Superior in every area, the Purples astonished their rivals in the first half— before frightening themselves and closely avoiding a King’s comeback, clinching victory in a spectacular game (3-2).
Latecomers at the SkyEX Community stadium might harbour regrets for a long time, as UCLFC scored their first goal in under a minute. If only KCL players had read Captain Ben Horswell’s pre-game interview (see CG91), they would have known that stunning opponents with an early goal was his top priority.
Immediately overwhelming KCL with a succession of short passes, UCL scored through a clinical one-touch finish by striker Aidan McAvoy, from a left-hand side cross by Victor Renon.
From kick-off, the Reds promptly answered with a swift offensive led by their quick left-winger (no.11), whose cross nearly allowed King’s striker to equalise from a header.
The two back-to-back chances, and their sheer quality, immediately put all 1,200 fans on the edge of their seats as loud chants now rose from both sides of the stand.
In the 11th minute, King’s number 11 caused mayhem in the UCL defence again. Remarkably speedy and confident on the ball, he had the Purples’ right-back George Hayes on skates all game, systematically getting past him despite UCLFC claiming Hayes had “never having been beaten 1on1” on Instagram. Criminally underused, King’s would have benefited from giving their winger more opportunities to shine.
Thanks to their technical superiority, the Purples dominated the very tight midfield notably by combining very well in small spaces and launching quick transitions. Number 10 and maestro Victor Renon continually distributed the ball to his forwards in Horswell’s robust 4-3-3 formation.
UCL strengthened its lead at the 18th minute (2-0). From a cross by left-back David Rudolf, Renon once again assisted McAvoy. This time in two touches, the unavoidable English striker sank his shot in the back of the net from 6 meters.
During the half, UCL’s right winger Bradley Hodge also had King’s defenders in a chokehold, and they had no choice but to repeatedly foul him. Dribbling and using his strength to his advantage, UCLFC would nevertheless have benefited from more collective decisions.
The third goal came from midfielder Zohair Ali, who rifled an uncrossed shot from outside of the box into the side of the net. Baffled KCLFC President joked on the live broadcast he “deeply regretted organising Varsity again”.
The legendary “I would rather go to SOAS than to King’s” resonated until the break, as UCL concluded an extremely impressive first half (3-0). At this point, it was difficult to disagree with captain Horswell’s statement that King’s was “simply beneath” UCL.
Second half
And yet, the second half came close to bringing about a historical upset. Perhaps overconfident, exhausted after a long and successful season, or both, UCL almost bottled their three-goal advantage.
Despite King’s coming out of the changing room as deflated as they were going in, UCL looked in a hurry to get rid of the ball. Opting for repeated long crosses, they refused to maintain possession.
The rhythm of the game dramatically fell off, with neither team looking dangerous anymore.
When Renon came off the pitch around the 65th minute, after having played with a partially torn hamstring, the final result appeared sealed. Yet, the Frenchman’s substitution completely destabilised the team. Deprived of its anchor point, UCL increasingly lost control over the midfield it had dominated so much.
With about fifteen minutes left on the clock, King’s number 11 finally received the ball on his wing, sent Hayes to the shops, and delivered a perfect cross for a one-touch finish (3-1).
Five minutes later, King’s rode the momentum and shrank the gap to one goal (3-2). Apathetic, UCL let a Strand attacker make himself comfortable in their box, taking about three touches before scoring. UC goalkeeper Andrew James was too slow to come out of his line and could only collect the ball from the back of his net.
The wind had turned, and the revived King’s fans’ chants now resonated with hope. The Reds were close to achieving a comeback seemingly impossible only a few minutes before. Bewildered, UCLFC players stared down the barrel of a gun they had pointed at themselves.
It became hard to breathe as the entire King’s team threw itself entirely into a desperate crusade for an equaliser.
Goalie James redeemed himself at the 92nd minute with a brilliant save under his crossbar, keeping UCL afloat.
After what felt like an eternity, the referee blew the final whistle. UCL’s fans’ huge sigh of relief was probably felt all the way to Bloomsbury. Joining the women’s team in victory, UCLFC had made sure London well and truly remained Purple (3-2).
The Varsity success marked Ben Horswell’s 112th and final game at UCLFC, after five years at the club and three as first-team captain. Emotional, the centre-back received a warm ovation and his framed kit as a parting gift.
The Cheese Grater Player of the Match trophy is awarded to Victor Renon. With two assists and an impressive display of game intelligence and technicality, he was paramount to UC’s fantastic first half, despite having sustained a serious muscle injury in the build-up to Varsity. His substitution with thirty minutes to go destabilised the entire team.
