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One hand on the title

22 Acres
The battleground...22 Acres
Saturday, 26th January 2008
Today sees York men's football 1sts play their biggest game of the season so far, in a potentially title-deciding clash versus Leeds 2nds.

Win, and the team will clinch the title, and with it back-to-back promotions. Lose, and the title race is burst wide open.

With the match having had to be called off on Wednesday due to a waterlogged pitch, 22 Acres will host a fixture to rival any that will be taking place in the country this 'Soccer Saturday'.

Having only been promoted to the BUSA Men's 3B division at the end of last season, York find themselves at the top of the league - 3 points ahead of Leeds - with only 2 games to go.

In the previous league fixture between these two sides in November, it was Leeds who emerged victorious, with a 3-1 win over their Yorkshire rivals.

However, since that match, York have been in fantastic form, winning all four of their games to see them assert their dominance over the league. It should be noted, however, that these all took place before the winter break, so it will be interesting to see if York have been able to keep their form and fitness over the new year.

The Yorker caught up with goalkeeper Andy Emmerson on the eve of the match:

Do you think the match being delayed from Wednesday to Saturday makes any difference to your chances of beating Leeds?

"Personally I'm quite grateful for the delay. With the weather being like it has, I haven't had too many opportunities since term started, but now I feel ready and raring to go. As for the team, I feel that the squad has been training really well every session, and come tomorrow I think that it will be evident in the result."

Is the squad confident of victory?

"We go into every match confident of winning: there's not much point in playing if we didn't. However, we were given a bit of a beating by this Leeds side earlier in the season, so we're definitely not going into it over-confident. The start of the match will be especially important for both sides, with Leeds having to chase the game if they want a chance of winning the league."

Who do you think is going to play a big role in the game?

"I think that the defence is going to have a big part to play for us tomorrow. After a couple of below-par performances, the defence really stepped up in the second half of the season to give us the best defensive record in the league [York have kept 3 clean sheets in their last 4 matches]. With that in mind, I think our very own Nemanja Vidic - Johnny Mac - will be massive for us tomorrow. Other than Alex Cooper, he's been our most consistent player this season and an absolute rock at the back."

With a decent crowd expected and the champagne on ice, this could prove to be one of the highlights of York sport this season.

If you would like to show your support to the team and (hopefully) witness the Men's Football 1sts claim the title, then head over to 22 Acres at 2pm. See the Facebook event page for more information.

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