No one has forgotten the commotion of last year, with constant debate surrounding the fixture and the ultimate self-withdrawal of our men’s team from the fixture. This was due to the decision to host the event behind closed doors, as previous years had seen unacceptable and disappointing behaviour from supporting students. This withdrawal meant we surrendered a point and the 2018 series started UoN 0-1 Trent.
Obviously, this didn’t hold us back and we still managed to go on to win our seventh consecutive series. However, the troubles surrounding the fixture did leave a sour taste. This year, it’s back, and the boys have a lot to prove.
Our Trent counterpart are in the highest BUCS league and have finished second, only behind an impressive Northumbria squad. They won the league last season so have dropped a little, however, they’ve only collected three fewer points than last season and Northumbria have stormed the league, winning it with an 11 point cushion.
“We have a good chance as the squad has improved this year”
Our boys have done well, coming second in their league behind a solid Derby outfit. We asked their President George Southgate (a sign of the success to come?) and Men’s Captain Andrew Drylie for thoughts ahead of the fixture. They told us they think we have a good chance in Varsity as the squad has improved this year. George said “we played Trent earlier in a pre-season friendly and that was a tight game and we’ve taken a bit of confidence from that”. Andrew told us “it’s a massive event that brings the whole student community together” and they’re both hoping to see as many of the Notts faithful as possible turn out to support the lads.
“The boys have everything to play for”
The game kicks off at 1:00pm and there are still tickets available online. It’s only £3 to go and watch and after being deprived of the fixture last year, there’s no excuse not to head down to support the Green and Gold. Although no game was played, we still lost a point to Trent for this last time around so the boys have everything to play for and will be keen to fight for this point, but need your support to help make that happen. It will be a tight and exciting game of football, and as it’s towards the end of the events this year, it could be a series deciding game.
Zoe Burgess
Follow @ImpactSport on Twitter or like the Impact Sport Facebook page for more updates and information on how to get involved.
Featured image courtesy of The University of Nottingham, via Flickr.
