BUCS GW3: 9/9, A Perfect Week for DUAFC

Wednesday 5th November 2025

Durham 1s v Manchester Met: 13:00 (a)

Written by Phil Kay

BUCS Matchday 3 brought a challenging fixture for the Durham 1s. Manchester Met had proved difficult opponents last year, with both games ending in draws despite dominant performances. A win today would give our promotion hopes a real boost.

After an early—though slightly delayed—departure from Maiden Castle (thanks to Rory Edwards and myself getting stuck in traffic), we made our sleepy way to Manchester. A 1pm kick-off three hours away isn’t for the faint-hearted. Upon arrival at Platt Lane, the Man Met mind games began immediately: we were shown into a boiling-hot changing room barely larger than a toilet cubicle. Thankfully, we were later moved to a proper one and could finally focus.

After kick-off, we started brightly, with Ellis Challinor’s long throws causing chaos in the Met box. Durham dominated early possession, limiting Met to no real chances while forcing their keeper into action. The breakthrough came through two excellent Rory Edwards set pieces: first a free kick pushed wide, then a perfect corner which I nodded home from five yards.

Up 1–0, we pushed for more. Right back Oscar Cooke almost scored his first BUCS goal with a looping cross-shot that hit the underside of the bar — Seb Hopkins even celebrated before realising it hadn’t gone in. Fortunately, our second came just ten minutes later through fresher Olly Dixon, who received a pass from Rory, cut inside, and fired home at the near post — a near replica of his earlier goal for Durham United in the Northern League.

Half Time: Durham (1s) 2 - 0 Manchester Met

At halftime, we led 2–0, with the coaches reminding us not to get complacent and to score the next goal. The second half began much the same, with Durham in control. I attempted an overhead kick from an Ossie O’Neill cross (sorry, Oscar, for ignoring your shout), while Rory came close with a driven effort.

Fifteen minutes in, Man Met pressed hard, forcing a few shaky moments, but we held firm. Fresh legs from substitutions helped restore composure. Our third goal came from excellent pressing by Olly Dixon, who intercepted high up the pitch and found Seb Hopkins. Seb’s shot stung the keeper’s gloves, and after a deflection, the ball fell kindly for me to spin and score. The linesman’s flag stayed down — and, upon later VEO review, rightly so.

At 3–0, we still looked hungry. A slick move between Olly, Rory, Harry Stewart and I ended with a right-footed shot narrowly missing the near post — a perfect hat-trick chance gone begging. Durham continued to work relentlessly in and out of possession, with standout efforts from Ollie Bell, Rory, and Seb, who covered every blade of grass.

Late on, I nearly completed my hat-trick after latching onto a weak back pass, nicking the ball past the keeper — only for the referee to blow for a foul. The keeper’s grin said it all.

Pre-match jokes about “eight defenders on the pitch” became reality late in the game as Durham’s back line sat deep in what could only be described as an 8-1-1 formation. Even centre-back Elliott Clarke made a ten-minute cameo up front!

Durham stayed resolute for the final minutes, securing a second clean sheet of the BUCS campaign — a testament to our defensive effort and team spirit. A well-deserved 3–0 victory saw us take all three points back to Durham, setting up a big clash against Northumbria at Maiden Castle next Wednesday.

Full Time: Durham (1s) 3 - 0 Manchester Met

Player of the Match: Phil Kay

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Durham 2s v Leeds 2s: 15:00 (h)

Written by Oliver Tweddle

It was a massive afternoon at home for the 2s, who hosted Leeds Uni 2nd team for the third game of the new season. As a newly promoted side, the pressure was on to prove themselves at this level. After a tough start to the campaign, the lads were absolutely desperate to get their first win on the board.

The boys were called in for a 1:45 meet ahead of the 3 o'clock kick-off. The weather was surprisingly warm for mid-November, making for good footballing conditions and the atmosphere in the changing room was already charged as news had filtered through that the 1st team had already won their game, putting a bit of positive pressure on the 2s to follow in the same fashion.

After a sharp warm-up, the whistle went and the lads started brightly, clearly up for the fight. It only took around 20 minutes to break the deadlock. A well-delivered corner was swung into the box, causing chaos for the Leeds defence. The ball eventually broke to Anthony Salvadoray, who met it with a great strike that bulged the back of the net, putting the 2s 1-0 up.

That first goal gave the boys a massive boost, and just 5 minutes later, they doubled their lead. Some good link-up play between Oliver Tweddle and Frankie Fisher carved open the defence, with Fisher getting on the end of it to finish the move off well.

Half Time: Durham (2s) 2 - 0 Leeds

At 2-0 heading into half time, the lads were in a strong position. The third goal came midway through the second half. A ball was played over the top, and Will Kitching showed great determination to chase it down. He put the Leeds keeper under massive pressure, challenging him for the ball. It spilled free, and Kitching was there to put it into the empty net to make it 3-0.

Leeds managed to grab a consolation goal with 20 minutes left to play, but it was too little, too late and did nothing to dampen the spirits at the final whistle. The 3-1 victory secured a massive three points. The lads were absolutely buzzing to get that all-important first win of the season, and in such a deserved fashion.

Full Time: Durham (2s) 3 - 1 Leeds

To make the day even better, news later came in that the 3rd team had also won their game, capping off a perfect 9-point Wednesday for the club. A massive day all-round.

Player of the Match: Oliver Tweddle

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Durham 3s v Leeds Beckett 3s: 17:00 (a)

Written by Charlie Smith

Last Wednesday, the 3s travelled down to Leeds Beckett looking to secure our first league win of the season. Spirits were high with this being our first game under the new leadership of John Mcguiness.

This was shown clearly, getting off to a quick start with Oli Stewart opening the scoring inside the first 10 minutes with a well worked goal.

Half Time: Durham (3s) 1 - 0 Leeds Beckett

For the rest of the game we found ourselves in a tough battle with the lads having to dig deep and defend for large portions of the game.

We stood up well to the test, but despite some body on the line defending from a lot of the lads, in particular Jamie and Kristian at the back, Beckett managed to equalise midway through the second half.

The equaliser allowed the game to open up with both teams having opportunities to take the lead in the dying moments.

In the end, we managed to salvage a victory with Charlie Smith scoring in the dying moments. This gave us our first win of the season which we all felt we had deserved. The extra time victory led to jubilant celebrations on the journey home as we headed back to Durham with 3 points in the bag.

Full Time: Durham (3s) 2 - 1 Leeds Beckett

Player of the Match: Charlie Smith