- Photo: Oliver Todd
York dispatched Hull in clinical fashion with two goals from Tom Clarke and another from Tom Brandreth, although sadly the spectacle of the match was spoiled by some dreadful refereeing.
Too often, the referee was the centre of attention, awarding two dubious penalties and brandishing the red card twice; decisions which baffled both sets of players.
The Hull centre back was shown a straight red in the first half for allegedly kicking out at Tom Clarke. Clarke himself was shown a second yellow during the second half for taking a free kick too quickly for the referee’s liking.
But in terms of football, York were far superior. They enjoyed the lion’s share of possession as they probed at a suspect Tigers defence which they had breached four times earlier this month.
York were playing with plenty of width as Dan Jones on the right and Jack Beadle on the left were chalking their boots. And they were getting excellent service from central midfielders Ash Daly and especially Phil Taylor, who has fitted seamlessly back into the side following injury.
Clarke was also proving a nuisance to the Hull defence, dropping deep and spraying passes left, right and centre. Early on, he slipped a pass through to Beadle but the stretching winger couldn’t get enough contact to test the ‘keeper.
Dan Jones then displayed some great trickery on the right to skin two defenders and find Clarke, whose snap shot was deflected just wide.
The fact York went ahead after 22 minutes was no surprise. But the manner in which the goal came about very much was. The referee deemed that a Hull defender had been holding onto Clarke from a corner, although it seemed ridiculously harsh for what is, after all, a contact sport.
Nevertheless, Clarke thundered the ball high to the ‘keeper’s left to give York a deserved lead.
Hull almost equalised minutes later, however, when a free-kick on the edge of the area hit the outside of the right upright with Dave Marshall beaten.
Then, ugly scenes descended. Tom Clarke went for a high challenge on Hull’s centre back, for which he received a booking, but Hull’s man kicked Clarke in frustration. He was no doubt being wound up by the York supporters who had been shouting: ‘Tom, take that No. 5 out of your pocket!’. The red card was duly shown to the Hull player.
Up to this point, Marshall had been a spectator as well but he was called into action soon after Hull went down to 10 men. The Hull striker beat the offside trap but not Marshall as the ‘keeper spread himself big and saved with his feet to keep the score at 1-0.
And this advantage was doubled on 39 minutes. Phil Taylor, for once, misplaced a pass forward to Tom Clarke but thanks to two lucky deflections off Hull defenders, the ball did find Clarke, who slotted home at the ‘keeper’s near post.
Unfortunately for York, the referee’s poor officiating cost them just before half time. A Hull free kick from 25 yards was hit into the wall but the referee gave a penalty for handball.
But since York’s arms were tucked in and not ‘active’ it could be viewed as another very harsh decision. The Hull striker lashed the ball low to Marshall’s right to put the Tigers back in the hunt at 2-1.
York knew they had to restore the two-goal cushion to be absolutely sure of victory. Clarke almost did so immediately at the start of the second half but the onrushing ‘keeper smothered his shot.
Dan Jones then showed off his skills with a series of step-overs before feeding the arriving Taylor, who timed his run perfectly but side-footed just wide from 16 yards.
Then the referee made probably the most calamitous decision of the match, and potentially the entire Varsity tournament. Tom Clarke took a quick free kick to try and catch out the Hull defence, but was shown a second yellow card for not playing to the whistle.
It was not a show of dissent or petulant behaviour in the slightest and most referees would simply tell the player to re-take the free-kick. But not this man. Both players had 10 men each.
The game lost its intensity from this point onwards, although Taylor and Brandreth showed ambition by getting forward and having pops at goal.
The two players then combined to deliver York’s third of the afternoon. A short corner was worked to Taylor who found an unmarked Brandreth lurking on the edge of the area. The defender lashed home with his left foot to secure the victory.
After the match, captain Dan Turley commented: ‘Everyone put a shift in today. We deserved the win and 3-1 is flattering to Hull – we should have scored four or five.’
Vision MOTM: Tom Clarke