University of Leicester football teams have now claimed a clean sweep of victories against local rivals De Montfort University in this years Varsity fixtures. Following three wins out of a possible three last Wednesday, both the women’s and men’s were successful last night at Beaumont Park in their games to make it five wins out of a possible five.
It was a glorious evening in North Leicester which saw the Women’s team feature first. The ladies got the ball rolling in the first half with a n impressive strike into the top corner by Imani Todman. Todman then doubled the scoring before half time netting from close range to make it 2-0 at the break. ULWFC continued their dominant display in the second half with 2 goals from Emily Collar and Jo Woodman to see the game end 5-0. The emphatic score line alongside the clean sheet.certainly reflects the impressive nature of Leicesters performance which was one of total control both in and out of possession from start to finish.
With the girls having thrashed De Montfort in their game, all eyes were now on the highly anticipated Mens first team game. With both sides having beaten each other this season, this was sure to be a close game, with 1st team coach Nimesh Chinna predicting a tight and cagey affair in the build up to the game.
Chances were few and far between in the first half of the game with both teams looking to play very direct. De Monfort’s efforts to play long into their forwards was nullified by a solid defensive display from the back three of Ryan Bailey, Dan Limb and James Taylor winning every ball that came their way. For Leicester however, it was the quality of Left Wing Back Nathan Banton to find Jack Scowcroft in behind with a great pass. Scowcroft then slotted the ball through the keepers legs to give Leicester a 1-0 lead at the break, with jubilant celebrations from the ULFC faithful. Scowcroft or “Scowy” as he’s known by his teammates spoke of how the opening goal of the game fit in well with Leicester’s game plan. “Me and Andre were always looking to peel of their centre halves with runs in behind whenever we had the ball; which is what we did for the first goal. The through ball from Banton was incredible.
The second half near enough mirrored the first half with the balance of play near enough even. As the second half went on however De Montfort grew more into the game and found themselves winning several free kicks in and around the Leicester penalty area. A dangerous inswinging free-kick from the left hand side was unfortunately glanced into top corner by a ULFC defensive header.
With the game at 1-1 with just over twenty minutes to play, with both personal and university pride to play for. It was the impressive UoL crowd,that served the role of being the 12th man for the first team, which helped carry the fight to De Montfort. The crowd, made up of both ULFC and ULWFC players as well as friends and family members of the players was non stop for the whole 90 minutes. And when Jack Scowcroft found the bottom corner to restore the Leicester lead, the ecstatic scenes in the mini stand at Beaumont Park will certainly be remembered by fans and players alike for years to come. Any hopes of taking the game to penalties for DMU were thwarted by a solid display by Leicester’s defensive unit to see out the game and grant Leicester the hard fought victory they deserved.
Following his heroic brace to secure the clean sweep for UoL football teams, Scowcroft emphasised the efforts of the away fans stating “I couldn’t have dreamt of a better way to play my last game for ULFC. I’m so glad we got the win and gave the boys in the stand something to celebrate as they were unbelievable for the full 90 minutes”
Another player who was playing his final game for UoL was club captain Ryan Bailey. Bailey spoke about his pride to have ended his final game for the club on such a high note stating, “it’s been a wonderful send off not just for myself but for other lads that are in final year as well. I’m so proud that we were able to deliver and bring four out of four victories for the club”
Overall then, Monday night’s results conclude not only an incredibly successful week for ULFC but also for UoL sport as a whole as they comfortably defeated De Monfort 30 points to 13 overall over the course of the week.