URN

Nottingham Men’s Hockey 1sts have enjoyed a solid year, the highlight of which was a well-fought 2-3 victory over Loughborough as the curtain-raiser for the season, and have managed to secure fourth place in their division. But tensions will be running high at the Varsity showdown against Trent on Friday as a result of last week’s league game against them, in which a 5-2 victory for Uni consigned Trent to the ignominy of relegation.

The team will be hoping the result gives them the mental edge to push on and claim another win against Trent on Friday 16th, but they will have to contend with the absence of most of their international players, who are being called up to their respective squads. In spite of missing some key players, there is no doubt that the team are keen for the challenge of facing Trent once more, and are certainly looking to repeat a victory, the likes of which they achieved last year in an enthralling shootout win which was arguably the most dramatic moment of the Varsity series.

Ahead of Friday’s grudge match, URN chatted to Will Lobo and Richard Lawrence from the Uni team. Both men are eagerly awaiting the chance to get another victory over their Trent counterparts, and have been delighted with the impressive results they have achieved since the start of the season.

Midway through the cold Friday afternoon that was 11th March, Nottingham Trent University were leading the 2011 Varsity series 4-1. Come the next Friday evening, the men and women of the University of Nottingham had completely turned the championship around and led 5-4. Building on the successes of the Netball and Men’s Basketball, however close those results were, victory in both the Men’s and Women’s Hockey would result in Uni leading the series for the first time this year.

As the afternoon turned into evening after the Women's Hockey team securing a valuable Varsity point for Uni, the Beeston Hockey stadium began to get busier, despite the drop in temperature. The PA system started blaring out motivational tunes, such as Rocky, in an attempt to create an atmosphere of tension inside Beeston Hockey Club. Both teams were out on the pitch long before the push back, putting in some last minute training and sizing each other up. When the umpire blew his whistle to begin the game, there was a great roar from the spectators, as they looked forward to a cracking game of hockey.