The match between UCS Men’s Football and Gloucester Men’s 4 this week certainly wasn’t a bore. Niall Carr captained the UCS team for this home fixture where the team were looking to put the previous cup loss behind them and get a result.
Gloucester was first to put their team on the score sheet as a headed goal just slightly out of Tom Creed’s reach put them 0-1 up. UCS was then quick to respond, as Luke White broke free from the Gloucester defence and found himself one-on-one with their keeper. The keeper rushed off his line and went to ground, taking the forward off his feet just inside the penalty area. A controversial red card was given and Gloucester was forced to play one of their starting outfield players in goal for the rest of the game. Carr stepped up to the spot and promptly scored the equaliser.
The game continued with both sides looking good going forward but Gloucester failed to take some excellent chances to regain the lead. In the final minute of the first half, Gloucester scored their second but the goal was overshadowed by a coming together of heads inside the penalty box leaving two players down as medical staff ran on to assess the situation. The Gloucester player involved required urgent medical attention and was seen to by first responders in the changing room.
The second half began, slightly delayed through the injury. Nathan Delguadio was subbed off and Jack Drinkwater came on in his place. Some fantastic forward play led to Carr dancing the ball into the penalty box before being taken off his feet by a Gloucester player. The ref pointed straight to the spot and quickly UCS found themselves level again, as the captain scored a brace.
The score didn’t remain equal for too long as Gloucester were able to see the ball into the back of the net once more as the 10-man team found themselves 2-3 up.
As controversy was never too far away, Carr was once again bought down in the box, but this time there was no whistle and play continued for a few minutes before Gloucester conceded a third penalty. Carr stepped up hoping to get a hat trick from the spot against the substitute keeper. His shot was stopped but Carr was first to the ball to get his hat trick on the rebound. The linesman held up his flag as the keeper had come off his line, but the rebound goal was eventually allowed, putting the hosts square once more.
While resetting to carry on the game, a Gloucester player had a few choice words about the ref which the linesman heard and flagged up for, he was shown red and left the pitch.
Within the next minute, UCS won a free kick on their edge of the halfway line, the offending player verbally disagreed with the referee’s call and was shown Gloucester’s third red card of the game leaving them with 8 men.
With the game in its dying minutes and tensions running, both teams strived for the winning goal in the little time that was left. A ball crossed in low from UCS found a striker’s feet and as everyone watching held their breath, the shot came back off the post and the danger was over for the Gloucester substitute keeper.
The final whistle blew.
Jake Crump, the assistant coach, said, “This was a really exciting match and Jamie and I are impressed with how the lads kept their discipline despite finding themselves chasing goals throughout. It was a tricky 90 minutes and the team did well to walk away with a point. It goes without saying that everyone at UCS wishes the injured Gloucester player a speedy recovery.”
Man of the Match: Niall Carr for scoring the first hat trick in UCS men’s history.
Final Score: UCS Men’s 3-3 Gloucester Men’s 4