Alcuin claim college football crown again... just!

The Alcuin teamtalk

Despite their league win Alcuin didn't perform like champions in a crazy 5-5 draw with a battling Halifax side, spurred on by a vintage Joe Brennan display. Alcuin lead 3-1, 4-2, and 5-4, but simply couldn't keep Halifax out. After being solid for most of the year, Alcuin's backline had a poor game involving an own goal from Jack Crane, Preston giving away a penalty (which was converted) for hand-ball, and three other goals resulting from a lack of communication at the back.

Halifax suffered in defence as well, with Henry Smith scoring his first college football hat-trick, and Parris Williams causing their backline all sorts of problems. The key point in the game appeared to be a five minute spell when Alcuin lost Dan Cox and Jack Crane, leaving Alcuin with little choice but to revert to 4-4-2. From there, Halifax scored two quick goals to make it 4-4, and Alcuin looked dejected as they assumed that Goodricke would be beating Derwent, which would've resulted in Goodricke winning the league.

However, this wasnt the case. Derwent put in their best performance of the term to beat Goodricke 2-0, goals from Smith and Pinkstone. Despite having a glutton of chances, Goodricke simply couldn't convert, and a battling Derwent side stifled them in the middle of the park. Derwent skipper Chris Lavender can look back on this term and be proud - Derwent have improved significantly, with players like David Slater delivering on their promise and fresh talent coming through in the shape of goalscorer and man of the match Benny Smith. However, this term's most improved side is surely Vanbrugh, who ended up only missing out on the title on goal difference! A 6-0 victory of Langwith put them level on points with Alcuin, albeit with an inferior goal difference. A formation change, and a battling spirit reminiscent of Simon Rogers's all-conquering Vanbrugh side of three years ago, has made all of the difference to James Sweetman's men. They have won five and lost two this term, and finished ahead of Goodricke by a point.

Goodricke will surely be wondering what they have to do to win the league. Both times they have finished third, and this is testament to the consistency required to win the league. Goodricke have a great side, but last term their defeat to Alcuin was their downfall, and this time it was a plucky Derwent side that stopped their title charge. Goodricke have often underperformed on the astro, but they will surely be favourites for the college cup, with the eligibility of players like O'Shea, Ramsden, and Wilson coupled with the already established Goodricke greats of Grafham, High, and Silson boosting their chances of winning some silverware this year.

Halifax failed to deliver on last terms promising second place finish, with skipper Fahey finding it difficult to get a decent side out on most Sundays due to players' other commitments such as Broadhurst's shifts at Pizza Hut. However, a fully functioning Halifax side are a hard team to beat, and will fancy their chances in the summer term. This term saw them lose most of their fixtures, and they will be particularly disappointed at losing to Wentworth.

Langwith were once again well off of the pace, and will probably be grateful to qualify out of the group stages of the college cup next term. Langwith look lost without 'Langwith' Shaun upfront, and suffer due to a lack of pace at the back, which sees them ship a large amount of goals. James College finished mid-table this term, which probably emphasises their inconsistency. They drew with Goodricke, and pushed Alcuin all of the way, but a poor start to their term effectively saw them out of the title race before week five. It will be interesting to see how they perform on the astro.

Overall, it has been an excellent term of college football, with Alcuin, Vanbrugh, Goodricke, and Derwent all demonstrating the high quality of football on offer. The college cup will certainly be entertaining, with Derwent wanting to defend their title from last year.

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