Evening all. Here we are then at the second play-off. Whoever won tonight would take the final place in the ever tense second round. It was good to see a 3/4 female panel tonight. I'll go into feminine representation again later in the week, once I've cleared my Only Connect backlog after last week.
Southampton narrowly lost their first match to St Catharine's 165-135, though they did impress on the bonuses when they did get in on the buzzer, and definitely deserved a reprieve. They were the same four as before:
Will Cable, from Swindon, studying History
Sarah Stock, from Cardiff, studying Chemistry
Captain: Tricia Goggin, from New Ross in Ireland, studying Biomedical Engineering
Roland Sadler, from London, studying Biology
Queen Mary London also narrowly lost their first match to Nuffield 165-130, also managing a decent bonus tally when they get in and deserving another go, as well as sending Twitter into meltdown for at least three reasons! They too were unchanged from before:
Kate Lynes, from Nottingham, studying Sphincter Preservation
Stephanie Howard-Smith, from Bishop's Stortford in Hertfordshire, studying the cultural history the lapdog in the long 18th century
Captain: Verity Williams, from Eastbourne, studying Medicine
Yolanda Lovelady, from Formby near Liverpool, studying Medical Genetics
Off we set again then, and Southampton got going first courtesy of Miss Goggin, and took two bonuses on swallows. A second starter went Southampton's way, and all three bonuses went with it this time, a clear sign of intention. Another starter and another good bonus haul gave them an instant 65 point lead. Queen Mary then got off the mark courtesy of Miss Lynes, but just one bonus on Verdi operas follows. The first picture round, on locations of the oldest universities in Europe, went to Queen Mary, but they just took one bonus again, and thus trailed 65-30.
The Londoners did seem to have gathered momentum now though, as they picked up a Southampton error to take the next starter, but, again, just one bonus followed. A fourth consecutive starter went their way, and a set of bonuses on the favourite foods of UC fans, according to You.Gov (yes, really!), drew them level, though Paxo was a bit lenient to give them one of them. Southampton then woke up again thanks to Mr Cable, and reasserted their authority with a full set of bonuses. Queen Mary fought back with a starter and full bonus set of their own. Good match so far.
The music round, on film scores by classical composers, went to Queen Mary; they missed all the bonuses, but did now lead 100-90. Southampton drew level with the next starter, but couldn't get any of the bonuses to retake the lead. Another starter did the trick, though, and two bonuses on succulent plants gave them more room to breath.
The second picture round, on posters for film adaptations of works by Edgar Allen Poe, went to Southampton; they missed all the bonuses, but did have a steady lead of 130-100. Mr Sadler took his second starter in a row, and a full set of bonuses on islands named after the day of their discovery followed. Mr Sadler now seemed to have built up a head of steam, as he took a third starter in a row, and then a fourth, and half the bonuses from them followed.
Southampton now had a 90 point lead, and were almost home free. Miss Williams just about kept Queen Mary in the game with a starter, and two bonuses on Penguin publishing went with it. But Mr Sadler then took a fifth starter, and that was game over. Another starter went to Mr Sadler, and two bonuses only served to cement their victory. Miss Goggin took the final starter of the match, and the gong cut the bonuses off. Southampton won 235-120.
A pretty good match, close early on, until Southampton pulled away in the final stretch. Unlucky Queen Mary, who were a decent team who were simply overpowered late on, but well done on two respectable performances. Very well done to Southampton, though; a superb showing against good opponents, and we shall look forward to seeing you again in the second round!
Mr Sadler was the night's best buzzer, with six starters, all of them notched up in the final third of the match, while Miss Howard-Smith was Queen Mary's best with three. On the bonuses, Southampton converted a decent 21 out of 36, while Queen Mary managed 10 out of 21, and there were no penalties all night.
Next week's match: the first second round match! No word on the draw yet, but, somehow, I get the feeling Imperial will be playing next week, and Nuffield the week after. But we shall wait and see.
Only Connect reached its final qualification match tonight. I'll look over it later in the week, once I've caught up on last week's match. Also, as of next week, OC is on before UC at 7:30.
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