The Men’s 1sts held on to a frustrating draw in an epic 6 – 6 thriller against a composed Leeds side on Wednesday.
After a very promising start to the season, with wins over both Newcastle and Manchester, York’s efforts to top the league have taken a turn for the worse having conceded to Liverpool and drawn to Leeds in their last two fixtures.
Within seconds Leeds opened the scoring but York fought back with great energy to see Josh Whittingham surge through and hit back with a thundering strike at goal. From here on, both goals came under considerable attack. Krishna Balan was denied time after time by an impressive Leeds goalie but it took another fast break from Captain Phil Harrold to break the deadlock.
Leeds brought the game level again before the end of the first quarter. York lost their grip on the game during the second quarter, conceding two goals and failing to find the back of the net, though not through lack of effort. Some incredibly physical defence from Gareth Ball, however, ensured York ended the second quarter only one goal behind.
Leeds continued to frustrate York in the opening minutes of the third quarter with yet another goal: 4 -2. Not to be deterred, half-time replacement Luke Shilling charged towards the Leeds goal and ignited an enthralling comeback with his first touch on the ball. With new energy, York found a way to put Shilling in once again for the equaliser and moments later Harold fired in goal number five with terrifying accuracy.
Goalkeeper Ben Robinson was on top form in the closing minutes of the quarter and ensured his team went into the final fifteen minutes with a goal in hand. Superb link up play between Harrold and Balan secured York their fourth consecutive goal and a win was looking likely. Balan had previously been denied an improbable number of times throughout by the Leeds goalkeeper.
With a little over ten minutes left, the Leeds attack countered relentlessly. Despite some more excellent saves from Robinson, Leeds clawed their way back into the game: 6 – 6. Puzzled as to what could possibly have gone wrong in the last few minutes, York called a ‘time out’. Balan emphatically urged his team for a final flourish. The final few minutes were frenetic. Robinson came under a sustained bombardment but kept a cool head amongst some worryingly narrow misses. A final effort from York saw Harrold run the length of the pitch from an interception before rattling the upright. Leeds had the last go at goal but were unable to beat the whistle. 6 – 6.
Captain Phil Harrold commented “the result was pretty disappointing… we did well to hold on to the draw in those final few minutes.” Krishna Balan added that there was a lot of work left to do if York planned to take a serious shot at the top spot in their league this season. Liverpool’s unexpected loss means York are still in with a chance.