Thanks to the wonderful weather of York rendering 22 Acres unplayable football fans were forced to settle for a smaller scale varsity football spectacle this weekend, but from the enthusiasm of the players and spectators it was clear that the importance of the event was of full stature. Spoils were shared in the two 1st team games although St John’s had to rely on penalties to secure a win after a 1-1 draw in game A, with York winning game B 3-2.
Game B was a rollercoaster of a match, with York going 1-0 up before falling 2-1 behind at the halfway mark. A second half rally gave them two well taken goals as well as the 3-2 lead but hearts were in mouths in the dying seconds when a St John’s shot hit the bar and was pawed away just before it crossed the line. Unsurprisingly their supporters on the sidelines were adamant that it had crossed the line.
St John’s penalty victory (in game A) was somewhat of a shock after York had held their defence well for the whole match. Parris Williams gave York an early lead but after that the majority of chances fell to St John’s. A combination of Chris Grayland’s expert marshalling of the defence and goalkeeper Dominic Mcmahon’s athletic saves kept St John’s at bay until the final minute when St John’s broke the resistance in heartbreaking fashion to make it 1-1.
St John’s then achieved an unlikely victory in the penalty shootout with York’s final penalty striking the bar and going over, which sent the sizeable St John’s squad, unfortunately armed with a loudspeaker, into ecstasy.