MEDWAY STUDENTS BRING HOME THE CUP

Young footballers from the Universities at Medway achieved a notable first when they triumphed in the Southern England Student Sports Association (SESSA) Challenge Cup Final. In a dramatic game, the second eleven team ran out 3-2 winners against Newham College to bring home the cup to Medway for the first time. The victory was all the more momentous as it rounded off the first season that sports teams from the Universities at Medway partnership between Kent, Greenwich and Christ Church universities and Mid-Kent College - have combined to play under the joint banner.

Medway's captain Paul Flannigan, who is studying Sports Science at the University of Greenwich at Medway, said the result marked the end of a fantastic debut season for the team. "We're all over the moon to have won. We really battled hard and were desperate to get something out of this season, having also gone close in the league," he said. "Our fans were brilliant. They travelled up to the Ford Sports Ground in Romford in impressive numbers and their support really spurred us on to keep going right to the end."

Despite being in their first final, the students - who were all from Kent and Greenwich universities - showed no signs of being overawed and raced into a 3-0 lead by the interval. Tony Maude, a first-year Sports Therapy student from the University of Kent at Medway, opened the scoring in the first few minutes, before Greenwich students Joseph Sachs and Ade Adedugbe added a goal apiece.

In the second half, however, Newham battled back, grabbing a goal soon after the restart and then really setting the Medway nerves jangling with a second goal on the hour mark. Then the real drama began as, with the score at 3-2, Medway conceded not one, but two penalties - the second just ten minutes from time. Both penalties, however, were brilliantly saved by keeper Erkan Ibrahim and after a tense final few minutes the Universities team were able to celebrate their hard-earned win.

Daniel Palmer, Development Manager for the Universities at Medway Student Association, said the result has put the campus firmly on the sporting map. "It's a great achievement to have won a trophy in this inaugural season for the Universities sports teams, but above all I was pleased to see that students from all the institutions turned out to support us," he said.

"There's a strong team ethos on the pitch and a definite camaraderie among the students off it as well. We hope to build a top-notch sporting reputation here at Medway and this is the perfect start.'"

The Universities' sporting portfolio is growing rapidly. It currently has four football teams - three men's and one women's - plus a netball team. From September, basketball, rugby and hockey teams at the campus, plus a second netball side, will also start competing for honours in SESSA league and cup competitions.

In addition, watersports such as rowing, sailing and kayaking will be on offer to Universities at Medway students from September. Mr Palmer added: "We are always looking to add to our sporting activities. All our sports clubs come about because of the efforts and enthusiasm of the students themselves, and the sporting future at our campus is extremely bright."

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Caption for photo : Second eleven captain Paul Flannigan parades the SESSA Challenge Cup.

For further information:
Caron Jones
Public Relations Unit
University of Greenwich
Tel: 020 8331 8248
Email: caron.jones@gre.ac.uk