Another weekend of college football saw yet more matches played under stormy conditions, but despite this certainly didn’t dampen the amount of exciting action on display across Cuppers and the leagues.

The biggest game of the weekend was undoubtedly a Cuppers semi-final which saw Churchill face off against Queens'. After Churchill’s last gasp 3-2 win over their opponents just before Christmas, a tense encounter was always going to be on offer. Churchill came firing out the blocks with some exciting attacking play which forced some good saves from the Queens keeper, but after the first 15 minutes the game became a cagey affair (not helped by the wind) and both sides struggled to get a foothold in the game.

After half time it was Queens’ turn to start on top with some early pressure which resulted in captain Luke Masom hitting the post with an effort from outside the box. With extra time looking inevitable, an unlikely goal from Queens centre back Daniel Braun broke the deadlock and tapped in from close range after a corner had been flicked on at the near post. Queens’ 1-0 win send them through to the final as the only team so far this season to have prevented Churchill’s clinical attack from finding the back of the net.

In the Shield semi-final, Homerton II eased to a 4-1 victory over Division 4 rivals Girton II and will be eagerly awaiting the result of Pembroke II vs Jesus II this coming weekend to find out their opponents for the final on 7th March. 

The plate also saw its first semi-final, as Girton I hosted Division 2’s bottom team Christs I. Girton, who have had a frustratingly inconsistent league campaign, came out 4-1 winners and will play either Trinity or St Catherine’s in their final. 

The only Division 1 fixture came in the form of a battle of the table clash between Sidney Sussex and a Trinity side with relegation already confirmed. Sidney knew that after their heavy defeat to Robinson last week  they would have to secure a big win to stand any chance of staying up, and against a Trinity side who have been leaking goals all season this was by no means an impossible task.

However, Trinity put in a determined performance to frustrate the hosts which resulted in the visitors securing their first point of the season with a 2-2 draw. This confirms that Sidney Sussex will be relegated to Division 2 for next season after 3 years in the top flight. With both sides looking forward to cup semi-finals they will both be hoping to end a disappointing season with some success.

The other result of note this week came in Division 5 where Caius III impressively beat Peterhouse, who had had a 100% win record before this weekend, 2-1. Caius’ win keeps their hopes of promotion alive and sets up an important fixture with CATS next game week, who are three points ahead of them in second place.