University Football: York 1sts 2-2 Hull 2nds

By Alex Finnis

A dominant York side came back tenaciously from the blow of conceding two early goals to earn a draw against University of Hull seconds thanks to a brace from captain Conor Brennan, though the result could and should have been even better.

York started slowly and were made to pay in an unforgiving manner; goalkeeper Sam Clitheroe barely kept out a headed effort from a corner within the first few minutes but his team did not take heed of this warning, as barely a minute later Hull had the opening goal thanks to a towering header from a whipped corner from the right.

In a scrappy start to the match, the next chance fell when Hull were awarded a free-kick just outside the area, which took a cruel deflection of the wall and past Clitheroe to give them a two goal cushion very early on, making York’s task of coming from behind look especially daunting and unlikely. The way in which they orchestrated this comeback, however, was admirable, as from this moment onwards, York began to take total control of both possession and territory, pinning the opposition back in their own half. Mark McLeod, Matt Mawdesley and Phil Taylor controlled the ball in the centre of the park, dictating the pace of the game and therefore forcing the slower, less agile Hull players to chase the ball for much of the half, whilst the pace of Bruce Starkey and Jack Beadle down the wings allowed them to get in behind players and put pressure on the opposition defence.

York’s best chance of the half came from the left hand side, as Starkey hit a low cross into the area met by Conor Brennan’s stooping header, which was just kept out by Hull’s goalkeeper. A prolonged period of intense pressure followed, and finally York’s dominance paid off; Mark McLeod made a bursting run into the area and was clearly tripped by a helpless Hull defender, leaving Conor Brennan to step up and coolly send the goalkeeper the wrong way from the spot to start the fight back.

After enjoying such a good start, as the game wore on Hull became more and more visibly frustrated at being outplayed. Their attacking options were reduced to frequent and ineffective long balls over the top and the York defence possessed far too much pace to allow them any success; Liam Condron in particular was solid at centre-back, breaking down attacks and calmly providing his side with their own attacking base.

York’s domination carried over from the end of the first-half into the second. Oscar Lynch’s headed effort from a corner was only just kept out and Jack Beadle worked tirelessly down the right-wing, constantly troubling the Hull defence. York had an early shout for another penalty denied as a Phil Taylor strike looked to have struck the arm of a defender but the referee waved play on but they will be disappointed not to have created more clear-cut chances which could have provided them with a means to take all three points rather than the eventual one.

When York did truly threaten it was mostly down the wings, and it was the impressive Bruce Starkey who started the move which led to the equaliser from the left hand side. The wing-back played a cutting ball down the line for Phil Taylor who whipped his cross in to the far post and the onrushing Conor Brennan, who controlled the ball well before slotting past the goalkeeper for his second, levelling the scores. As the game drew to a close York began to create several chances for a winner, as first a lovely move down the middle didn’t quite succeed as Starkey’s final ball was just ahead of the sprawling Conor Brennan, and then later substitute Alex Reid was put through on goal but the pressure coming from the defenders and goalkeeper forced him to place his shot just wide of the post.

As soon as Hull lost their lead they never looked like regaining the initiative and had luck gone their way just a little more, York could have found themselves running out clear victors such was their dominance. In the end they had to settle for a 2-2 draw, and while they will be pleased with the manner in which they came back from such an early setback, the whole squad will know that this was a game from which they could have got so much more.