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 Liverpool 1sts 18 - 5 University of York 1sts
Week 8 last term heralded the York team's 5th defeat. With Rachel Stead and fresher Melissa Emerson making their debut performances on the first team this season, nerves were high as the team took to the pitch to face Liverpool. Having defeated Liverpool at home 19-6, York was hoping for a repeat performance especially after their recent losing streak.
With Rose Morrison suffering from a sore back, the position of centre fell to Anna Yeomans. After several slightly unpredictable draws, a more regular pattern occurred with York winning the ball and Morrison in the position of Left Attack driving down the pitch to the York attacking fan. The first quarter brought out the best in the York defence; acting as a unit they managed to prevent many goals being scored and the effective double teams by Rose Morrison and Izzy Miller caused many turnovers in midfield. Saves by Christiana Hambro were cleared safely to Sophie Pickup on the wing and Helen Streeter out in midfield and several strong breaks occurred. However, York failed to convert any shots and at the end of the first quarter the score was a very respectable 3-0 to Liverpool.
Play deteriorated in the second quarter as York let their defence slip and Liverpool, taking this advantage, pummelled in the goals widening the gap in the score. Scrappy passes and a lack of dynamic cuts hindered York’s play; however a moment of brilliance occurred during a fast-break where Helen Streeter saw an opportunity to pass long to Yeomans on the wing, who fired in the goal from the 11m fan. A second goal from Morrison helped to lift York’s spirits but Liverpool’s powerful attack continued to break through the York defence and well aimed shots passed through Hambro’s stick.
In the second half fatigue was apparent on both teams and as the play became scrappier, the aggression on the pitch also increased. A pass from Sarah Saunders created the opportunity for Lingard to pound a goal into the net and another double team by Kat Bosworth and Ellie Martin enabled a drive by Franklin down the wing, which resulted in a goal from Streeter.
However a turning point in the match came after Franklin was hit in the face with the ball and had to come off the pitch to be replaced by Melissa Emerson in deep defence. Emerson held her own and provided strong support in defence, helping to take advantage of any mistakes made by the Liverpool players. York failed to keep the driving player out though and failed to identify several of the threats on goal, giving Liverpool a one-on-one with Hambro.
A further goal from Lingard and a quick-stick from Yeomans, after a feed from behind goal by Morrison took the York score count to 5; a disappointing total in comparison to Liverpool’s 18. Captain Serena Franklin stated, ‘I want to take away more positives than negatives from this game. We shouldn’t have lost by so much but I think everyone is just really tired. My player of the match was Anna Yeomans – she didn’t give up and encouraged everyone throughout the match. We now really need to focus on strengthening our defence and proving to not only our opponents but also to ourselves that we do have what it takes to play like a team. Training this week will be focused on how we are going to defeat Durham at home next week- it’s an important game and we really need a win.’
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