Nick Wright previews this weekend's clash between York City Knights and Hull FC
Alex Reid looks at whether the once ever-present appearance of English clubs in the later stages of the Champions League is set to become a thing of the past
Craig Dobson looks at QPR's decision to sack Neil Warnock and replace him with Mark Hughes
James Tompkinson reviews an excellent pre-season victory for the York City Knights against Yorkshire rivals Leeds Rhinos
University of York 3rds 10 - 0 York St John University 2nds
York Men's thirds bounced back effortlessly from their opening match defeat at the hands of Teesside firsts to record a resounding 10-0 home victory over York St Johns seconds.
Opening with the doubles, number one pair Sam Francis and Ed Gregory moved quickly through the gears to race to an 8-2 win, while second pair Peter Strachan and Henry Ball were rarely troubled as they took their match 8-3.
It was a similar story in the singles. Francis took control of his match early on and with his groundstrokes working smoothly was able to comfortably run out victorious, 6-1, 6-3. Gregory and Strachan also encountered little difficulty in achieving straight set victories, winning 6-1, 6-1 and 6-2, 6-1 respectively. Ball took his first set 6-2 and looked set to round off the victory in style before his opponent mounted somewhat of a comeback, clawing back the second set 6-4. Both players were struggling to hold serve, but Ball retained his nerve and in the end his superiority showed, as he took the decisive set 6-2.
While the 10-0 victory will hopefully act as a confidence booster for the thirds in their first year of competition, no such thing is needed for the women’s team at the moment. They continued their strong form edging a close encounter against a tough Durham team 6-4, to record their second home win is as many weeks. They will be looking to make it three out of three, and to further their promotion hopes, as they host Leeds seconds next Wednesday.
The men’s second team, promoted after winning division 4B last year, are finding life in 3B a lot tougher. They went down 10-0 away to a strong Sheffield Hallam side and will look to register their first win of the season in their first home match next week, against Durham thirds. The men’s firsts, out of action this week, resume their campaign at home on Wednesday, and will be looking to build on their impressive first match win over Durham as they take on Leeds Met thirds.
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