Nearly 100 people turned out to see the University of Lincoln’s Men’s Hockey Club win their Midlands Conference Cup final against Cambridge on Wednesday, March 13th, 2013.
The two sides met on home turf at the University of Lincoln’s Sports Centre, half an hour later than the scheduled match time due to difficulties with Cambridge’s team.
The match started well, with both sides having a good spell of possession, but Lincoln took the first advantage of the game with a short corner. They came close, with the Cambridge keeper making a save and giving Lincoln a corner.
Cambridge soon retaliated and got a short corner themselves, forcing a reflex save from the Lincoln goalie – one of the finest of the afternoon.
After a few minutes of end to end action, Lincoln took the first score of the game; or so they thought. The ball hit the boarding in the goal, but it was ruled out as the shot was outside of the dedicated shooting zone.
However, it didn’t take long for Lincoln to go one up. Stuart Biggs grabbed his opportunity from a short corner, gliding it past the Cambridge keeper to give Lincoln the lead with ten minutes left of the first half.
That’s how it stayed until the break, thanks to a wonderful save on the line from Lincoln’s goal-scorer Biggs. The score was 1-0 to Lincoln at the break.
It didn’t take long for Lincoln to double their lead. Less than ten minutes into the second half; Biggs got his second, as he smashed it into the top right hand corner past the Cambridge defence.
Lincoln managed to get another a minute later, through Sam Temple-Baxter, making it 3-0 to the home team.
Lincoln’s captain Ben Read took a knock and was taken off for treatment, as a collision with the Cambridge keeper left him with a very bloody face.
Pinder opened his account for the afternoon soon after, giving the Swans a four goal advantage.
Cambridge managed to pull one back though, but Lincoln didn’t leave them with much joy. They also scored just minutes later, extending the score-line to 5-1.
After a few close chances for Lincoln, Cambridge broke and earned themselves a short corner right on the stroke of full time. They managed to convert the chance, and the umpires both blew for the final whistle. The final score was Lincoln 5-2 Cambridge.
A short presentation took place at the end of the game, where medals were handed out to both sides and the University of Lincoln Men’s Hockey Club were crowned this year’s Midlands Conference Cup Champions.
