A top notch display from Men’s Badminton 1sts ensured they breezed through to the quarter finals of the Northern Conference Cup following their 8-0 whitewash victory over Manchester 3^rds.

Manchester 3rds were positioned only one point behind UCLan in the league standings coming into the game, so it was expected to be a much closer encounter.

Perhaps the highlight of the afternoon was the opening doubles match in which Bruce Johnson and Dave Garnett partnered up to win in straight sets after a fantastic comeback from the pair.

Both sets were nail-bitingly close as the home partnership clawed back a number of times when it seemed all was lost to take the first set 25-23 and the second 28-26.

The second doubles match was once again very close with Manchester taking the first set 19-21, only for UCLan pairing Ben Dobbs and James Pickard to take the two following sets 21-18 and 21-17.

Graham Hollingsworth featured in the first singles game which he took in straight sets 21-19 and 21-14 – covering the court well.

The following singles encounter saw Matty Timms win the first set with ease 21-10, however his opponent turned up the heat in the second, which eventually Timms won 22-20 with an impressive comeback after it looked like the match would go the distance.

Doubles pair Garnett and Johnson then secured UCLan’s victory, despite going down in the first set 19-21 they fought back with some superb play to take the following sets 21-17 and 21-14.

Hollingsworth followed in similar fashion to his previous encounter, taking the game in two straight sets. This time however, the contest was much more even and may have gone the other way if it wasn’t for the hard work and determination from the UCLan performer.

Dobbs and Pickard made light work of their second match of the afternoon with a straight sets victory of 21-14 and 21-13 which showed their capabilities as a doubles pair.

The final match typified the team performance for UCLan as Timms put in a gutsy performance, using up every ounce of energy he had in him. He went down 14-21 in the first set before bouncing back – taking the remaining sets 21-15 and 21-16, to seal a huge victory for UCLan.

“Today went really well” said UCLan Captain, James Pickard.

“It’s one of the last rounds of the cup, so I’m really happy with the performance”, he added.

UCLan will now have two weeks off before they face Manchester 3rds once again, this time in the league away from home. Meanwhile they could face fellow team-mates UCLan 2nds in the next round of the cup depending on other results.

UCLan Team:

Doubles- Bruce Johnson & Dave Garnett

Doubles- Ben Dobbs & James Pickard

Singles- Graham Hollingsworth, Matty Timms

Alice Mees with UCLan's Star paddler Michelle Ferry

UCLan Canoe and Kayak Clubs Competitions Captain Josh Jubb took his hardened team of kayakers down to the River Washburn in Yorkshire last Sunday for this year’s BUCS Wild Water Race.

The UCLan team consisted of paddlers of all abilities, from freshers to final years with representatives in both the Men’s K1 and the Women’s K1. UCLan picked up some fantastic places in both of these time trialled events, with UCLan’s Fastest Jamie Rogers achieving his personal best of 1:34:50.

The enthusiasm could be seen throughout the team and there was a fantastic effort from the freshers, some of whom have only been in their boats for seven weeks; each scoring well in the time trials.

Michelle Ferry, a club fresher, was our Star Sprinter of the day for the women’s event, finishing 31^st overall with a time of 1:48:50.

Club Chairman Rob Hayes was delighted with how UCLan placed overall and said he was looking forward to seeing the whole team develop, as they gain more water experience.

More information and Pictures from the event can be seen online at www.facebook.com/UCKme

By Loz Marchant (Media Officer, UCLan Kayak and Canoe Club)

Men’s Fencing 1sts 1

Manchester 2nds 2

A brave fight was put up by the Men’s Fencing 1sts in a 2-1 defeat to the University of Manchester 2nds.

The 1sts fought fiercely with the final weapon having fallen behind with the sabre and foil.

Epee specialist Allan Makarenko showed great determination to step up with 14 consecutive hits in a bout when UCLan were all but beaten.

Makarenko had just three minutes to score 17 hits on Manchester’s Oscar Kennedy-Blundell, and the Event Management student made every second count for one final twist in the contest.

