LincSport spoke to Bishop Grosseteste University’s (BGU) captain, Phil Nicholson, about last year’s Cathedral Cup match and what to expect from BGU this time around.

Phil Nicholson will be hoping to stay on the pitch longer than last year. (Photo: Ollie Collins)
Phil Nicholson will be hoping to stay on the pitch longer than last year. (Photo: Ollie Collins)

Name: Phil Nicholson

Date of Birth: 26/6/1992

Position: CM

Cathedral Cup Appearances: One

Supports: Blackburn

FIFA career mode: Manchester City

Bishop Grosseteste University’s (BGU) captain, Phil Nicholson, is full of confidence going in to the Cathedral Cup. When asked for a score prediction, the 6’6” bustling central midfielder said his side will win 2-0 against the University of Lincoln.

 

Last year BGU lost 6-1 and were without their captain, Nicholson, after 12 minutes when he was given a straight red card.

Nicholson expressed his disappointment at being sent off so early in the game: “It’s haunted me since the day it happened but hopefully we can put that right on Wednesday.”

“It was really tough and so were the days after but luckily I scored an important goal against Oxford a week later to secure the league title which went some way to making up for it.”

Nicholson hopes to stay on the pitch for 90 minutes this time around and he has some good advice for any freshers that might be nervous going in to the big game: “Enjoy it, trust yourself, trust your skills and try to get on the ball and take in the fantastic atmosphere.”

Playing at a professional football ground is the dream of many young footballers and even though Nicholson only played for 12 minutes last year he said he enjoyed playing at Sincil Bank: “It’s brilliant, it’s a great stadium, I’m actually from Grimsby who are the local rivals but putting that aside it’s amazing to get the opportunity to play at Sincil bank.”

Looking at this year’s game and Nicholson believes that his side are fitter which will help them to put in a better performance, “There’s a positive vibe amongst the boys, we’ve had a few training sessions which have been very positive, we’re looking fit and we’re a close group of lads. I think being a small University does help because a lot of the lads know each other.” he said.

Nicholson said that the BGU team will be similar to the one which played against Lincoln in February: “A lot of the lads that are going to play this year played last year, which is a massive positive for us. That experience is going to stand us in good stead. From what I understand Lincoln’s side is going to be completely different, so hopefully that continuity in our team puts us in a good position for getting the right result from the game.”

You can see the University of Lincoln and BGU compete for the Cathedral Cup this evening at Sincil Bank. Kick-off is 19:45.