Kieran Baldwin reviews a topsy-turvy season for himself his UEL men’s football side
Another year at UEL, another season with the football team, the difference being the stop-start nature throughout.
It’s certainly been another memorable year for the UEL football club. This comes right from the top of the club, as the manager Yassin Abidou has taken the 1st team to the South Eastern 1A division title. This success has had a knock-on effect on the other sides, which has led to both the 2nd and 3rd teams having strong seasons, but just missing out on promotion.
I feel the reason behind the 1st teams’ success is they have successfully introduced new and experienced players from the 2nd and 3rd teams, which has rewarded them with promotion to the top division.
It started at the beginning of the year, Memorial Park in West Ham on a warm September evening. The first trial for upcoming season was set to take place. The lads returning from last year were handed the responsibility by Abidou to get the details of the talent on show and it appears they did a good job, with all three sides introducing new first years into their teams and enough players scouted to form a new fourth team.
After a week of hard work in the trials, the large number of student triallists was narrowed down to just 25 squad members in each team.
Tough Times
On a personal note it’s been a really tough year, as both injury and my university studies have limited my playing time. I have found this particularly difficult, as I was selected as captain of the 3rd team, something I have been very proud of. This decision by the coaches show that they personally believe I have the leadership skills to lead the team into games and help the side win.
Despite not being available for the whole year, I have been pleased with my personal performances although on the pitch the team as a whole have struggled to win games. I genuinely believe the 3rds side could and should be competing at a much higher level.
Being injured right at the very beginning of the campaign was one of the most frustrating experiences I’ve had to endure as a player. Having to watch my team mates from the sidelines knowing I couldn’t help was the most difficult part. I knew I had to work hard in recovery and that meant spending time in the gym and taking part in light training.
My first game for UEL back from injury was a thrilling 5-5 draw in the cup that ended in penalties, which we unfortunately lost but it was good to be back on the pitch. Little did I know that this game would echo our season as a whole, due to that little bit of luck not being on our side.
Achieve
The biggest positive throughout the whole club has to be the togetherness of the squads, as we’ve all been on the same page from the start. This involves matters both on and off the field, with high attendances at training sessions and social gatherings. As a club, we’ve been able to achieve what we wanted on the pitch and the first team’s success ultimately represents the togetherness.
If the first team can gain promotion to the top division, then this will boost the whole profile and morale of the club. The aim which the clubs strives for, which is ingrained in us as players is to progress each team through the divisions, so our sides compete with each other and dominate university football.
With the season now coming to an end, with just a few games to go and with Varsity round the corner, hopefully all three clubs can end on a high. This would be a good send off for the lads that are due to leave at the end of the year and with my final year approaching I will want to make next season even greater than this one, when September rolls round once again.