A hat-trick from Tom Clarke and a late goal from Graham Kimber was enough for ten-man York to progress into the semi-finals of the North Riding County Cup in a blood and thunder game on the 22 Acres.
It was the visitors who took an early lead after being awarded a penalty just a few minutes in. A long throw-in found the Redcar number ten, who went down under minimal contact from David Belshaw, the referee immediately pointed to the spot, to the bemusement of both sides. The number ten recovered in time to send the home side’s ‘keeper Luke Bradley the wrong way to score.
Spurred on by a sense of injustice, York’s equaliser was not long in coming. Lax defending from Redcar culminated in a poor back-pass which Clarke capitalised on, beating the ‘keeper to the ball and tapping into an empty net.
The men in gold and black continued to press, matching the physicality of their opponents and playing the better football on a difficult surface. Mid-way through the first half, York took the lead. A quick throw-in was taken by Clarke to Dan Jones whose quick turn in the box brought the foul out of the Redcar defender. Clarke duly dispatched the penalty in emphatic style.
With the home side in the lead, the game entered a lull as neither side was able to maintain any kind of sustained pressure. The scoring was not finished for the half though as the visitors pulled level. A smart free-kick freed the dangerous number ten whose cutback fizzed across the six-yard box before being turned in at the far post- making it all square at the interval.
The second-half was dominated by York as they searched for a winner. Neither Redcar full-backs could cope with home wingers Ollie Harrison and Joe Easter who terrorised them time and again. Kimber and Ash Daly continued to pull the strings in midfield but a winning goal remained elusive. Crunching tackles flew in from both sides as the frustration, and the yellow card count rose.
Finally with the game entering the final quarter, York took the lead. A through-ball from the left held up in the wind leaving the visiting ‘keeper stranded, allowing Clarke to steal in once again to finish with aplomb.
Sensing a Cup exit, Redcar stepped up their efforts, throwing more men forward in search of an equaliser. In doing so however, they left themselves open on the counter-attack, which saw both Easter and Dalton Harris go close. With the game petering out, York were reduced to ten men after hat-trick hero Clarke saw red, literally and figuratively, when the referee ignored a poor challenge on him. His subsequent remarks earned him his dismissal.
There was still time for one last moment of action. Another UYAFC counter-attack saw the ball eventually fall to Kimber in the box whose first effort was saved before he converted the rebound under the ‘keeper, giving his side an unassailable lead.
At full time, Captain Matt Mawdesley spoke of his satisfaction with a good, hard-fought victory over physical opposition. York therefore go marching on into the semi-finals.
York: Bradley, Jones, Mawdesley (c), Belshaw, Tringham, Easter, Daly, Kimber, Harrison, Clarke, Harris (Fernando)