The first year has been fencing with the epee since he was eight years old, and he put Kennedy-Blundell to the sword with an outstanding 17-1 win.

UCLan captain Johannes Voges said: ‘He is awe-inspiring. I don’t know how he does it to be honest’.

The 1sts claimed a 45-41 victory with the epee after going down 45-27 with the sabre, and 45-31 with the foil.

More than a third of the team were absent through injury, and Voges was quick to praise the performance of newcomers Matthew Harker and Craig Richardson.

‘We had to use two very inexperienced fencers’, he said. ‘They tried their best and put in a very good effort for us’.

Voges also added: ‘The UCLan Fencing team is always looking to recruit more people. Come down and show us your stuff. You might be fencing sooner than you think.’

By Sam Gilliland

Women’s Hockey 2nds 1

Manchester 5ths 3

A game that was described as ‘Manchester dominated’ by captain Sian Holland, ended in another home defeat for the UCLan Women’s Hockey 2nds, this time going down 3-1 to Manchester 5ths.

Despite the loss, captain Holland was convinced that they played a better game on Wednesday compared to the other matches so far. She added: “In comparison to previous weeks, it was a massive improvement, the defence played really well this week.”

An impressive display from goalkeeper Hannah Shore and the rest of the defence helped the score stay to a minimum, however UCLan still lie bottom of the Northern 4A league.

UCLan were on the back foot from the minute the whistle blew, with a great save coming in the second minute, as Manchester had a short corner which was kept out by Shore’s feet.

The home side only managed to get the ball in the opposition’s half three times during the first period, which shows the control that Manchester had on the game. Saves just kept coming from Shore as she rightfully kept a clean sheet for her fine efforts.

The second half started as it had ended, with Shore keeping Manchester out again with another great save. A minute later the post denied the away side the lead, but they were rewarded shortly after, as an easy tap in from a cross gave the game its first goal.

In a hectic 15 minutes after the goal, UCLan’s defence stood firm and denied a second goal for the visitors with two diving saves, a clearance off the line from Jemma McCleery and a shot that rebounded off the crossbar.

Just as Manchester looked like they would finally score another, UCLan stormed down the pitch in only their second attack of the half. Jess Woodhouse received the ball on the far side, crossing it in for Gemma Yates who tapped it in at the far post to tie the score.

A lucky second for Manchester minutes later gave them back their lead. The ball was played into UCLan’s D and a poor piece of control from the forward wrong-footed Shore and the home side had it all to do once again.

As UCLan pushed forward in the last moments of the game the result was wrapped up, as Manchester orchestrated a great one two move and finished it into the corner for their deserved victory.

By Chris Kynoch

Women’s Football 1sts 2

Leeds Met Carnegie 2nds 3

A brace from Mamz was not enough to lead Women’s Football 1sts to victory as they slipped to a 3-2 defeat against Leeds Met Carnegie 2nds.

Two goals in five second half minutes turned around the deficit of a single goal at the break, but UCLan let the lead slip and a late goal saw the visitors move level on points in the BUCS Northern division 1A table.

The home side dominated possession in the opening half, but found little reward and had to be continually wary of Leeds Mets’ lightning counter attacks.

The closest UCLan came to breaking the deadlock was their first chance on five minutes.  Rebecca Grocott’s lofted effort almost capitalised on a defence in disarray, but was cleared as it arched towards an unguarded goal.

The UCLan striker was a threat throughout and drove narrowly wide moments later as her side looked to press home their opening advantage.

However, their opponents’ quick strikers threatened to expose a high defensive line and, following a couple of early warnings, took the lead with a quarter of the match gone.

A defensive mix-up allowed the Leeds striker to scamper down the left wing and curl the ball over goalkeeper Laura Miller and into the far corner from the edge of the area.

The goal gave Leeds more of a foothold in the game, but Julie Spence’s spinning volley on 32 minutes could easily have levelled proceedings after Mamz’s cross found her free in the six yard box.

