There were wild celebrations at Plock Court on Wednesday as University of Gloucestershire men’s football threes beat Southampton Solent threes to reach the Western Conference Trophy final.
After reaching the end of extra time with the teams level at 3-3, two saves from goalkeeper Jacob Fairbrother in the shootout helped send UOG on their way.
Defender Cameron Smith played the full 120 minutes on Wednesday and was elated as his side reached the final to play Solent fours.
What a moment ⚽️💙 https://t.co/m7qumZBLVk
— UoG Mens Football (@UoGMFootball) February 24, 2022
“We had to do it the hard way didn’t we? We were on top throughout the whole game, I think we deserved to win in 90 minutes and in 120 minutes really.
“The fact they were down to 10 men through injuries and a bit out on their feet helped us through the extra time.
“What a win, we’re through to the final and I’m absolutely buzzing.”
There was a good crowd to see the victory on Wednesday with the great sight of a pitch invasion when the shootout was won.
The threes form on their home turf has been very impressive this campaign both in the league and cup.
And with the final only recently being confirmed to be at Plock Court, it’s certainly going to be a great atmosphere come the day of the final.
“The fans will help us massively. We’ve nicknamed it the fortress this season because it really is.
“The home fans are absolutely brilliant, we’ll get all the boys down and if it is at Plock Court we’ll have every single player down and it will be brilliant.
“But the location doesn’t matter too much for us, we’re good enough and I’m confident we can win this.”
3-2. Rene hat trick. Is this man human? pic.twitter.com/upe5xliZLp
— UoG Mens Football (@UoGMFootball) February 23, 2022
Man on the Match on the day was Rene Nistor who had a brilliant game scoring a hattrick on the way to the penalties win.
Nistor dropped down from the seconds earlier on this season and has impressed during his time with threes.
Smith spoke on the quality Nistor possesses and what the side need to do to get the best out of him.
“He’s a great player. He needs to be on form and he needs to be in the right mindset because he can certainly lose his head a little bit.
“That’s something we’re trying to control as a team, he’s certainly one of those hot-headed players, we’ve got a few of them.
“He’s been included in the preliminary Varsity squad today, which from the threes is pretty spectacular.”
