York bounced back from a disappointing Varsity defeat to claim another victory against Durham 3rds. The two sides met in a close BUCS cup semi-final little more than a week ago, which was only decided by Dan Alder’s golden goal winner in extra time, and the resumption of hostilities between the two sides saw another hard-fought win for York as they came away with a particularly satisfying 1-0 win, putting to bed any recent relegation fears.
From the outset it appeared that Durham were dead set on avenging February’s loss and in the first ten minutes they kept York penned back in their own half with some fast and spirited attacking play. A succession of penalty corners were well defended by the home side and Henry Meller nearly gave York an unlikely lead with a quick counter attack which ended with his shot hitting the post. York drew encouragement from this, as their midfielder playmakers Billy Walsh and Andy Harris, who had previously been forced too deep to feature, began to dictate play with some slick passing moves. The breakthrough came after around 25 minutes when Harris, in a relatively unthreatening position on the right hand side of the Durham ‘D’ was inexplicably flattened by the Durham keeper and Alex Feakes smashed home the resultant penalty to give York the lead.
The second half proved to be a tense affair for the hosts. Despite numerous chances the second goal which would have sealed the game was not forthcoming. Feakes and Harris both shot wide from corners, whilst Dan Alder missed a gilt-edged chance when unmarked at the far post late on, and the possibility of Durham snatching a late equaliser remained. York’s defence, especially the highly impressive Richard Larkin, held firm although some last gasp tackles were in order and Durham did not help their own cause when they were reduced to ten men, losing a player to the sin bin for continued dissent.
The final whistle was music to the home players’ ears, wrapping up a hard-earned victory. Durham will feel hard done by, and must hate the sight of the York astroturf given their recent experiences, but York’s solid performance was worthy of the win.