Furies
Midlands Tier 3
Season Review
The Furies this season have grown massively as a team, with a successful league campaign, a good cup run and an impressive effort at varsity. A close-knit group, the Furies bonded immediately, with new talent integrating themselves in the team, right away.
The Furies began the year with a winning streak, starting with a 12-1 win against Leicester 2’s. Our top scorer for the season, Rose Wikeley, bagged 6 goals in this game and continued to terrify defences throughout the year. We had a remarkable league run culminating in finishing third behind very strong Oxford Brookes 1’s and Nottingham 3’s teams, so we secured our place in the league easily and will continue to push for promotion next season.
Our defensive line was solid throughout the season and we were very difficult to break down, providing security and momentum for our insanely talented attacking players to drive forward and create problems for our opposition.
Pictured Above: Furies Squad 2023/24
We had a fun cup run that was unfortunately ended by East Anglia’s 1’s in the league above us. Despite this, we came away happy due to the strong performance from the team and the effort put in from every player on the pitch.
The highlight of our season was Varsity, despite our loss. We began the game 2-0 down but managed to get a goal before half time (the first Furies goal at a varsity in 5 years!). We ended the game with a loss of 3-2 but the team were astounded with how well we played, knowing we left blood, sweat and tears on the pitch. As captains, we couldn’t have been prouder of the team.
We bid a heartfelt goodbye and thank you to our long-serving players Emma Butcher, Megan King, Amelia Levitt-Smith and Amy Pryce-Jones who have now finished their degrees, we wish them the best of luck in the future - forever a Fury!
As we look forward to the next season, the Furies are ready to build on this foundation, aiming for even greater achievements in the future. The dedication, passion, and unity within the team ensure that the future is bright for the Furies.
Centaurs
Midlands Tier 4
Season Review
After a Michaelmas term with some mixed results, the Centaurs started Hilary term second in the league on 8 points, with Derby top on 15 points with 1 extra game played. Having ended the term very strongly with a 3-2 win against Derby away, we were feeling very optimistic going into the term. Our first game of term saw us playing Derby 2s again, this time at home. This was a crucial game for the league table. We started poorly, conceding early to go 1-0 down. We battled our way back into the game, and 2 set piece goals meant we went into half time 2-1 up. We built on this momentum to cruise to a 4-1 victory.
Our next game was against the Colts (Oxford 3s). As with our previous fixture against them, this was a scrappy game that ended in a draw. The Colts scored early and, despite a huge number of chances and the vast share of possession on our side, it took until the last few minutes of the game for us to equalise. The following week we hosted Coventry 1s- the team who went on to win the league. They beat us comprehensively 3-0. This was a tough result to take as although on the day they were the better team, it was clear that on paper we had the capabilities to get a result against them.
The following week we hosted Leicester 2s. Despite having beaten them 7-1 earlier in the season, this proved to be a tough game that we battled well in to secure a 1-0 victory and our first clean sheet of the season. With a small gap in league games, our attention turned to Varsity, which we had roughly 2 weeks to prepare for. In a very well-fought game, we lost 3-2. Everyone worked extremely hard, and the game was very tight; it just felt like luck wasn’t on our side on the day.
Bitterly disappointed after losing varsity, our last game of the season was Coventry 1s away. We had very limited availability for this game as several players were carrying knocks from Varsity, so had to play several players out of position. After a positive first 25 minutes, Coventry scored and from there took control of the game, with the full time result a 3-0 loss. We ended the season tied for points with Derby 2s and Oxford 3s, but on head-to-head record and goal difference respectively we came out ahead of both of them, finishing in 2nd place overall in the league.
Despite not winning varsity or the league title, I thoroughly enjoyed captaining the Centaurs this season. It was a great group of lads to be a part of. I’d also like to thank our Coach, Euan Vosper, and Assistant Coaches, Sam Hudspith and Leoche Malonga, for all their efforts this year. They did an excellent job putting on sessions all throughout the year and ensured everything was carried out to a high standard.