The Uni Mens 1sts Football Club lost 1-0 to Hallam from to a debatable penalty shortly before Hallam were reduced to 10 men.
Tom Bellington scored Hallam’s controversial penalty which just managed to squirm through the out stretched arms of Uni ‘keeper Tom Hewitt.
Hewitt was alleged to have brought down the on rushing Hallam attacker which resulted in the penalty being awarded.
Hallam’s Chris Green was sent off after an hour for a two footed lunge but Uni were unable to capitalise on the advantage despite playing most of the second period in the Hallam half.
The first half will not live long in the memory as few chances were created and both sides look pleased to go in at 0-0.
Hallam nearly had the perfect start when the tricky Rhys Thomas hit the post after three minutes.
Thomas continued to impress throughout the half but Uni’s centre-back pairing of Andy Morgan and captain Dan O’Brian were solid.
Uni’s Chris Burns looked the most dangerous going forward and he was thwarted by Hallam ‘keeper Chris Anker who was forced to tip Burns’ shot over the bar with a few minutes remaining in the half.
The Bright Finance stadium proved to be a great venue for the match and the atmosphere was fantastic with plenty of banter on show.
Uni and Hallam fans sang loudly exchanging harsh words with each other and the two mascots, the Juice Strawberry and a Hallam Kangaroo, were heavily involved.
Uni began the second half with an attacking mentality but their efforts were in vain after the referee awarded a penalty to Hallam, against the run of play, which was duly dispatched.
The Uni fans and players were never disheartened and the players continued to press forward.
It looked as though their fortunes would change after Hallam were reduced to 10 men on the hour but despite intense goal mouth pressure, Uni could not find a way past Anker.
Thomas had less of an impact for Hallam in the second after he was pushed out wide following the sending off, but he remained their most impressive player.
Matt Thompson put the ball in the net for Uni with 20 minutes remaining but it was disallowed for offside much to the dejection of the Uni faithful.
Thompson was involved twice more in the latter stages but he could not find the back of the net, he and Burns failed to connect to a good ball in with 15 minutes left.
But the best chance of the game fell to both Thompson and substitute Jon Ogidi when the ball bobbled across the goal mouth but their attempts were charged down by Hallam’s Paul Winter.
Ogidi was impressive when he entered the fray, winning the ball and setting up attacks but Uni’s play in the final third was not good enough to warrant an equaliser and Hallam held on to win the match.
By James Leyfield
