With the season in its final round, every game in the Women’s Premier North and South had important implications. Several of the men’s leagues have already reached their conclusion. Thus, these teams have now turned their attention to knockout competitions. This week’s Men’s National Trophy action certainly delivered the thrills associated with football cup competitions. And a high-scoring local derby in a tight league earns the title of Result of this Week. So let Freshered summarise all the key BUCS Football information. This is certainly not one to be missed.
Women’s Premier South
With it confirmed last week that Hertfordshire would be facing the relegation playoff, the only business to attend to was who finished first and second. Cardiff Met started the day on top, knowing a point at home to USW in the Welsh derby would be enough to see them finish there. There was risk of a challenge from Bath, who trialled by three points, needing Cardiff Met to lose and a victory in their game against Bristol for them to finish in first. In a somewhat underwhelmingly end to the season, Cardiff Met came out on top; their 1-1 draw enough to confirm first place. Bath were unable to apply the pressure, with their 0-0 draw meaning neither of their desired outcomes for the day’s results came to fruition.
Women’s Premier North
Last week’s dramatic events, which you can catch up with here, meant one more game had to be played before the league’s conclusion. Leeds Beckett made the journey to Durham, with the winner claiming third place. The away side would have been buoyed by their dominant 3-0 victory in the reverse fixture, hoping for a similar result to see them in the top three. However, it is was the turn of Durham to put in a commanding performance, with their 5-0 thrashing proving a positive end to the season. They subsequently finished third, with Leeds Beckett in fourth. Both teams were threatened by relegation, but also did not challenge for promotion. A mixed season means they will hoping for more in the 2022/23 campaign.
Men’s National Trophy
The second round of the BUCS Football knockout competition, involving second tier, definitely did deliver the ‘major’ associated with the cup. In an 11 goal thriller, Leeds Beckett overcame Manchester 6-5, revenge for the latter’s league double over the home side. It has been confirmed they will face Nottingham in the third round, who progressed following a 3-0 victory away at Edinburgh. Another stand out third round tie sees Leeds make the 450-mile round trip to Heriot-Watt. These teams overcame Loughborough 2’s and Abertay, 3-2 and 2-0 respectively.
Result of the Week
Any game which involves 13 goals should be a shoo-in for result of the week, with the added pressure of this week’s winner being a local derby ensuring it earned the title. In the Men’s Western Tier 4A, Exeter 3’s took on Marjon 2’s in the Devon derby, with the result certainly one-sided. Exeter came out 11-2 winners, condemning their opponents to the foot of the table, while continuing their own promotion push.