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Photos: Oona Venermo
York tasted a bitter defeat as Northumbria snatched victory by the thinnest of margins in an outstandingly tense and even competition.
The result came down to the last seconds, as, with only points in it, the final bout saw Bryan Herling engaging his opponent in what was virtually a sudden-death contest to decide the competition.
Prior to this, York had got off to a winning start, as the sabreurs put the team into an early lead; Adrian Speakman won all three of his bouts, along with captain Bairong Huang who fenced excellently in the first and last rounds to put York up 45-36.
The home side were given a great boost in the foils too, as club president Dan Cornwell toyed with his opponent on his way to a 5-0 opening round, in which he demonstrated spectacular technique, extravagantly scoring a number of hits with his foil held behind his head.
However, in the seventh round, Ali Cormack came up against a strong Northumbrian opponent, who took the bout by seven points to two, putting the visitors into a match lead for the first time in the competition at 27-30. George Watkins did well to limit the momentum that this lead might give Northumbria, fencing cautiously, containing his opponent well and ultimately taking the bout by two hits to one.
The penultimate round in the foils saw controversy, as Ali Cormack’s cagey encounter was timed out by the Northumbrian referee, declaring the match abandoned due to no hits being scored in one minute twenty seconds. So, Cornwell took to the piste for the final bout, the score still 29-31.
And in contrast to the opening round, Cornwell found his opponent scoring strings of hits on him as the Northumbria tally climbed further out of reach.
The spectacular flicks and ripostes, which so bamboozled his first casualty, proved inefficacious as his Northumbrian rival swatted them away. Where Cornwell fenced with fine swordsmanship and footwork, his foe by contrast possessed less of the technique displayed by his opposite number, instead favouring a scrappier, more direct style. Though not as aesthetically pleasing, it was an approach which served to undo Cornwell.
Lunges and thrusts sought out weak spots any which way they could and ripostes were often simply a rapid flurry of strokes at close quarters. However, more often than not, the Northumbrian light would register a point, and ultimately, the score ended 35-45, putting Northumbria ahead overall by a single point.
The deciding épée match was an absolute nerve-shredder; the first three rounds were 5-4, 9-10 and 15-14. Then, thanks to the team’s foreign contingent, York extended their lead as both Frenchman Alexandre Synadino and then American Bryan Herling won their bouts convincingly to put the score at 25-19. However, Northumbria rallied in the following three rounds to wrest the lead back at 39-40 and set up a sizzling finale.
The raw tension generated an absolutely visceral thrill in the Hall as Herling stepped up for the final, deciding round. Northumbria had a one point advantage from the previous matches, however if York were to win the épées by a point, they would draw on overall points scored but they would claim victory for winning two out of the three events.
The bout was a cautious but desperately tense affair, and it took some time before any hits were scored but after the first points were finally registered in the form of a double hit, disaster struck as the Northumbrian épéeist scored three hits in a row, taking the score to 40-44, one hit off
winning the match, to the dismay of the onlooking York team.
Herling, however, managed to stave off defeat with a well-timed lunge, giving his team something to cheer. Then, unexpectedly he swiftly saved another ‘match point’ to the delight of the home crowd. And the primal roar that accompanied Herling’s third successive hit was something to behold as York fencers, journalists and photographers alike erupted in excitement, impelling him on to what had seemed a completely improbable victory mere moments ago.
However, York hopes were cruelly dashed as, before any more points could be scored, the refereeing Northumbrian player called time on the bout and the match. The anti-climactic ending to what had been an outstandingly intense encounter was a great disappointment and a sharp surprise,
even the Northumbrians could only react with a few subdued cheers as the frustrating sense of incompleteness permeated the atmosphere.
Épéiste Synadino summed up feelings well, ‘It was so close, the last defeat on time is obviously frustrating because of the way Bryan was fencing’.
However, he noted that the finale could have been avoided: “We could have done it, especially in the middle of the épée match. We only needed a draw in the last round, so we were in many ways close to a win. It was bad; we should not have let this go.”
Captain Huang was also understandably disappointed, saying: “To lose like that wasn’t expected; we fielded a strong team today but a couple of our anchors weren’t on form so it’s quite disappointing.”
He also remarked that losing the match in the dying minutes has unfortunately started to become a trend, saying “we’ve had a few gutting matches like this this year already”, adding with a brave smile “but it still hurts”.