In the glorious sunshine at Wilberforce Road, spectators from Selwyn, St Catharine’s, Trinity and Fitzwilliam gathered to see the culmination of Hockey Cuppers. St Catharine’s were the overwhelming favourites in all three matches, fielding nine blues players in total, and they did not disappoint, scoring 14 goals and only conceding two.

The Men’s final was up first and Selwyn provided the opposition. The game started quite evenly as both teams looked to get into their stride but after the first five minutes it became apparent that Selwyn would have their work cut out when St Catharine’s scored their first goal from close range. They doubled their lead soon after with a fantastic deflection from a short corner. Despite some excellent saves from Selwyn’s goalkeeper Will Scott, their opposition’s pace proved too strong, as St Catharine’s went into the break 3-0 up by scoring a powerful strike from a turnover.

St Catharine’s did not disappoint, scoring 14 goals and only conceding two

The break did not help Selwyn much as they conceded again 20 seconds after the restart. To make matters worse, St Catherine’s then fired home from two successive short corner routines, scoring first from a deflection and then from a slipped pass back to the injector to make them 6-0 up. Harry Leng then capped off their performance with a fine individual effort to go 7-0 ahead. However, Selwyn’s persistent effort on the pitch and their supporters’ constant encouragement was rewarded as Adam Shafiq scored a consolation just before the final whistle to leave the score 7-1.

Taking confidence from the men’s dominant display, St Catharine’s put in an equally strong performance against a good Trinity-Fitzwilliam side in the Women’s final. They were clinical in attack and their first goal came midway through the first half, when Beth Barker deflected a ferociously quick pass past the keeper. Trinity-Fitzwilliam spent the majority of the first half defending as St Catharine’s had countless attacking opportunities from short corners and open play.

This pressure culminated in the goal of the day from Sophia Padt when she picked up the ball on the 25-metre line, beat two defenders and scored with a flick, leaving St Catharine’s 2-0 up at half-time. Trinity-Fitzwilliam got increasingly into the game during the second half, as Rhianna Miller kept on picking out superb passes for her forwards, but their final touch was often lacking. Nevertheless, this was not the case for St Catharine’s who scored a further 3 times in 5 minutes to put the result beyond doubt.

At 5-0 with 8 minutes to play, the game was temporarily suspended after a nasty injury. When play eventually resumed, Trinity-Fitzwilliam finally got the goal that they had been pushing for as Izzy Austin tapped in a rebound. However, it would be St Catharine’s who had the final say, scoring a short corner with a minute to go, leaving them as 6-1 winners.

The Mixed Team final was by far the closest game as all the players from St Catharine’s and the Trinity-Fitzwilliam women returned to the pitch for their second match of the day. The fresh legs of the Trinity-Fitzwilliam men contributed to their side making the better start, as they fired several shots wide in the opening exchanges. Trinity-Fitzwilliam really should have gone 1-0 up after James Campkin found himself unmarked in the shooting circle, only to be denied by a fantastic double save from Robbie Zhao. Then against the run of play, St Catharine’s took the lead on the counter attack when Georgie Jones tapped in a cross from close range.

St Catharine’s almost scored again just before half time but a brave stick save on the line from a Trinity-Fitzwilliam defender kept the score at 1-0. The second half was a scrappy affair but still entertaining as golden opportunities were squandered at both ends. Demetris Stylainou’s monstrous aerials to his Trinity-Fitzwilliam teammates consistently threatened to catch out their opposition’s defence, but the forwards could not use these opportunities to find an equaliser. St Catharine’s were victorious yet again, taking the Mixed Cuppers crown with a 1-0 win.

All three games were entertaining encounters and there were some high quality skills on display, particularly from St Catharine’s. Their emphatic victories and impressive squad depth suggests that they will be the team to beat for the next couple of seasons.