Nottingham Trent University captain Tom Cursons guided his side to a Varsity win over the University of Nottingham in a game that had it all.
NTU approached the game with the upper hand having already beaten their opponents twice this season.
From the off the holders’ good form was evident with talisman Cursons taking just one minute and 20 seconds to put Trent ahead.
The forward found himself one on one following a ball through the middle and he steadied himself to slot home to get Trent off to a flier.
A scrappy opening half an hour saw University of Nottingham grow into the game.
They saw a shot from eight yards out deflect wide in the 25th minute before hitting the bar 10 minutes later as some good work down the right from Henry Swann led to UoN hitting the underside of the bar from six yards – a chance they would live to regret
It was beginning to feel like there would be no reward for UoN dominance until in first half added time some good work down the left allowed University of Nottingham’s Mo Bangura to find space before placing the ball into the bottom right corner.
It was déjà vu for Cursons in the second half as Trent came out firing and restored their lead.
Once again UoN grew into the game as the half wore on and soon found themselves level once more.
Goal scorer turned provider as Bangura teed up Henry Swann who chopped inside and found the far corner, firing in from outside the penalty area.
An unusual huge miss in the 69th minute from Mo Bangura when the ball was pulled back only for him to miss an empty net and spoon the ball over the bar left Trent fortunate to be on level terms.
Late UoN dominance was to no avail as the full time whistle prompted penalties for the second Varsity running.
Both goalkeepers put on a show in the shootout producing five stunning penalty saves but Trent won 4-3 to retain the cup with the NTU stopper the hero.
More heartbreak for UoN as they missed the chance to stop the rot against their rivals.
For Trent it’s yet more silverware as they continue to impress.