shots on goal but almost allowed some wasteful finishing to deny them the win.

In truth, the first half was a truncated and somewhat tedious affair. The wet conditions were not conducive to aesthetically pleasing football, and both teams struggled to retain the ball and apply consistent pressure.

Yet it was Caius who had more of the ball and the best glimpses at goal in the opening half.  Angus Bain’s enterprising work on the left-hand side almost allowed him to creep into the Churchill box, only for a sterling sliding tackle from Shreyas Vora to deny him as he prepared to pull the trigger. Later in the half, Bain once again found himself latching onto a lofted ball in behind the Churchill defence and bearing down for a one-on-one with the keeper, only for the home side’s captain Robin Platts to nip the ball away with a finely timed last-ditch sliding challenge. 

However, the game struggled to get going as injuries and stoppages made for a disjointed half. Caius’ Marcus Fletcher had to come off after a nasty clash of heads left him with a cut to his eye while, shortly after his heroic goal-saving tackle, Churchill captain Platts had to be helped off the pitch with damage to his hamstring.

Both teams’ rhythm was disrupted and few clear-cut chances emerged. Nonetheless, Churchill’s keeper Rob Smyth – who was in fine form throughout the afternoon – was called upon in the closing stages of the first half  to tip a drive from Bain past the post and to gather another shot from Rob Melling before the break.

Caius’ profligacy continued after the break. A set piece floated into the box from Callum Parker made its way to Tuohy, who was left completely unmarked at the back post. However, he could only skew his effort wide in what was by far the match’s best opportunity. 

St John’s on top form to sink Caius

The only thing sparing Caius’ offensive blushes was Churchill’s inability to find any potency going forward. Every time a Caius attack broke down, Churchill struggled to advance on the counter-attack, with Caius centre-backs Daniel Voice and Mark Harvey snuffing out any danger that the isolated Ludovico Sappa-Cohen tried to pose up front, while Churchill’s midfield was second best in the vast majority of tackles and second balls from headers, compounding a rather toothless attacking threat.

And yet, for all of Caius’ dominance, the goal still would not come. Adam Miller came off the bench to add some strength and pace going forward, which made a real difference to Caius’ attacking play. Churchill were mostly camped in their own half as Caius retained composed possession, and were limited to sporadic set-piece chances, with Harry Holt going close on one occasion. Nonetheless, with only a few minutes remaining, the game appeared to be meandering towards a goalless draw.

And then Caius struck.

Parker crossed in a free-kick from the right. Smyth advanced to punch it clear but succeeded in sending it up more than away. From the ensuing scramble, Jacques laid the ball back for Kush Purohit to fire the ball home from six yards past the exposed Smyth, cueing an exuberant shirt-flinging celebration that must surely rank as the most cathartic moment of Caius’ season. Churchill’s dogged defence was finally breached and, having not offered much for 85 minutes of the game, there was simply not enough time for them to come back.

Churchill’s anaemic attacking display was evident in the scathing post-match assessment of Churchill skipper Platts. Speaking exclusively to Varsity, he reflected: “I’m a bit disgusted. We weren’t in the game at all. There was a lack of commitment; people seemed not to care that much. It looked like it was just a kick around in the park today. We’re missing quite a few players, but it doesn’t matter, we just weren’t on par today. They’re not a better team than us but, at the end of the day, they deserved their result.”

In stark contrast, Gonville & Caius’ injured and watching captain Ethan Sorrell was beaming, although also relieved: “I was confident we were still going to get the goal. I was a bit weary by that point, I have to say, but we looked on top the whole game. They were giving up, and we knew we would get the goal eventually. It wasn’t our best shooting performance of the season, but in all areas of the pitch we definitely controlled the game, and when we finally got the goal it just eased the tension.”

Churchill I: Smyth, Duherich, Calbet-Rípodas, Hollands, Platts (c), Holland, Gough, Fernandez, Sappa-Cohen, Seete, Holt

Substitutes: Vora, Dai

Gonville & Caius I: Steinemann, Jacques, Voice, Harvey, Fletcher, Purohit, Smith, Parker, Melling (c), Bain, Tuohy

Substitutes: Miller, Khan

Referee: Tom Newton