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Photos: Alice Scott
York went down 3-2 to a well supported Brighton side in the cruellest of fashions in an incredible match in Eastbourne. After leading 2-1, York conceded with 6.2 seconds left on the clock to take the match to extra time. A rejuvenated Brighton scored again in extra time to win the fixture and progress to the final to face Loughborough.
The match started cagily as both sides seemed to be testing out the other’s capabilities. It quickly became obvious that this would not be a high scoring match like the ties against Middlesex and Leicester.
As the half moved on Brighton began to take a greater foothold in the match, dominating possession and making a number of good chances. However, York also had a number of decent chances with both captain Tom Day and Conor McCoy seeing shots go narrowly wide. Goalkeeper Jonny Sim had an embarrassing moment when he nearly turned the ball into his own net; luckily he was able to recover the ball before it crossed line.
York appeared to be slightly lethargic, losing possession easily and making some silly errors. Indeed, one wondered whether the long bus ride to the south coast had taken its toll on the York side.
Inevitably the Brighton pressure produced results, as a powerful shot from the far right corner confounded Sim to give Brighton a much deserved 1-0 lead at the 13 minute mark.
After a time-out, Brighton came out with all guns blazing for the final five minutes of the half. Brighton had numerous shots on the York goal, but their tactic of firing shots from long distance was proving ineffective. Brighton were probably frustrated that their lead wasn’t bigger.
The second period was a vastly more exciting and dramatic affair. York started strongly with previous comebacks fresh in the memory. Immediately signalling intent, Tringham had a chance which went straight into the hands of the ‘keeper.
Brighton had two excruciating chances in the first five minutes, the first an over-hit pass which would have left the Brighton player with an open goal, the other a screamer that missed by inches. Indeed Brighton’s profligacy in front of goal was something to behold and kept the match competitive.
They were immediately made to pay for this as York went on the attack, their original shot was saved by the keeper but in a scramble the ball fell to James Brown who coolly put it into the net to level the tie at 1-1.
After this York played with a great deal more confidence signalling something of a momentum shifts as they aggressively searched for another goal. Ash Daly had a great chance with a shot that deflected off the net post.
The pressure finally showed with ten minutes to go as Tringham scored an absolute belter which came out of nowhere to give York the lead for the first time, silencing the Brighton faithful.
The final period after the time out was epic as Brighton piled on the pressure, but York were also dangerous on the counter-attack. James Briars had a great chance to double the advantage, but the ‘keeper saved his effort. The momentum was clearly with Brighton who had multiple speculative attempts at ‘keeper Sim’s goal, who had a fabulous second half.
Much of Brighton’s failure to score was not bad luck but came from York’s sometimes superhuman defending; they never let Brighton get space or time and were the kings of the last ditch tackle, captain Day in particular led from the front in this respect.
In the last two minutes a desperate Brighton applied the pressure even more, even bringing their ‘keeper forward. The pressure applied was immense and with just 6.2 seconds to go, the dam burst. It was a moment of brilliance from the Brighton player, who found some space to turn and fire the ball home, making the score 2-2 and leaving the Brighton players in delirium.
The match wasn’t over yet, as two five-minute periods of extra time would decide the match. To York’s credit they didn’t let the circumstances of the last few seconds affect their performance too much as they continued to play well in extra time.
The first period was pretty quiet, probably as both sides were recovering from the last minute drama. However, York did have some great chances to retake the lead, but Daly and Tringham missed the target.
The second period saw Brighton pile on the pressure once more in what was an end to end period, and it didn’t take long for Brighton to pull ahead with a well worked goal to send the faithful into jubilation to make the score 3-2.
Even after this York didn’t given up, and the away side applied pressure on the Brighton defence until the last second, showing a spirit and organisation that had propelled them to this stage of the competition. Alas, it was not to be and Brighton came out very narrow 3-2 winners.
York understandably were distraught at this cruel loss. However, considering they were the first York side to win a BUCS Premier Division and had narrowly missed out on a the final by a number of seconds, they should be proud of what they achieved in what was a historic season.
If they keep up their development they should be at the vanguard for university sport for years to come.