UCFB Wembley welcome USA college side to Silver Jubilee Park 

UCFB fell to an American college side in an eight-goal thriller, with the visitors walking away with a 5-3 win in the ‘battle of football vs soccer.’ 

UCFB Wembley Men’s Academy welcomed USA college side Eastern Connecticut to Silver Jubilee Park on a brisk Wednesday afternoon, in what was an up-and-down affair with the majority of the game looking like it could go either way. 

The home side put out a mixed line-up, with manager Wes giving some Seconds players the call up. However, it wasn’t a great start as in the 7th minute, the UCFB boys had gone 1-0 down after a throughball was played, splitting the Yellows’ defence, allowing the visitors’ number 18 to run onto it and slot it into the bottom left corner. 

Just a couple of minutes after going 1-0 down, UCFB started to pile on the pressure with a shot outside the box shot from David Eze narrowly missing the top corner. With UCFB applying more pressure to the visitors, the home side was awarded a free kick in the 12^th minute just outside the final third of the pitch. Captain Jake Johnson floated the free kick into the opposition’s box which was flicked on and finished by Jahmel Brady to even out the scoreboard. 

The equaliser sadly didn’t last long with Eastern Connecticut pouncing on a mistake at the back midway through the first half, gifting number 18 his second goal of the game. UCFB went into halftime after having applied plenty of pressure and putting the visitors on edge. This caused the visitors to come out for the second half raring to go. 

In the 53rd minute, just eight minutes after the second half had started, the away side scored a brilliant goal after a player ran onto the ball just inside the box and managed to blast it into the top right corner giving keeper, Ethan Rook, no chance, making the score 3-1 to the visitors. 

Five minutes later it started to look like it was going to be a dull and dark day for UCFB as the visitors had started to run away with it, scoring another goal this time through a delicate dink over the keeper and into the back of the net. 

However, the fire in the squad was reignited after a couple of substitutions, with UCFB managing to finally pull a goal back in the 80th minute after a fantastic finish by Jake Johnson from outside the box into the bottom right corner off the post. 

With the score now 4-2, and there being 10 minutes plus added time to go, it put an extra spring in UCFB’s step with centre back TJ Moyo being placed up front in order to try and salvage a draw. This looked like it would come to fruition as the Yellows won a penalty in the 87th minute, which was slotted calmly into the bottom right by Jake Johnson again making the score 4-3. 

While pushing for an equaliser, UCFB’s hopes of getting an equaliser were crushed after a mishap at the back led to a fifth goal for the visitors in the dying moments of the game. 

As the full-time whistle went, both teams shook hands, to sign off what was an exciting clash in the self-proclaimed ‘battle of football vs soccer.’