York celebrates cup successes
A TERRIFIC WEEK for the York Athletic Union saw victories for the men’s volleyball, women’s basketball and men’s hockey teams in their respective cup competitions.
The Volleyball 1st team, captained by Ben Brown, provided the most impressive win with a breath-taking display against a decent yet outplayed Oxford side, seeing them off in straight sets: 25-20, 25-21, 25-16.
This achievement was matched by a hard-fought performance from the women’s basketball 1sts who beat Teesside 1sts 54-49 in a tense and at times controversial game, in which the Teesside coach confronted the officials at the end of the match, acusing them of bias towards the home side.
A series of impressive displays sees them reach the final of the BUSA cup, where they will face Queen Mary’s at the University of York Sports Centre on March 7.
Elsewhere, the men’s football 1sts reached the final of the BUSA cup, in which they will face Bradford University in Week 10.
AU President Tom Moore expressed his delight at the recent successes, saying “The football team have an absolutely fantastic chance [of beating Bradford]. I don’t see any reason why they cannot win.
“In the case of the women’s basketball, it is a very tough game. Queen Mary’s results have been fantastic of late but they are travelling from London so you never know.”
Hopes for the basketball team will have been lifted, however, by a highly-spirited and skilful display against Teesside 1sts, in which they dominated for large parts of the game. If it hadn’t been for the poor conversion of free throws, the margin of victory would have been much higher.
Meanwhile, the hockey 1sts left it until the final seconds of extra time to secure victory against an inferior Abertay University team. The game shouldn’t have been in contention after a dominant first half display by York after which they were leading 2-0. However, a mix of complacency from York and a rousing second-half performance from Abertay took the game to extra-time tied 2-2. The final minutes produced a total of seven goals, a head injury and a sending off; ending the match 5-4 to York.
This victory means York will face Salford Men’s 1sts in the quarter-finals of the BUSA plate after they comfortably beat Manchester University 3rds last week.
York Hockey President Andy Hook, who has played a vital part in the club’s recent good form was optimistic after the draw was announced, saying: “With seven wins in a row now and 31 goals in those games I think we have every chance of progressing to the semi-finals. With our attacking formation of 4-3-3 and confidence running high we are thoroughly prepared to face Salford in the next round.”
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