After a disjointed opening period, UCLan wasted no time in equalising inside two minutes of the second half.  Spence was quickest to react after a defensive error and freed Mamz to poke the ball under the onrushing goalkeeper.

The turnaround was complete seven minutes later.  The right winger Mamz once again found herself in space and one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but opted for a lob.  The goalkeeper got a hand to it, but was unable to prevent the ball from going in off the post.

Following a sloppy start to the second half, the goal sparked Leeds in to life on the hour mark and it took two tremendous saves from Miller to keep the hard-fought lead intact.  The goalkeeper showed lightning reflexes to tip a shot around the post with a strong one-handed save before being equally alert to save with her feet from the resulting corner.

Miller could do little about the Leeds Met equaliser which arrived on 66 minutes.  Some slick passing in central midfield released the left winger who burst into the area before placing the ball into the far corner.

A share of the spoils would probably have been a fair result, but Leeds Met snatched victory five minutes from time.  A snap shot from the edge of the area left Miller motionless as it went in off the inside of the post to ensure the three points would be heading to Leeds.

By Liam Geraghty

UCLan Netball 1sts 37

Leeds Carnegie 2nds 45

Captain Sarah Titherley picked up the player of the match as Netball 1sts ended up on the wrong end of a disappointing 37-45 defeat by Leeds Carnegie 2nds at the Sir Tom Finney Sports Centre.

Prior to this match both sides were level on six points each in the BUCS Northern 1A division. This game could have gone either way.

Leeds started off the better of the two sides in the first quarter after UCLan appeared to be struggling to keep hold of the ball.

The away side soon had a two goal advantage but it was goal attack Danni Parkinson who intercepted the pass and played in goal shooter Abby Loughery for the first of the home side’s goals.

Soon after, the quarter became stretched when wing attack Titherley kept with her marker and intercepted the pass to Loughery who equalised with a good shot for five apiece.

After good pressure in defence, UCLan finally took the lead towards the end of the quarter after contact by the opposing goal defence allowed Parkinson to score the follow up for a 9-8 lead.

The second quarter saw a very open battle as Leeds took the lead again early on.

Once more, it was Titherley with the interception that started off some great combination play between Parkinson and centre Jessica White, for Parkinson to finish and level the scoreline.

Although the home side were applying the pressure, it was Leeds who made their hard work pay withfour4 consecutive shots mid-way through the quarter. After some encouragement from the bench, goal defence Camilla Ashford blocked the shot of the attacker and set up a break away for Parkinson to finish 17-18. The home side finished the quarter the brighter after Parkinson made it 22-20 before the break.

UCLan started the third quarter very much like how they finished the second.

The hard working Loughrey made it 24-22 after a bounce pass from Titherley allowed her to shake off her marker.

Goalkeeper Kelly Mason had a tough game, but made a great interception which in the end fell to Parkinson, who capped a good move by the home side 27-24.

As the quarter drew to a close, fatigue was clear to see as tired legs looked to be chasing shadows. Leeds went on to score four more shots closing the gap to just one point as the buzzer sounded.

The final quarter saw a change in events that captain Sarah Titherley was disappointed with:

“It was frustrating, we should’ve won it but we lost it in the last, they came back strong just as we looked tired.”

With the score now at 35-36 it literally was all to play for, but heads appeared to have dropped as the home side started giving the ball away cheaply.

As the final few minutes approached, the gap increased to eight in favour of Leeds and the game finished 37-45.

Goal scorers – Danni Parkinson, Abby Loughrey

Laura Howard

UCLan Men’s 1sts 4

Edge Hill 1sts 48

UCLan Rugby League 1sts came unstuck against a well-organised Edge Hill 1sts side, going down to a 48-4 defeat at UCLan Sports Arena.

It was a case of effort but no end product for the UCLan team, who battled resiliently for 80 minutes, but lacked the finesse to cross the whitewash too often.

The first 20 minutes were positive for the home side, as Edge Hill were penned into their own half more often than not, but UCLan’s inability to score whilst mounting the pressure was a sign of things to come.

