Jesus’s penalty heist dramatically ended Trinity Hall’s Cuppers fairytale after the Division 2 underdogs had largely controlled an ultimately goalless 90 minutes. Penalty heroics from Hamish MacGregor broke Trinity Hall hearts, as the veteran keeper pulled off two super saves to seal a red and black triumph. Over 6 months of Cuppers graft came down to spot kick sudden death, where 5 nerveless Jesus scores from 6 attempts silenced an overwhelmingly pro-Trinity Hall crowd.

A 0-0 full time scoreline likely flattered the eventual champions, who enjoyed the game’s best chances and defended with exceptional resolve, but were forced onto the back foot for much of the first half and the near-entirety of the second. Despite being a footballing David to Jesus’s Goliath, Trinity Hall – hovering three points above relegation in Division 2 – dominated possession and creativity throughout against the undefeated Premier Division outfit, yet couldn’t quite fashion a decisive opening.

“Ozer was everywhere in the opening half, causing mayhem with mazy solo runs and lovely link-up play with the excellent Jamie Dunne.”

On a parched Grange Road pitch in questionable condition, bobbles were always going to pose a barrier to quality build-up play, and so it proved in an end-to-end start. One of the matches’ central subplots was the battle of the Blues superstars, as Cambridge’s top scorer Kai La-Trobe Roberts faced off against the light blues’ most prolific assister, Deniz Ozer. Trinity Hall’s Ozer was the first to stamp his quality on the game, notching the match’s first shot on target with a whipped free kick after 6 minutes, before Jesus swiftly responded with a flowing move down the left flank that drew a fine save out of Blues shot stopper Aram Sarkissian.

Ozer was everywhere in the opening half, causing mayhem with mazy solo runs and lovely link-up play with the excellent Jamie Dunne. His Blues compatriot Kai came close to putting Jesus ahead in the 32nd minute, bursting through the black and white defence only to be thwarted by Sarkissian’s decisive last-ditch goalkeeping. For most of the half however, a Jesuan attack that had bagged eight goals across quarter and semi-final thrashings were kept quiet, thanks to a relentless defensive shift from Trinity Hall’s skipper Ollie Hardman, who played his heart out alongside the impassable Murdo Macgregor.

As the first half wound to a close, Trinity Hall were clearly commandeering proceedings, yet the Jesus backline held impressively firm against ever-mounting waves of Ozer-inspired attacks. As the outstanding Boris Spasojevic expertly marshalled the defensive troops at one end, Jesus managed to mount a rare attacking charge on the brink of halftime, captain Isaac Ogunyemi teasing a cross into his number ten who whistled a volley over the bar.

After a physical opening 45, scoreline honours remained even between Trinity Hall’s possessional control and Jesus’s greater clinicality. In the second half, a gulf in momentum quickly opened as Trinity Hall ramped up the tempo, and Jesus’ number two soon found himself yellow-carded after scything down a sparkling dribble from Ozer. The Trinity Hall talisman almost helped break the deadlock moments later, after a downward header off one of his many tempting corners necessitated a goal line clearance. Frustration began to mount as Jesus were rendered increasingly passive, encapsulated by the competition’s top-scorer La-Trobe Roberts kicking the ball away at his opponents throw-in.

An immense, physical effort from Jesus somehow managed to stave off the Trinity Hall onslaught, spearheaded by an irrepressible Dunne and Ozer. The latter continued to carve out non-existent pockets of space, compelling the Jesus captain to take a yellow card for a cynical challenge that halted the dancing midfielder.

In the dying moments of normal time, Jesus abruptly overturned the run of play and threatened to snatch the latest of winners. There were audible gasps as the red and black’s number eleven rifled an edge of the area effort inches wide, before La-Trobe Roberts came close with a powerful dribble and driven strike from distance.

“90 minutes of nil-nil complete; let the penalties begin”

As the referee’s whistle screeched out full time, neither side had managed to make the net bulge; Jesus failing to pounce on their counter-attacking opportunities, and Trinity Hall unable to convert dominance into clear-cut chances. 90 minutes of nil-nil complete; let the penalties begin.

Spot kicks are always a cruel lottery, a zero-sum game that tests composure to the limit. With hearts in mouths and hopes on the line, Trinity Hall’s most capped player in history stepped up to start the shoot out, and every ounce of Murdo Macgregor’s nous was on display as he coolly slotted home. La-Trobe Roberts responded by ramming the ball into the bottom left, before Ozer and Jesus’s captain belted their respective attempts into the back of the net.

Heartrates spiked in the stands when Hamish Macgregor’s phenomenal full stretch dive denied Ben James, giving Spasojevic a perfect opportunity to land a potentially match-defining blow from the spot. But Jesus’s number 8 dragged his pressure penalty well wide, the score still all square.

Both sides calmly buried their fourth penalties, but the tension then ramped back up during the final attempts of the first five. Trinity Hall’s Sarkissian slammed in a perfect penalty, only to be called back by the referee for a premature run-up – but the ice-cool keeper replied by rifling the ball into the bottom right. Knowing he had to score to keep his side’s Cuppers ambitions alive, Jesus’s number 6 took a huge run up, stuttered, and slotted the ball home.

“Jesus’s Cuppers dreams resting in his boots”

Five rounds of fight and over 450 minutes of football would be decided by sudden death. Trinity Hall’s Jake Szekeres – who had been tremendous throughout – was the first to face up, sending his effort towards the right-hand corner – only to see it pawed away by Macgregor’s triumphant dive.

With Jesus’s Cuppers dreams resting in his boots, the red and white’s number 11 curled the ball towards the very far left of the goalmouth, where it pinged into the post – and eventually spun over the line. Jesus jubilant; Trinity Hall despondent.

A mighty Jesus penalty performance on college sport’s most pressurised stage had trumped 90 fantastic but fruitless minutes from Trinity Hall. Red and black trophy ribbons wrapped up a phenomenal season for one of the forces in college football; Jesus’s third Cuppers title the culmination of an unbeaten league season and a rampant road to the final. For Trinity Hall, a 42nd year of Cuppers pain may initially be a bitter pill to swallow after such a lion-hearted display, but a gutting finale should take nothing away from a Cuppers journey that was the stuff of underdog dreams.