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Footballers triumph in BUSA League showdown

by Paul Rainford (Blues Football Captain) The superb 4-1 victory against Worcester University last Friday ensured that we were crowned BUSA Midlands champions. I feel compelled to emphasise the immense sense of pride and gratitude that I feel at having been part of this team and this achievement. Great credit must be given to players and coaching staff alike, and, indeed it is difficult to downplay the importance of the influence of Martin Keown. His unwavering faith in our abilities as players and his own abilities as a coach to achieve success has been a vital component in this recent triumph. Clearly his experience at Arsenal has fostered an unwillingness to compromise in the pursuit of victory, and his influence is calming yet inspirational such that the team have been driven to believe that success and quality should come as standard. However now that the immediate celebrations are over we must be prepared to put this recent result behind us and move on to address the further challenges that lie ahead. It would be easy to allow the tempo to drop by relaxing back into a comfort zone and wallowing in self-congratulation, but such an approach would be detrimental to our further ambitions in the national knock-out competition (where we are scheduled to meet Team Bath in the first round) and the Varsity match. With no competitive fixture now until Wednesday of sixth week we will look to raise the intensity of our physical training in order to reach our peak levels of fitness. I would like to take this opportunity to say a brief congratulations to all those who were involved in the Duncan Mulholland Memorial match, which took place last Saturday, and made it a fitting tribute to an individual who was undoubtedly an important and much respected figure in the club.

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