Twice, Edge Hill were pegged back into their in-goal area, but both times the visitors escaped.

Then, just as UCLan were beginning to look settled, Edge Hill scored in the corner; the UCLAN defence left scrambling.

But a close contest was not on the cards as Edge Hill touched down three more times in the opening 40 minutes to lead 22-0 at the break.

Unfortunately for UCLan, the second half started as the first had finished, with a try.

Edge Hill patiently played the ball along the line before diving under the sticks easily.

The conversion followed and the away side led 28-0.

But UCLan were not to be denied a try, and on the 50 minute mark, they bagged their first and only points of the afternoon.

UCLan had the ball at the scrum following an Edge Hill knock-on, and the ball was played across to the left wing where Zac McCluskey charged forward and grounded beside the flag.

The conversion was wayward, but the score was now 28-4.

Any hopes of a UCLan comeback were immediately dashed.

Barely three minutes after scoring, UCLan’s line failed to hold firm, and Edge Hill ran through to score, diminishing any UCLan optimism.

Edge Hill led 32-4 after 55 minutes, and they were in again right under the posts two minutes later.

This time, the conversion was spot-on and Edge Hill increased their lead to 38-4.

The final 20 minutes of the match were to prove futile for UCLan, who rather than gaining ground on the opponents, lost more.

A couple of tries and a conversion in the last 17 minutes, condemning the home side to a 48-4 loss.

UCLan’s Josh Rogerson said, “Key players were missing today, particularly in the forwards, such as John Rushen who we are probably too dependent on.

“But I believe we have the quality in this team to turn results around and get back to winning ways.”

By Callum Gormally

UCLan Men’s 1sts 14

Manchester 2nds 15

A first half, eleven-point lead wasn’t enough to prevent the Men’s Rugby Union 1sts from slipping to a disappointing home reverse against Manchester 2nds on Wednesday.

The hosts made a superb start, hit Manchester hard in every tackle and got their first try of the afternoon after just five minutes.

A quick-ball from a UCLan lineout went through the backs and after working the opening, centre Johnny Hyde went over under the posts. Ben Marshall had the simple task of converting to give his side a 7-0 lead.

Manchester fought back strongly and began to put some heavy pressure on their hosts with a series of barnstorming runs and heavy tackles. It was only a matter of time before the visitors had points on the board and they did so through a Will Carter penalty on 13 minutes after UCLan were guilty of being off their feet.

The momentum was swinging one way then the other and Marshall hit the post with a penalty before UCLan extended their advantage on 19 minutes.

Manchester were pushing over the hosts’ 10-metre line and as they swung the ball out wide, home captain Daniel Scott intercepted the pass and ran the length of the field to score a wonderful solo try. Marshall added the extras to put UCLan into a commanding 14-3 lead.

Lying down was not going to be an option for the visitors and they struck back ten minutes later with a well-worked score.

After building up a head of steam down the right-hand side, Manchester moved the ball quickly and despite Scott’s try-saving tackle on one visiting player, Johnny Whittle was on hand to dot down and put his side back into the game. Carter dragged his conversion to the right of the posts but it was certainly game on at this stage.

Four minutes before half-time and Manchester managed to edge their noses in front thanks to a try that was more about brawn than it was about brain.

The visitors took in a lineout just five metres from the UCLan line and as the forwards powered over, Jack Dennison was the player receiving the congratulations from his teammates.

Carter knocked over a superb conversion from the touchline and it was the away side who held a one-point advantage at the interval.

The second half was a tight affair, just as the first had been, and it was UCLan who had the first scoring opportunity. The referee deemed that Manchester had entered the ruck at the side but from the resulting penalty, Marshall dragged his kick to the left of the posts.

Manchester began to have more of the ball in the home side’s territory and were looking for the score that would kill the game off.

UCLan weren’t going to give an inch and were terrific in defence as they kept the visitors out and put themselves in with a chance of stealing a result.

