BUCS Wednesday: November 15

Warwick Men’s Football 4s 6-0 Harper Adams Men’s Football 1s 

The Men’s Football 4s continued their good form by crushing Harper Adams 1s 6-0 at Cryfield.

Fielding a team littered with freshers, the 4s were justifiably confident heading into the fixture against an institution that sounds like a solicitors, but were jolted into action early on after the away side hit the bar with a volley from a corner.

That was about as good as it got for the visitors though. Within minutes the 4s captain Henry Sievers sent in a lovely ball from a free kick, which was headed in powerfully by Nesar Torkamani.

With the home side’s 4-2-3-1 working effectively, Adams’ fresh-faced manager – kitted out Guardiola-style in brown brogues and a lovely tie-and-jumper combo – could only watch as his team was then comfortably beaten.

If the opening goal was skilfully crafted, the second was the polar opposite. A floated corner was ineptly cleared, and rebounded off a couple of players before falling to Torkamani for his second goal of the game.

Equally calamitous was the penalty conceded for handball after a relatively routine ball in from the left hand side. Sievers stepped up and converted for 3-0 before half-time.

Aaron Sharkey injected some quality into the game in the second-half, cutting inside from the left-wing past several flatfooted defenders, then displaying some neat footwork before firing in to the bottom left of the goal from the edge of the box.

The misery was piled on for Adams as a weak back-pass from their left back was seized upon by Warwick striker Dolapo Koleosho. With Koleosho clearly taken out by the goalkeeper, Torkamani capped off his hat-trick with a well struck penalty.

A pervasive air of complacency understandably set in for much of the latter stages, but the home team found just enough time for a 6^th before the final whistle – Ken Nnadi firing in from yet another set-piece.

Warwick men’s 4s will have few easier tests than this, but that shouldn’t detract from some of the excellent football played by Torkamani, Sievers and co.

Alex Jennings

Warwick Men’s Hockey 1s 8-3 Loughborough Men’s Hockey 4s

The men’s hockey 1s went into Wednesday’s game against Loughborough 4s looking to continue an astounding run of form that after four games saw them first in the Midlands 1A table. An air of confidence seemed palpable among those watching on from the side-lines. After all it was only a week ago that the side was able to beat Loughborough 3s 2-0 away from home.

It came as something of a surprise, therefore, when Loughborough scored the game’s first goal, breaking swiftly on the counter-attack. It almost seemed for a moment that this confidence had bred some complacency to go along with it.

Any doubts, however, were quickly allayed when Warwick were awarded penalty flick a few minutes later for a Loughborough foot obstruction. Victor Rosenberg, the club’s leading goal scorer for the season, stepped up and assuredly put it away. From that point onwards the goals came trickling in as Warwick began to dominate possession. Forward Mathias Swerdlow bagged the second, Rosenberg struck again with the third, and Chris Richardson rounded off the half in emphatic fashion after seamlessly shimmying past the keeper for the simple finish.

When the two sides returned to the pitch for the second half Warwick showed little sign of easing off. Their first attacking possession saw Rosenberg deflect in from close-range to claim a well-deserved hattrick, before two goals from captain Sam Fisher and another one from Richardson soon followed.

Warwick’s magnificent performance was tarnished ever so slightly by two Loughborough consolation scores that came late on. A comprehensive victory though had long been confirmed by this point as the game lulled towards an 8-3 finish.

The men’s 1s now turn their attention to their upcoming away fixture against Portsmouth University’s 1s in what will hopefully be yet another convincing win.

Greg Moore 

Warwick Men’s Football 2s 2-1 East Anglia Men’s Football 2s

Warwick University Men’s Football 2s recorded a 2-1 victory over East Anglia University thanks to a brace from left winger Nikita Moskalenko.

Felix Rauch was a consistent threat up front and Warwick proved their attacking prowess early on, as after just seven minutes Rauch set up Moskalenko for the opening goal as he squared to the winger.

Warwick continued to pile the pressure on the visitors but they saw an effort on 11 minutes cleared off the line. Luke Pearce proved pivotal for the hosts, and was a menace in the final third, but midway through the first half, when well placed he couldn’t get a shot off before being dispossessed in the area.

As Warwick struggled to convert their pressure into goals, on 28 minutes East Anglia’s attackers made a great pinpoint delivery towards the back post, and the forward peeled off to slot home on the volley expertly.

Just five minutes later, however, Moskalenko restored the home side’s advantage as, unmarked at the back post, he nodded home.

After the interval, the away side dominated proceedings and the Warwick goalkeeper kept his side in it with some marvellous saves, including a fantastic one on one on 58 minutes. Rauch thought he had doubled Warwick’s advantage but he was deemed offside when he headed in off the post. Anglia piled the pressure on, and rattled the crossbar from a free kick with seven minutes left.

In the dying embers of the game, Warwick missed an open goal from five yards out and they nearly paid the price for their missed chances as their keeper made a late save to ensure they held on for all three points.

Nick Davies