BUCS men’s football: Leeds Trinity 1sts 3-1 York 1sts

Despite a second half rally, the York men’s firsts suffered their first defeat of the season as they crashed out to Leeds Trinity in the cup.

On an incredibly dry 3G pitch, passes went astray as both sides found it difficult to settle into any kind of rhythm. Chances were at a premium for much of the opening exchanges, as James Davies headed over from a Dan Jones cross and Ash Daly saw his free-kick deflected just wide.

Leeds Trinity’s opener came out of the blue as York failed to clear their lines from a corner. The first header was saved by McMahon before a looping header back across goal evaded Luke Parker’s desperate attempts to clear, going in off the bar.

York still struggled to gain a substantial foothold in the game, stout Trinity defending limiting the men in black and gold to shots from distance whilst the home side looked dangerous on the counter-attack.

Such an attack led to Trinity extending their lead. Good interplay down the left hand side saw the Trinity striker freed behind the York defence before lifting it over an advancing McMahon to make it two-nil and give the visitors a mountain to climb.

York began the second half in scintillating fashion, finally gaining a substantial foothold in the Trinity half, penning their opponents back into their final third. However, for all of their possession, York still found themselves unable to create clear cut chances as the Trinity backline held firm.

Their cause was not helped by the referee, who’s bizarre decision making completely slowed the tempo of the game—“Poppycock” being the best riposte from the crowd in response to his baffling decisions.

Dan Jones ended a mazy run with a tame left-footed effort straight at the keeper and Tom Day, James Davies and Dalton Harris all saw their shots from distance saved comfortably or fly wide.

With time running out, captain Mawdesley switched to a 3-4-3 formation in search of breakthrough. Stretched at the back, one of Trinity’s many counter-attacks paid off as York failed to clear their lines, and the Trinity striker powered a volley past McMahon to effectively put the game to bed.

There was still time for a well-deserved reply from the visitors, substitute Freddie Ferrao surged down the line and set up Ollie Harrison who’s twenty yard strike whistled into the top corner to make the final result slightly more respectable.

Captain Mawdesley spoke of his disappointment after the game, suggesting there was plenty of work to do on the training ground, finishing chances being high up on the list.

York 1sts: McMahon, Jones, Parker (Ferrao), Bellshaw, Tringham, Mawdesley (C) (Easter), Daly, Harrison, Day (Bainbridge), Davies, Harris