I did try quite hard, without phoning a friend, to get the Varsity Soccer match result played at Craven Cottage yesterday. The game was played just before the Boat Race was rowed next door on the Thames.
With the weather as it was, the game might have been postponed or abandoned for all I know, but there is no news. I'm waiting for Jerry to tell me; he knows everything.
With the Men's Boat Race going to the Light Blues (actually it is technically duck egg blue) and Cambridge United (12th in League 2) hanging on to a 0-0 draw against Oxford United (2nd in the division) at the Abbey Stadium, a positive result in the historic tie between the ancient universities. would make a splendid weekend for me.
In "local derbies" between professional Cambridge United and professional Oxford United, the honours are not quite even with Oxford winning 9, losing 7 and drawing 8 of their league clashes.
Cambridge United was founded as Abbey United in 1912 and changed their name to the present one in 1951. The club played in the Football League from 1970 until 2005 and then regained league status in 2014.
Oxford United was founded in 1893 as Headington United and changed its name in 1960 joining the Football League two years later. United then dropped to the Conference in 2006, regaining a FL place in 2010. During their heady time in the FL, Oxford played in the top flight (1st Division) and won the League Cup in 1986. When relegation came, the club made history by being the first major trophy winner to be relegated from the Football League.
Varsity matches between the Dark and Light blues began on March 30th 1874 and the head to head is still keenly contested. It is the culmination of a year's hard work, including competing in the British Universities Sports' Association and playing important "friendlies". The Blues' match was played at Wembley for a numbers of decades until 1989 and recently the match has gone to any prestigious venue that would have them.
Most recently Fulham FC has hosted the match and given the students a great experience, playing on the same day as the Boat Race swelling the crowd which also benefited from also having a view of the river. The Varsity match kick off is timed to suit the start of the Boat Race which varies with the Thames' tide. Cambridge Ladies (above) found the pitch wet.
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