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Photos: Jack Western
York’s Women’s 1sts football claimed a point in a thrilling encounter against Northumbria 2nds, as they came from two goals behind to secure a draw in a second half which contained eight goals.
An action packed second half saw York race into a 2-0 lead through Anty Cole and Jess Craig before a mistake from goalkeeper Charlie Brown allowed the visitors back into the game. A well taken penalty and a sweetly hit lob put Northumbria 4-2 up, but right at the death Craig was alive to lob the opposition ‘keeper, then deep into stoppage a fabulous strike from the talismanic Cole earned the hard-working home side a well deserved draw.
The first half was a keenly contested affair with an even share of possession. Both sides strung together excellent passing combinations down the flanks to work space for crosses, but both defences proved almost impenetrable. Therefore most of the play took place in front of each back four, with Jess Craig showing impressive endeavour to drop into midfield, win the ball and launch York on the attack. One such foray allowed Anty Cole to twist and turn and get York’s first shot away, only to see it well saved low to the keeper’s right.
After the break Northumbria were knocking the ball around with renewed confidence having got to half-time at level pegging, but were unable to break down a defensive line marshalled by the assured Rhiannon Roy. In the 53rd minute, York countered through Jess Craig, who was increasingly finding herself the focal point of their attacks, and this time to devastating effect, finding Cole on the edge of the area who worked room for the shot, cracking the ball low and hard past the despairing dive of the opposition goalkeeper. The home side were now in the ascendancy, with Cole and Craig dropping deep to put pressure on the Northumbrian midfield, which until this point was winning the battle in the middle of the park. York’s second seemed inevitable, and when the ball dropped to the enigmatic Craig, she promptly crashed a half volley into the net from the edge of the area.
To the visitors’ credit, their heads didn’t drop, and they were rewarded just five minutes later when Brown spilled a low shot. No mistake was made as the visiting striker lifted the ball confidently into the roof of the net for 2-1. York looked tired, and Northumbria smelled blood, equalising on 76 minutes when Charlie Brown felled a forward in the box for a penalty. The away side were surging forward in waves- less than a minute passed and they were ahead when a sumptuous turn on the edge of the box worked room for a shot, low and true into Brown’s net. The home side would have feared the worst when Northumbria made it three in five minutes, earning a two goal advantage of their own at 4-2 with a cute lob over the onrushing Brown from the left edge of the area.
It was York’s turn to look defeated now, but Jess Craig had her own ideas, capitalising on an error of judgement as Northumbria failed to guard against complacency, clipping the ball over the keeper to make it 4-3. Deep into stoppage time came the goal of the game- Anty Cole turned with her back to goal wide on the left and curled the ball over the keeper into the far corner, in between post and bar from improbable range to snatch a hard-earned point for her side.
Delighted York team captain Ellie Whittaker told Vision: ‘That was fantastic. I’m so happy, it feels like a win. We expected a tough game and we got it. We’ve got a week off now, but we can’t wait to play again and keep going.”
Vision MOTM: Anty Cole
York: Brown, Davies, Roy, Decamp, Wilhelmsen (Larkin 2), Whittaker (c) (Middlemiss 85), Chambers, Craig, Jermy, Turner (Baldwin 59), Cole