With only ten minutes left on the clock, Marshall had chance to redeem himself as UCLan were awarded another penalty after a Manchester flanker was caught not releasing the ball. This time the UCLan fly-half drifted his kick agonizingly to the right of the sticks as his teammates looked on.

Following that missed kick, the hosts couldn’t find the pivotal score that would have given them the result they craved and Manchester were left celebrating a vital victory away from home.

UCLan captain Daniel Scott said afterwards: “We started the game really well but, unfortunately, we just couldn’t continue that throughout the 80 minutes.

“We lost our mindset and our concentration a little bit and that has cost us in the end.

Our defensive play was terrific today but we’ll need to work on our communication in training this week before our tough cup game with Manchester 3rds next week.”

Deflation was visible on the faces of the Men’s Football 1sts after a 5-1 defeat to table-topping Sheffield Hallam 1sts at UCLan Sports Arena on Wednesday.

The majority of the Hallam goals were scored in the first-half on a typically chilly afternoon as UCLan found themselves 4-0 down by the interval, despite competing well in the early stages of the game.

It was the visitors who created the first clear-cut chance with barely five minutes on the clock after their headed effort was cleared off the line by UCLan’s Daniel Morgan.

The hosts then came close on the ten-minute mark when Joe Shelmerdine struck a beautifully curling free kick, thumping the Hallam post before rolling out for a goal-kick.

The first of the goals came after Sheffield’s Callum Ward was brought down in the area – leaving the referee no choice but to point to the spot. Striker Matt Wooley then converted to give the visitors the lead with 19 minutes of the game played.

UCLan came out battling from the restart with Sheffield having goalkeeper Liam Flynn to thank for keeping the score as it was after a superb half-volley by Jake Forshaw was tipped over the bar from 25 yards out. The resulting corner was once again saved by the Hallam keeper after a strong header from defender Will Monks.

Minutes later the hosts were ruing their missed chances after Hallam midfielder Zach Bayarch nodded in from close range after a well delivered corner kick to double his side’s lead.

UCLan heads then seemed to drop as the frustration crept in, however little could have been done to prevent the visitors third of the match. A floated corner found its way to Dan Fradley, who half-volleyed the ball into the top left-hand corner of the net from the edge of the area, leaving keeper Matthew Bell with no chance.

Attacks from the home side on the opposition goal were restricted to long shots in the remaining minutes of the first half as the visitors began to get a real hold on the game.

On the stroke of half-time the fourth Hallam goal arrived after a great first touch and strike by Wooley could only see Bell get fingertips to the ball as it bounced in off the post into the back of the net.

UCLan came out after the break in a far more attacking fashion; closing down players quicker and using the wings much more productively to create chances.

On 50 minutes a strong penalty claim was turned down by the referee after stand out performer for the hosts, Joe Lolley, made a darting run into the area and looked to have been dragged down by a Hallam defender.

The game saw a lot of the ball in the middle of the park for a large remainder of the second half as UCLan began to break up the Sheffield attacks, with both keepers at each end having little to deal with. A neat finish from right back, Daniel Dasololu, on 75 minutes reduced the scoreline to 1-4 after a well delivered corner kick; giving the hosts a chance of making a game of it.

The home side were unlucky to not grab a second five minutes later after some last ditch defending prevented them from hitting the back of the net as they entered their best spell of the game.

Cruelly, it was Sheffield who grabbed the sixth and final goal of the match, as the result of another corner kick. This time the set-piece was headed home by defender Sam Dave, to seal the victory for the away side.

UCLan captain, Matthew Bell said afterwards, “We gave them too much respect”.

“We were much better in the second half, but we really need to concentrate on conceding less and today we just weren’t good enough”.

By Joe Angove

Preston North End will host Rochdale later this afternoon as they continue to look for their first win eight games.

The Lilywhites lie 13th in the League One table and have taken just one point from the last seven games.

Striker Neil Mellor could be fit to play after been out for a month with an ankle injury, while Juvhel Tsoumou is also likely to return.