Football Mens 3rds
Time: Saturday 13.30
Location: 22 acres
Points: 1
An exciting and tense second half completely overshadowed the dullness of the initial stages of the game as Lancaster clinched a win minutes from time. It was an undeserved loss for the home team, made even more painful by a squandered chance of a late equaliser when YORK12, left unmarked by the opponent’s defence, saw his shot go wide of goal ten seconds before the final whistle. The opening of the first half was far from entertaining with the ball bogged down in midfield, with both teams’ forwards, but mostly Lancaster, often unable to create chances as they often failed to connect effectively with passes and assists. Lancaster started the strongest of the two sides, with an early run in the sixth minute from LANCASTER17 well cleared by York centre-back Rixon.
Although constantly pressurizing York, poor passing between Lancaster’s midfielders and lack of communication with the wingers often saw them cheapily give the ball away to the home side. Lancaster’s Atherton quick run on the right was comfortably dealt with by York’s Clark, who looked solid as left-back throughout the game. York’s first good chance came fifteen minutes into the first half with a low cross from the right by Fahey, with 16 unable to deliver from it. Minutes later, Lancaster’s no.9 was twice left unmarked and was allowed space to make two quick runs inside the penalty area towards goal: on the first occasion, his shot went wide of the target; on the second a great clearance from York no. 15 prevented Lancaster from going ahead.
Although attempting to pressurize the away team, York often easily lost possession and had to thank both Lancaster’s 18’s abysmal performance and Clark’s composure for keeping the score goalless. With the game edging towards half time, an unnecessary foul from Lancaster’s no.7 on York’s no. 5, whilst attempting to get the ball off the York defender, was the first sign of both tension and frustration which was to manifest itself so explicitly later on in the game. Minutes before the end of the first half, Lancaster were awarded a free-kick from outside the edge of the box: although the shot on goal was off target, Lancaster managed to once again regain control of the ball and produce a low pass to Lancaster no. 9 whose fierce shot hit the crossbar after a great save from York goalkeeper Henderson. Lancaster continued to search for a lead just before the break as both Lancaster 18 and 19 made attempted runs towards the box, which were comfortably dealt with by York 2. The second half saw York gather pace as York no.4 made a great run from the right whose shot was well dealt with by the Lancaster goalkeeper.
York striker Murphy, evidently frustrated for his lack of chances in the first half, sprang to life by playing closer to the midfield and using his stature to get past the Lancaster defence. Two minutes later, however, Lancaster took a surprise lead as Lancaster 11’s fierce shot from the right hit the crossbar, then bounced back to Lancaster no. 10.whose low-right footed strike into the bottom left corner found the back of the net. York searched for an immediate equaliser straight after good work from York no.4 set up first York no. 10 and then York no.2 towards goal, but their efforts were well parred by the Lancaster keeper. Twenty minutes into the second half, Murphy’s Ronaldo-esque tricks were abruptly ended by a shameful foul from Lancaster defender Wileman. Seconds later, after suffering another bad foul, Murphy reacted angrily towards Lancaster no.7’s late tackle by kicking him in frustration. This sparked a scuffle between most players from the two teams, ended only when the referee,in order to calm down the tension, decided against cautioning the two players. York grabbed a deserved equaliser ten minutes later from a corner taken from the highly involved York no.4, whose low left-footed cross was well met by Murphy to make the score one-all. After a quick surge in the penalty area shortly after his goal, Murphy could have helped York go in front minutes later had he passed it to Saunders on the left instead of taking the shot himself. This proved costly as minutes later skilful passing between York’s 4 and York’s number 10 created a grea chance in the middle for Saunders, who squandered wide.
Murphy had another chance to put York in front after his low shot went agonizingly wide on the left, after an intrusion into the box which saw him clear of all defenders. York were completely in control of the game now by dominating possession, although four clear chances were wasted byYork strikers’ inability to connect with the midfielders’ crossing and by two great saves from the Lancaster goalkeeper. Five minutes from time, and completely against the run of play, Lancaster grabbed a late winner courtesy of Rowland whose volley from the edge of the box proved too much for York goalie Henderson. York could have then grabbed a late equaliser through York’s 12 in the dying stages of the game: his astute run saw him completely unchallenged by the Lancaster defence but his shot went agonizingly wide of the Lancaster goal, as his team-mates held their faces in despair cursing their bad luck.
YORK NUMBERS WERE GIVEN ON THE DAY. PLEASE CONTACT SOMEONE ON THE FOOTBALL TEAM TO HELP ME OUT.
YORK: GK Henderson 7 ; CB Rixon 8, Kynaston-Smith 8; RB Broadhurst 7, LB Clarke 7; LW Sutton 6, RW Fahey 6, CM Molyneux 6, CM Richards 6, CF Murphy 7, Saunders 6. Lancaster: GK Simpson, RB Rowlands, CB Curtis, Kilroy, LB Wileman, RM Ashtree, CM Dixon, CM, Rowland, CM Parker, CM Street, CF Atherton.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Rixon. Although unable to stop Lancaster’s winning goal, his solidity was highlighted at every attempt by Lancaster to run towards the York goal, especially helped by his tall stature, particularly effective against the shorter Lancaster players. 8.
Robert Cantanero
Rick Street
It wasnt an unjust win at all, Lancaster had more oppertunities than York who only managed to create chances when we sat back in the final minute to protect our lead. Hitting the bar twice and making several other chances doesnt make it an unjust win for us.