Nouse.co.uk » Adam Shergold’s Wednesday Round-up: 28 January

Adam Shergold’s Wednesday Round-up: 28 January

January 29, 2009
Adam Shergold

It was Sir Alex Ferguson who coined an apposite, if mischievous, term for this time of the season: ‘squeaky bum time.’ But it’s not just the Premiership hierarchy who must juggle fixtures like the old village hall comedy act of the spinning plates: the sporting teams here at the University of York find themselves flitting from league to cup, and then back to league, with remarkable regularity. This Wednesday witnessed critical matches both in the BUCS League and the business stages of the BUCS Cup for many of our teams, so allow Nouse and YSTV to tell the story.

Our review starts with the netball firsts, whose round of sixteen fixture against Durham seconds proved the tough proposition it appeared on paper, as they were dumped out of the cup 36-21. The visitors ply their trade two rungs further up the BUCS league system, but the consistent form shown by the York team during the season to date – four wins from six in the league – meant this tie resembled the quintessential banana skin. Sadly, this wasn’t how things transpired, as Durham edged ahead in the middle stages and established an unassailable lead despite the valiant efforts of the hosts. Nevertheless, the cup exit allows the firsts to concentrate on league matters, where promotion remains a very realistic aim. The girls meet current table-toppers Huddersfield in three weeks time in a fixture that will go a long way to determine the title.

The men’s football firsts could have found themselves on the wrong end of an upset when paired away to Sheffield Hallam fourths, but a professional performance brought a 2-0 victory and another tricky tie at Leeds Met in the quarter-finals. With their weekend Northern Universities League clash with Manchester postponed, the side’s next league fixture is, ironically, at Leeds Met next Wednesday. The women’s firsts, meanwhile, found themselves in an epic contest on the road at Northumbria, this league fixture finished 4-4.

There was agony for some of York’s other teams in away BUCS Cup action, especially for the men’s badminton seconds, whose contest at Sheffield University finished all-square at 4-4 and had to be decided on points, with York falling just short. Also at Sheffield, the women’s tennis cup tie ended five-apiece, but York were eliminated 2-1 in a tie-break. The men’s seconds squash were knocked out by Leeds University, as were the women’s basketball, 33-59 against Leeds Met seconds, who play a league lower.

However, it wasn’t all doom and gloom for York, with victories for the women’s badminton (6-2 away to Northumbria firsts), women’s squash (4-0 against Newcastle), men’s squash (3-0 against Bradford) and women’s volleyball (3-0 away to Northumbria) meaning cup progression.

The men’s tennis side achieved a surprise 7-3 victory against Northumbria, based upon a solid singles performance. They had narrowly lost away to yesterday’s opponents in the league before Christmas, but the cup has proved a very welcome distraction this year, and they will now host Newcastle in the next round.

The men’s golf team overcame the strong challenge of Leeds Met in a gritty contest at Fulford Golf Club, the final score 3.5-2.5 in frosty conditions. Debutant Andrew Horrocks held his nerve to secure the victory on the last, while team captain Chris Parker defeated his opponent with ease – 6&5 his score, including a notable birdie at the difficult par $ fourth. Canadian postgraduate Mike Suits achieved York’s other win, while fresher Michael Hamilton fought back from six down in his pairing to keep York ahead overall. The team will hope to carry some of this momentum into their BUCS Cup fixture away to Sunderland next week.

Moving away from knock-out action to wrap up the other fixtures on a busy afternoon and there was frustration for the men’s rugby firsts, whose planned match with Hull was postponed because of a waterlogged pitch on the 22 Acres. The team would have been keen to cement their standing as favourites for the title, with a sixth successive victory, although next week’s away trip to leaders Northumbria will be a test of their credentials.

Disaster for the men’s hockey seconds, who are staring relegation full in the face following an unfortunate 2-1 home reverse against Sheffield Hallam thirds. In this bottom-of-the-table dogfight, York started excellently and opened the scoring after just three minutes through Captain Joe Spedding, but goals either side of half-time, the second one a controversial penalty, turned the game on its head and York remain rooted to the bottom, having lost all but one league fixture this season.

A 112-127 home defeat for the men’s fencing team against Leeds University scuppered their hopes of finishing third in BUCS League 1A. Dave Ramsbottom was a late replacement, but performed admirably in all disciplines, showing his all-round prowess, while Mike Denniss performed well in the anchor role.

This weekend sees the conclusion of the triangular tournament which has achieved so much in resurrecting the sport of rugby at college level, as James meet Derwent at the Archbishop Holgate School. With both teams still in with a shout of winning the competition, not to mention anxiously-onlooking Alcuin, it promises to be an exciting afternoon, so why not come along and watch? Kick-off is at 2pm.