Courtesy: Nouse - University of York Students Newspaper


Jubilant futsal firsts keep title hopes alive

February 2, 2012

The Futsal firsts kept their title hopes alive as they secured all six points in the penultimate round of the BUCS league held at Northumbria University last Sunday.

A resounding 8-3 defeat of Sunderland and a hard-fought 3-2 victory over York’s own second team means they still have a chance of securing promotion and qualification for the National Cup going into the final round of fixtures.

The closest encounter was expected to be between York firsts and Sunderland, after an unconvincing 4-3 win for the boys in black and yellow in their other meeting this season. But the long-awaited return from injury of captain Tom Day seemed to revitalise his side, producing the best first-half team performance in a long time.

York hit the ground running, when Alex Reid latched onto an Ash Daly chip within the first two minutes, and only moments later the lead was doubled thanks to a long range strike from Daly.

The fairy-tale start was shortly completed when Day added a third within ten minutes of his come-back, nutmegging the keeper after a one-two with Dom Hallas.

The floodgates remained wide open until half time, with the score reaching 6-0 following another Daly finish and two well-taken goals from Jonny Brown.

A performance of such quality and intensity proved difficult to sustain, and York’s concentration seemed to slip in the second half. The break allowed Sunderland to regroup, frustrating York through a combination of petulant challenges and improved organisation.

A Sunderland revival seemed possible after some sloppy defending proved costly; three goals conceded despite little sustained pressure on the York goal.

Nonetheless, York continued to dominate possession and added twice more to their tally with Brown completing his hat-trick and Reid striking a sublime long-range shot into the top corner.

The result was never in doubt following such a superb first-half performance, though York might be disappointed that they didn’t take the chance to boost their goal-difference, which could prove a deciding factor in this year’s title race.

York firsts and seconds then found themselves in the unusual position of facing each other in a competitive game. An upset seemed on the cards when the seconds took an early lead thanks to Jimmy Anderton, but the firsts responded quickly and positively, equalising moments later through Reid.

Brown and Angel Sahi then poached two goals, as the firsts looked like taking control, but the seconds never relented and fought their way back into the game.

Anderton made the most of a some lax marking to bring the game within just one goal, but the score remained 3-2 at the final whistle.

The fact that the seconds offered such stern resistance is testimony to the depth of talent possessed by the futsal club.

Unfortunately, they were unable to replicate this performance in the final game of the day when it was their turn to play Sunderland, as a combination of poor finishing, fatigue and bad fortune conspired against them.

Despite demonstrating great team spirit against the firsts and some impressive individual performances from Jon Purdie, James Briars and Freddie Robinson, the seconds will be disappointed to have returned to York without any points in the bag.

First-team captain Tom Day offered a fair appraisal of his team’s performance, concluding: “As a team we looked composed and a strong force going forward. There were a few sloppy passages of play that we need to eliminate from our game, but nothing that cannot be easily addressed.”

A successful day for the firsts leaves them with a chance of topping the BUCS Northern 1B league on 12th February. In order to leapfrog current leaders, Northumbria seconds, the firsts need to defeat both Bangor and Northumbria, and rely the seconds team to hold Northumbria to at least a draw.




Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com