The University of Gloucestershire’s men’s football second team fell to a 1-0 loss against Cardiff Met 4s as their title hopes were seriously dented with a defeat at Plock Court.
Previously unbeaten at home , a lacklustre performance against the side bottom of the league has caused massive problems for the University of Gloucestershire’s (UoG) title ambitions. Sitting top of the table before play kicked off on Wednesday 1 December, UoG have now fallen down to third, with Cardiff Men’s 2s sitting pretty at the top, and now holding a three point lead, as well as a game in hand.
Missing several key players through injury, including goalkeeper Jack Smith and captain Jack Charman, UoG were off the pace from the start, and it was an innocuous long-range effort that fooled substitute number one Oscar Bignell in the first-half, with the reserve ‘keeper dropping a fairly tame shot into his own net.
From there on in, UoG’s lack of clinical finishing cost them. The front two of Cameron Smith and Max Cooper both missed several chances, and despite looking rock solid in defence, they couldn’t make their dominance count.
A lack of desire seemed to be the prominent factor, and the home side couldn’t match the work rate they showed in their spirited 4-2 defeat in the cup against Cardiff 1s last week.
Tensions were high, and the away side came to frustrate UoG. There were numerous off-the-ball incidents, all of which culminated in a brawl once the full-time whistle was blown. UoG right-back Kory Taylor was at the heart of all of it, and the Wolverhampton-born defender was lucky to not see a card from the referee. With a plethora of 50-50s, it was physical throughout, and it was Cardiff Met who dealt better with the conditions, reaping the rewards to seal their first points of the season.
With Cardiff Met losing their opening four league games, it was a match that UoG needed to win, yet that message could not be translated from the changing room to the pitch.
UoG manager Michael Mayes was unsurprisingly frustrated with his side’s performance, and the home players were forced to have a dressing down on the pitch after the game.
They will host Cardiff 3s next week, who sit second, needing a win if they are to maintain any hopes of winning the league in March.
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