Students take victory in a close encounter with the staff/alumni team
After a 3 year break, the University of Portsmouth Students, Staff and Alumni took over the Portsmouth Football Club again. The annual Students vs Staff/Alumni football match, which has returned after being paused due to the Covid-19 pandemic, was attended by over 250 students, staff members, family members, friends and community members.
It was a very suspenseful match with Students scoring 1-0 in the first half and confirming their win by scoring another 3 goals in the second half, resulting in an overall score of 4-2. With Students holding the post of winners and lifting the trophy above their heads for the third time in a row now, this win is a Student hat trick. The Students team played a very respectful and committed game with a slower start, scoring their first goal before the end of half-time, which was topped up with another 3 goals during the second half. The team’s goalkeeper did an excellent job of catching the Staff and Alumni team’s relentless tries to score a goal. This year, the team’s coach was Veli Bulbul, who commented on the game: "The event went really well, it was nice to be able to work with people from different clubs and bring them together and go ahead win this year's student v staff football matchmaking it 3 wins in a row for the students! I am very excited about next year's match already!"
The event went really well, it was nice to be able to work with people from different clubs and bring them together and go ahead and win this year's student v staff football match, making it 3 wins in a row for the students! I am very excited about next year's game already!
Even though the Staff and Alumni team didn’t win this year, they played a firm and fair game. After all, the team’s player Ricky Wilson was named the Man of the Match for his endurance, impressive performance and great team spirit. The Staff and Alumni team was also joined by the university alumni Joel Beya who pursued his career as an Influencer, Sports commentator and presenter, and a proud founder of CheekySport Ltd - an innovative sports content platform. The team played an immaculate game, all the players were persistent and showed great teamwork. It was a tough game, both teams played well and even though the Students’ goalkeeper was resisting most of the Staff and Alumni goals, Lee McCanny managed to score 2 goals in the second half of the game and bring the final score to 4-2. The Staff and Alumni team coach was Sam Armstrong, who works as a Senior Sports Operations Assistant in Sports & Recreation. Sam said:
For an event with only 3 weeks' notice when normally we’d have over 6 months to plan, it went incredible. It was great to meet new staff around the university and have the opportunity to coach at Fratton Park and even play on a pitch I’ve been in attendance of many times. I can’t wait to be there again next year. It was a great game and next year we'll make sure we get enough time to prove our title again and lift the trophy above our heads!
The trophy for the winning team and medals were handed to the players by the Pro-Vice Chancellor Jeremy Howells who congratulated all players and gave thanks to all included in the organisation of the event. The Students vs Staff/Alumni football match was organised by the Sport & Recreation team under the management of the Deputy Head of Sport Carl Athersuch, who commented on the event saying:
I’m pleased that so many people had the opportunity to participate in the match from a spectator and player perspective. It was a really great event, my congratulations go to the student team who were so respectful, kind and appreciative of the opportunity to play on the hallowed turf of Fratton Park. Although they came out on top this year, it was a really well-natured match. Next year will be bigger and better and we hope to bring back our fundraising element of the fixture.