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
York started so poorly and an initial stumble cost them dearly. They spent most of the 2nd half enthusiastically chasing the game without really threatening, rather like a dog does its tail.
In spite of good match preparation, York started the game in a schoolboy fashion. Time and time again they were overrun as Northumbria feasted on the space on offer, creating numerous chances before being rewarded with a dubious break. The Northumbria left winger broke into the box and a seemingly innocuous challenge from Amiry resulted in the referee awarding a penalty, which was duly dispatched. Sadly for York they still failed to get to grips with the game, and were soon 2-0 down thanks to some questionable defending as Northumbria’s right winger dribbled past several players before having his shot parried, the rebound being gratefully deposited.
As the half progressed York began to assert some control and were thrown a lifeline shortly before half time. A Johnson corner was nailed into the top corner by the colossal forehead of Amiry to bring the score to 2-1 and provide some hope of salvaging the game. At times the encounter threatened to boil up, however York’s players could learn from some of the tricks and desire shown by their north-eastern counterparts, they simply wanted it more in the 1st half.
A fired up Richards tried his best to rally his troops at half time and to an extent it worked. York enjoyed much of the play, Grayland, Johnson and Molyneux seeing large periods of possession but without really threatening. In part this is probably due to the fact that every time York got within 30 yards of the Northumbria goal they were met by a strong challenge. But free kick after free kick reaped no reward and given the extent of the height in the team, set pieces will surely be on the agenda at the next training session. Truthfully York enjoyed much of the play too close to their own goal with Cooper and Sherif leaving the field having had nothing more than scraps to feed on all day.
Northumbria took a 3-1 lead mid-way through the second half, their centre midfielder scoring possibly the luckiest goal of his life. From 30 yards out he spun and shot, the ball taking a fortunate deflection and finding its way into the very top corner of the goal. Shortly afterwards, Remington gave way to Haldon, the left full back suffering an injury recurrence for the second time in three matches.
What York can take away from Wednesday's set back is the amount of heart and commitment shown from all their players in the 2nd half. Not once did the player’s heads drop and with a bit more luck and creativity the match could have been theirs. A credit to the 2nd XI this year has been that they have outfought every single team they have played and they will be keen for Saturday to exact some revenge and gain three points.
York 2nd XI still sit pretty overall with four wins from five played, but all the players know the importance of the BUCS league if they are to achieve their potential. It will have to be these matches where they produce their big performances and with injury rife throughout the club, it will be interesting to see how the football club copes and if they can weather the storm which appears to be blowing their way.
Team: Atkins, Grayland, Amiry, Worrall, Molyneux, Barnett, Remington (Haldon, 50), Richards, Johnson, Sherif (Brennan, 70), Cooper
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