Football The 2010/2011 season was a successful one for the boys in burgundy. Buoyed at the start of the season with a number of impressive additions allowing us to convincingly win the Men’s Division 2 come April, the squad was best described as the perfect blend of youth and experience Freshers Konrad Grose, Fred Wilson-Haffenden, Chris Hutton and Matt Parry joined some experienced heads in the form of Captain Joe Hyam, Blues stalwart Mark Baxter and the Selwyn veteran Sam Gregson. Perhaps the key to the Selwyn success story was a resolute defensive unit that rarely put a foot wrong throughout the season and finished with one of the best records in the whole of Cambridge. Hyam and Liam Foster dominated as centre-backs and Ben ‘Fozzy Bear’ Foster performed well in any defensive position required (although he should never play in goal again!). The defence were ably backed up by Parry and Gregson as reliable holding midfielders playing in Selwyn’s unique 4-2-3-1 formation. Danish stopper Erasmus Zu Ermgassen also had a great season between the sticks, before his season with Selwyn and the University was ended prematurely by an unfortunate knee injury.. While the team excelled defensively, our attacking potency was often something to behold, with young-guns Hutton, Grose and Wilson-Haffenden combining with the more experienced heads of Baxter, Will Vernon and Oli Temple
to make a creative offensive force rarely seen in the footballing world. Unfortunately Temple’s season was curtailed by a horrific broken leg in a league win against Corpus Christi, which will also prevent him from helping Selwyn in their quest in the top flight. Looking forward to this coming season, the team hopes to convert even more of the chances it creates, which should only be helped by the return of new Captain and ‘fox in the box’ Dave Hawes from his time away in the US of A. A lot of our success in 2010/2011 can be put down to the team’s happy knack of winning games even when we weren’t at our best. If the scores are level and time is running out, we will always revert to the Selwyn Winning Formula™, which is as follows: 1. Get the ball to Chris ‘Cristiano’ Hutton in the box, whereupon he will proceed to ‘invite (or invent) the contact and leave a trailing leg.’ 2. Appeal unanimously for a penalty. 3. Watch on nervously as Gregson (or ‘Sammy G’, ‘SAM GREGSON’, ‘Dr Greggles’, but never just plain Sam) noisily scores from the spot. The success rate of this Winning Formula™ is undeniable, with around half of Selwyn’s goals deriving from the ‘Hutton tumble’.
Despite failing to achieve the legendary Cambridge league, Cuppers and five-a-side Cuppers treble, the team managed two out of the three, after performing mercurially to take the five-a-side title in the Easter Term (see the pathetically small trophy behind the College Bar) to complement their earlier Division 2 triumph. Clearly Selwyn Football is well-positioned going into the 2011/2012 season in the top division, with many of last season’s key players remaining in Cambridge for another year. However, a number of improvements can certainly be made. The fitness department is one area of concern for WilsonHaffenden, who needs to avoid cramping up within the first half hour, while the discipline of Hutton must also be questioned as he became the only player in recent Selwyn history to receive a ban for picking up too many yellow cards (surprisingly, none of which were for ‘diving’). Next season we’re hoping for more talented Freshers to get involved as Selwyn look to construct their very own footballing legacy of which the likes of Barcelona can only dream.
Chris Hutton
Sport at Selwyn | 05