It was a frustrating day for CUHC, as they were held to a 1-1 at home by OxfordImran Marashli

University of Cambridge 1

University of Oxford 1

BUCS Premier A South, Wilberforce Road Hockey Ground

Cambridge University Hockey Club (CUHC) women’s Blues dug out a hard-fought 1–1 draw in their opening BUCS Premier A South League game of 2017 against their Oxford University Hockey Club (OUHC) adversaries on a bitterly cold Wednesday evening at Wilberforce Road. The hotly-contested encounter provided an entertaining and enticing prelude to March’s Varsity clash, although it was Oxford who were more disappointed to have come away with only a share of the spoils.

Having defeated the Oxonians 2–1 in the away fixture earlier this season, the Light Blues came into the game with a confidence visible from the start. Early Cambridge pressure produced a short corner that was expertly swept home into the corner by Molly Buxton. Buoyed, Cambridge productively exploited the wide channels, with a swashbuckling run from Lucia Corry down the right flank encapsulating the Light Blues’ rigorous interrogation of a somewhat rattled Oxford outfit.

Gradually the Dark Blues started to find their feet after weathering the early Cambridge storm. The away side began to retain possession more and worked the ball across the pitch well, with captain Naomi Kelly orchestrating the tune from in the middle. Bearing down more on the Cambridge D, an off-target tomahawk from Shona McNab indicated the inroads Oxford were creating.

But in spite of the mounting pressure, it was Cambridge who had the next clear goal-scoring opportunity. Emily Thorpe’s blistering counter-attack burst through the heart of the Oxford team to set up Hatty Darling, whose effort was well smothered by Rachel Dellar in the Oxford goal.

Oxford continued to hunt for an equaliser that, for all their industry, looked like it would never come. Despite winning a series of short corners, a combination of inspired goalkeeping from Freddie Briscoe and dogged Cambridge defending ensured the two teams were level at half time.

“I think Oxford should be worried because we’re going to go out there even harder, and our fitness should be immaculate by Varsity.”

Faye Kidd, CUHC captain

The second half continued much in the same vein. Oxford confidently manoeuvred the ball and used the wide spaces effectively to prowl in and around the Cambridge D, yet they struggled to convert their territorial ascendancy into goals. A succession of short corners came and went without the Dark Blues managing to find the backboard, despite the brains trust of McNab, Sophie Spink, Annie Koehli and Maddie Burnell trying a number of tactical variations to unlock the Cambridge defence.

The Light Blues remained resolute, often channelling Dark Blue pressure into congested central areas where Oxford’s attacking waves broke up against the Light Blues’ defensive barriers. Skipper Faye Kidd led by example, commenting after the match that “we’re a very tight-knit group, and we put our bodies on the line for each other on the pitch.”

Nevertheless, it was clear as the second half wore on that Oxford had the upper hand, and Cambridge were restricted to more sporadic periods of offensive play. The one-goal lead looked ever more precarious, and the breakthrough Oxford had been seeking duly arrived. A ball through the middle escaped the clutches of the Cambridge defence, allowing Sophie Shakespeare to race through and calmly dispatch the ball past Briscoe for a merited equaliser.

With their tails up, Oxford scented blood, and were a whisker away from snatching a victory in the game’s dying moments. After yet another spurned Oxford short corner, a moment of panic in the Cambridge defence gifted Imogen Brown the ball in the middle of the D, but her effort on goal was shut down by a Light Blue backline that fought tooth and nail to ensure the Cantabrigians got something from the game.

In the match’s final play, Oxford pierced through Cambridge’s right wing only for Alexa Copeland’s effort to trickle across the goal without anyone at the far post to convert, leaving Cambridge hearts in their mouths.

Speaking to Varsity after the game, CUHC captain Faye Kidd reflected: “Our performance wasn’t as good this time. We finally got our new coach, Craig, and it was his first day, so putting into practice things with the new coach has been brilliant. Now we’ve got 53 days until we play them again and a lot to work on, but I’m generally positive.”

The Homertonian added: “I think Oxford should be worried because we’re going to go out there even harder, and our fitness should be immaculate by Varsity.” Looking forward, she said: “We’d like to get the ball in the net a bit more. We had really good chances, but we just need to work on our final product in the D.”

CUHC: Briscoe, Bradley, Darling, Kidd (c), Moore, Thorpe, Corry, Buxton, Marsh, Brown, Burrows, Padt, Bevan, Shears, Cox

Scorers: Buxton

OUHC: Dellar, Kelly (c), Spink,  Hughes, Donovan, McNab, Stewart, Brown, Koehli, Burnell, Whitaker, Bailey-Williams, Shakespeare, Copeland, Harrison

Scorers: Shakespeare