James Milin-Ashmore and Geoffrey Dore relish UEL’s footballing success.
A last minute strike from Kieran Hughes-Mason secured a 3-2 win for the University of East London against Reading University in the British Universities’ South-Eastern Conference Cup on Wednesday night (13/3/13).
Reading were the first to settle, taking the lion’s share of the early chances, while UEL looked to use the pace of Aaron Thompson-Sommers on the counter attack. This tactic paid off in the 37th minute, when Thompson-Summers slipped the ball in to Imani Likita, who saw his first attempt saved but pounced on the rebound to draw first blood.
UEL were riding high, and Drew Jones was unlucky not to double their advantage four minutes later when his deflected shot came back off the crossbar. The East Londoners just needed to keep it tight for the remainder of the half, but failed to do so and Reading responded with an audacious cross-come-shot from 25 yards that beat Dan Robinson at his far post with just two minutes of the first period remaining.
After the restart, UEL could not seem to shake the cobwebs, and the referee added to the growing tension with a contentious decision to book Victor Nkolo for what seemed a fair challenge.
UEL suffered a huge scare in the 61st minute: Likita managed to clear from the line but only with an acrobatic effort.
East Londoners’ coach Yassin Abidou opted for fresh impetus by bringing on Hughes-Mason and Marcus Miller. With 20 minutes to go, UEL were able to step up a gear. Both Jordan Clarke and Richard Johnson had half-chances, before Hughes-Mason sent UEL supporters into jubilation with a beautifully chipped finish, following a cutback assist from Marley Spindler.
But these celebrations were cut short when, already into extra time, the referee awarded a penalty against Nkolo for a sliding tackle in the box. Reading duly scored from the spot, leaving UEL wondering how they had managed to clinch a draw from the jaws of victory. Yet it took just two minutes for East London to restore their lead. In a brilliant effort Hughes-Mason took the ball round the keeper and coolly fired into the roof of the net from an acute angle.
Going behind for the third time in the game was too much for beleaguered Reading, and UEL stood firm in the final seconds to record a momentous victory.
Match-winning Hughes-Mason was quick to pay tribute to his teammates. ‘To come off the bench in a cup final and score two goals is great. But it’s more about the team rather than me,’ he insisted.