Both Goodricke and Alcuin enter this year’s College Cup with big hopes of progressing into the latter stages, but are likely to face stiff opposition from a Halifax 2nds squad strengthened by the inclusion of University players.
Goodricke will be confident of their chances. They beat Alcuin convincingly on both occasions when the sides met during the first two terms of the year, and therefore enter the group as favourites to progress, whilst they will be delighted to have missed the big guns due to the lack of seeding in the draw.
“We have a lot of versatility in the squad so we have strength in depth all over the park,” Goodricke captain Joe Mann told Vision. The team will be strengthened by the return of a handful of university players, none more so than Dalton Harris, a regular in the University 1sts who has also been capped at youth level by Wales.
Alcuin also have their own University player to call upon in the shape of Graham Kimber, but on the whole the squad takes much the same form as that which has won only two games this year. Consistency in selection may turn out to benefit Alcuin, but only time will tell. The most important thing for the side is to start scoring goals, something which is likelier to be more straight-forward against the lower ranked teams in the group, and with the smooth astroturf surface of the JLD.
All the Halifax sides this year have been hindered by their absence in the autumn league. To quote 2nds captain Jonny McGuinness, they’ve had “some great results and a few disasters.” Yet to look at their squad would be to witness a team worthy of a 1sts side, clearly strengthened by University players of whom Halifax possess in abundance. Both Goodricke and Alcuin will need to be on top form to dispatch Halifax. Meanwhile ‘Fax would certainly see missing out on a top two finish as a disappointing campaign.
It would be harsh to discount Langwith 2nds from causing problems to the three more obvious powerhouses in the group. They are unlikely to prove walkovers, with captain Sam Morley saying: “If we can carry on our form from spring term through we’ll do well.”
While the top three teams in the group will regard dropping into the Plate a disappointment, for Langwith it would be seen as an achievement; for this reason alone they might be in a better mindset to challenge should they reach that stage of the competition.
Yet that is no guarantee. Vanbrugh 3rds qualified for the Plate last year and got to the final before losing to Wentworth 2nds. Their form has been on an upward trajectory during the last two terms of league play. While few from that giant-killing squad remain in 2013 (YUSU President Kallum Taylor being one remnant), captain Robert Konstandelos summed up his team’s chances concisely: “We go in with nothing to lose.”
Wentworth 3rds come into the group as clear outsiders, but a team not to be taken lightly. Like all Wentworth teams, they are weakened by unforgiving postgraduate commitments, while the length of most courses means there is little continuity year-to-year. But they are almost certainly the most improved footballing college over the last year or two. If one thing is for certain, it is that nothing is certain in the College Cup.