3/12/25 Men’s Blues 3-1 Nottingham Trent 2s

Men’s Blues 3 - 1 Nottingham Trent (II)

Goals: Jesse, Trizzy Jr, Deniz

Assists: Deniz, Jesse (x2)

MOTM: Deniz

DOTD: Notts no. 6

Last day of term. Triple header at Grange Road. What a day it was set out to be. With both the women’s teams winning their respective fixtures, all eyes turned to the men’s Blues for the final game of the day. Looking to impress all of the CUAFC ultras (who were lured in by the £2 pints) and bounce back from a frustrating loss last week, a fantastic game was brewing. But with a relatively thin squad, it was going to be tough. After a strongly-worded team talk by Blatchey, it was time for kick off.

Right from the off, it was clear that the Blues were the better team. Fuelled by the Cambridge female persuasion in the stands, the boys were winning every 50/50 and playing some dazzling football. Despite the dominance, proper chances were few and far between, except from a sweetly-struck long shot by Jesse and some great runs by AK which were very unfairly judged offside. However, completely against the run of play, Aram decided to play the ball straight to the Notts striker who couldn’t quite believe his eyes, and finished into an open net. Nevertheless, spirits remained high and the boys didn’t let up. Just minutes later, a twisting and turning Deniz was brought down in the box for a penalty. Being the warm-hearted captain that he is, he passed the ball over to Jesse, who slotted it away to equalise. The tempo didn’t drop and the back 5 remained solid as ever, until Aram quite literally bugged out after receiving a back pass on the edge of the box. Noticing his confusion, one of the Notts attackers nicked the ball off him. Thinking the ball was still at his feet, Aram swung a boot, bringing the attacker down for a clear penalty. Up stepped Notts’ captain. Led by a very vocal (and drunk) Toby Stewart, the ultras managed to put him off enough to slot the penalty well wide. Aram breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Going into the second half, momentum remained with the Blues. After Aram finally decided to lock in and not give Notts any more free goals, the opposition offered absolutely nothing offensively. Despite the boys’ sustained pressure, the deadlock could not be broken as the second half dragged on. Looking for some inspiration, Blatchey looked to the bench. Unfortunately, all he saw were two silly freshers who had been called up from the Falcs. Nevertheless, on came Lynchy and Tristan (Jr) with 25 minutes to play. Latching onto a scuffed clearance from their keeper, Jesse switched the ball across the top of the box looking for AK on the opposite wing. Eager to get involved, however, Tristan brought it down instead and unleashed a lovely half-volley into the bottom corner with his second touch in a Blues shirt. 2-1 Blues. With spirits lifted again, the Blues started playing some truly magnificent football. Jesse, getting his third goal involvement of the game, played a magical ball through to Deniz, who capped a wonderful move off with a tidy finish. With the second half drawing to a close, Max decided the game was getting a bit boring, and decided to go in a bit late on one of the more gimpy looking Notts players. After pulling up to the game in matching Zavetti and tech fleece, the Notts boys eagerly joined the scrap. Unsurprisingly, their no. 8 got sent off after running over to strangle Max, much to the delight of the fans on the side, who kept chanting until the final minute. Full-time: 3-1 Blues.