By Weronika Lecka, Sports sub-editor
Another year, another Derby Day and another tense futsal game between two fierce rivals of the South West. Although the players could not enjoy the sunshine that was present at the lively Coombe Dingle throughout the day, the sporting emotions and atmosphere was still very much present at the Indoor Sports Complex.
Whilst Bristol had finished 4th in this season's Men's Premier and Bath finished 6th, Bristol had beaten Bath in both meetings this season (9-4 ad 4-2) and were heading into this game with hopes for a positive result and good vibes. Also, the club decided to field a team with both 1s and 2s to create a more friendly and supportive atmosphere, whilst Club Captain Alex Brickman officiated the match.
The first half began quite tense and stressful for the hosts as Bath were putting on a lot of pressure and intensity, constantly challenging the Bristol goalkeeper and eventually opening the scoreline as a result. The visitors were playing many good passes into the middle, opening the space and sometimes catching the Bristol players off guard. However, Bristol put up a good contest and were frequently creating chances in front of the opposition's goal, forcing the Bath goalkeeper into multiple saves, especially since the visitors conceded quite a few fouls. Eventually, this consistent battle and pressure on the Bath goal resulted in a goal scored by goalkeeper Nick Clark and Bristol levelled the scoreline after a shaky start. From there, Bath reacted with even more pressure and intensity, winning the ball in the final third and finding open spaces in front of the box, which eventually resulted in a second goal and ending the half with a 2-1 scoreline in favour of the visitors. Club captain Alex Brickman even admitted it was ‘a very good Bath team’.
In the second half, as the scoreline may suggest, Bristol came out stronger and dominated the game. The hosts racked up the majority of their goals in this half and made it progressively difficult for the visitors to return home with a positive result. Goalkeeper Nick Clark reinforced Bristol's dominance by scoring a hat-trick, but both Jack D and James R scored a brace too. Whilst the visitors did score a goal back in this half, it was clear that the hosts were in control of the game, passing the ball around, dominating spaces and being more tight and collective and defence, learning from the slightly nervous defending in the first half. However, despite such a dominant performance, there were still some nerves as one of the players got himself sent off after only being on the pitch for a couple of minutes, leaving the hosts with one player down for 2 minutes and also slightly impacting their effective use of rolling subs throughout the game.
After the game and celebrations, Club Captain and match official Alex Brickman had given us his reflections about the game, especially about the second half:
‘Second half we just turned it on. Completely controlled the flow of the game, created beautiful patterns of play in possession, were clinical in front of goal and defended strongly.
Was so incredible to see the first time where the whole club played together and the chemistry between the 1s and the 2s players on the court. Everyone put in such a great shift and performace and the collective effort to dismantle a very decent Bath team was outstanding.
Shoutout to the Man Of The Match Nick Clark who made some incredible saves in goal as well as scored a hat-trick’
There were quite a few supporters present in the Indoor Sports Centre despite the majority of students watching the action up at Coombe Dingle, however the futsal teams at the University of Bristol are definitely ones that you should be watching too. The men's 1s have currently qualified for the semi-finals of the Men's National Championship and due to such a big turnout in B:Active this academic year, there are plans for a women's BUCS team in 26/27, so there is no reason not to follow futsal next season!
Will you be getting involved with Futsal next year?
Featured Image: Instagram @uobfutsal
