With their super eight’s game against Durham university men’s first team looming, midfielder Agdelen explained that retaining their BUCS premier league status outweighed the importance of the cup . The relegation play off has been labelled ‘The biggest game in UEL men’s football history’.
He said: “It keeps the university in the mix against some of the best drilled teams in the country. That’s where UEL should be, that’s why this game means so much.”
On a cold winter afternoon at the University of Chichester, the University of East London first team lost 3-1 in a result that saw the team finish bottom of the premier division of BUCS in their first ever season.
High’s and Low’s
UEL’s 2016-2017 season has been a season of high’s and lows in the top division of BUCS football. Unfortunately for UEL, the latter has been prominent throughout as they have struggled to impose themselves as they would have liked. UEL finished the campaign with a record of two wins and eight losses. The harsh reality of the top league has been a steep learning curve for future seasons.
Agdelen told Rising East just how shocked the team have been in their first season in the highest division, claiming the teams were tougher to play against than expected.
He said: “It’s been very difficult. The sides have been much harder than we anticipated and have great backing behind them at games.
“We weren’t expecting the level that we were up against. It’s by far the hardest oppositions that we’ve played against at university level.”
Struggled
It’s easy to see what went wrong for UEL as the side have shipped 28 goals in their 10 games. The team have also struggled to find the free-scoring form that previous seasons have had, scoring just 11 goals. When you mix these stats with the pressure players faced when coming up against the very best in the country, it’s easy to see why the team have struggled.
Whilst the East Londoners did concede a lot of goals, that won’t be the most concerning thing for coach Yassin Abidou. The most worrying aspect for the coach and the team as a whole will be just how comprehensively the team were beaten in the majority of their losses.
Agdelen also alluded to the pressure the team felt and how UEL had never been in such a position. UEL had been strolling in the lower leagues which saw them gain promotion in seven consecutive years.
He said: “There is a lot of pressure upon the players and the manager. No one wants to see us get relegated especially everyone [who is] part of the team.
“It is also not in our nature to be in this situation as we’ve been promoted and won the leagues we’ve been in seven years in a row.”
Retain their place
However, as worrying as the season has proved to be for UEL, it all needs to be put behind them as they aim to retain their place in the premier division of university football. The result is crucial to UEL’s future. It could see them either struggling to get back to the premier division, or pushing on to become one of British Universities’ best footballing side.
Adgelen finished on what the win could do for the side. He said: “This win could give us the platform to work on for next season to prove that we are more than capable as a team to compete in the highest division in the country.
“I think we have learnt a lot over the past couple months and we need to take that into this play-off game and give it everything we’ve got leaving nothing in the changing room.”
