By Marley Forrester

UCFB Wembley Men’s First team are back after the winter break, so here’s a recap of everything you need to know from the 2019/20 season so far…

The team

As things stand the team’s top goal scorer title is tied between Giorgio Di-Lullo and Ollie Stevens with three goals each. They are closely followed by last season’s top scorer Blakey and some unlikely candidates in defender Toby Mitchell and midfielder Callum Foster (two goals).

In terms of creativity, Radzi has been far and beyond manager Greg Symes’ most valuable asset. The midfielder has assisted three times in five appearances, and when you also consider that the Brighton native has spent time on the side-lines with an ankle injury, it shows just how valuable he is to the team.

The league

UCFB currently sit at the top of South Eastern Tier 3B with 14 points, drawing their last two league games 1-1 with both Kings College and London School of Economics.

This lead could be cut to just a single point should the University of Kent or Kings College win their game in hand. They face each other in a crucial game on Wednesday 22nd January.

The cup

UCFB were handed a bye in the first round of the cup this year, automatically progressing to the next round where they were drawn against Essex Blades, a team in a higher league (South Eastern Tier 2B). UCFB won in dramatic fashion, with goals from Ollie Stevens and Giorgio Di-Lullo clinching the win in extra-time.

In the next round they were again faced with another team from the South Eastern Tier 2B League, this time the University of Hertfordshire. Following a dramatic and controversial game, UCFB won 5-4 on penalties.

Upcoming fixtures

UCFB’s first game of 2020 is away to the University of Kent on the Wednesday 29th January, where Kent could potentially leapfrog UCFB and go top of the league with a win. Last time out UCFB were 1-0 winners at Silver Jubilee Park, thanks to a Ben KP header in what was a tight affair.

After this, UCFB face London School of Economics at home on February 5th. LSE sit second bottom in the league, but in the last fixture of 2019 they held UCFB to a disappointing 1-1 draw.

In the quarter-finals of the cup UCFB face University College London, making it a hat-trick of teams from South Eastern Tier 2B to face the Wembley side in the cup. The game will be played on the February 12th at Silver Jubilee Park.

This story first appeared on the UCFB Firsts blog, which can be read here.