In a sun-drenched Cuppers finale, Newnham and Pembroke (Newbroke)’s women and non-binary football team sealed ultimate victory in this year’s competition after beating D.E.W. (Darwin, St Edmund’s and Wolfson) 3-1.

Cuppers at Cambridge offers one of the final chances before exams for students to bask in spring sunshine amongst friends, while enjoying top-tier collegiate competition. This year’s women and non-binary final delivered both of these in abundance – in stark contrast to the men’s comparatively subdued affair.

Both finalists earned their place through hard-fought semi-finals: Newbroke dethroned defending champions Jesus in a tense 2-1 victory, whilst D.E.W, for their part, had overcome a team composed of players from Trinity, Trinity Hall and Emmanuel by one goal to nil to book their ticket.

Despite Newbroke’s semi-final heroics, D.E.W were going into this final labelled as firm favourites. The two teams had previously met in the opening game of this year’s league campaign, with D.E.W running out 8-2 victors - how far the Blue and Whites had come in the past few months to be now facing the same opponents in the final of Cuppers.

“Despite Newbroke’s semi-final heroics, D.E.W were going into this final labelled as firm favourites”

It was the underdogs Newbroke, however, that started the stronger side. The reward for their early pressure came swiftly: Anna Hipkiss, marauding down the left, curled a delicious cross into the area where Serena Fernandopulle ghosted in at the far post, to slot home coolly from close range.

Despite falling victim to this early setback, D.E.W were eager to find a quick response, which came a mere five minutes later. Sofia Mori, typically a holding midfielder for the university Eagles side, received the ball on the edge of the box, producing a fantastic strike which arrowed beyond the reach of Julia Wilkinson in the Newbroke goal and into the bottom-right corner: game on. If the opening exchanges were any indication, this clash was threatening to upstage even El Clásico, played in an equally as sunny Barcelona with its own six-goal first-half spectacle, as Sunday’s undisputed thriller.

The next half an hour, however, became a slightly scrappy affair, as both teams struggled to stamp any kind of authority on the game. This was made even more difficult by the blazing heat and the questionable state of the parched Grange Road pitch, which made it increasingly difficult for attractive build-up play to be showcased at its finest. The best chance of this period fell to Newbroke’s Irene Bermudo Báguena, whose goal-bound effort from long-range was carefully palmed away by D.E.W’s goalkeeper.

“the venom of the shot, combined with the sharp glare of the sun, proved too much for the D.E.W goalkeeper”

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. These words must have been playing on repeat inside the head of Bermudo Báguena, who was not to be denied a second time round. In a sweeping move which featured mesmeric footwork from Sakina Dhirani, a goalscorer in this year’s Varsity fixture, and incisive link-up play from Hawa Dar, Báguena found herself in sufficient space to attempt another speculative effort from distance. This time the venom of the shot, combined with the sharp glare of the sun, proved too much for the D.E.W goalkeeper, who could only watch as the ball sailed over her outstretched arms and into the net, thus restoring Newbroke’s lead at the stroke of half-time. Pandemonium ensued both on the pitch and in the stands amongst those who had the fortune of witnessing such a strike.

Following both sets of players’ much needed retreat (albeit temporary) from the insufferable heat, Newbroke once again started quicker out of the blocks and established a commanding two-goal cushion, as the excellent Jules Macome, a late first-half substitute, found themselves free in the opposition box following a set-piece to tidily nestle the ball into the bottom-left corner.

With Newbroke firmly in control of the tie, the match soon settled into midfield attrition, facilitated by the referee’s permissive approach to the physical intensity of the contest. It is also worth noting that the man in the middle was accompanied by unqualified fans of each team as linesmen, brandishing bibs for flags. For a Cuppers final, this appears a concerning organisational lapse, particularly given the men’s fixture between Jesus and Trinity Hall benefited from a full complement of registered officials.

“Newbroke came away deserved champions for the first time in their history as a merged club”

Returning focus to the play, D.E.W. found themselves struggling to break down the resolute defensive shape of Newbroke, whose efforts were buoyed by a raucous contingent of fans and their relentless drum. As D.E.W pressed to salvage the game with intricate yet futile passages of play, Newbroke grew increasingly dangerous on the counter. Striker Eve Godsal, her side’s match-winner against Jesus, and the ever-threatening Bermudo Báguena, found themselves through on goal on multiple occasions, only to be denied by some impressive last-ditch D.E.W defending.

When the final whistle duly sounded, Newbroke came away deserved champions for the first time in their history as a merged club. The joyous scenes at Grange Road culminated in a symbolic trophy lift shared by co-captains Grace Martin (Pembroke) and Wilkinson (Newnham). Both will appear for Newbroke again next year, intent on retaining the title.

And as for that bruising 8-2 defeat in Michaelmas? The memory may linger, but its sting has long since dulled, buried beneath the roar of redemption and the gleam of silverware.