Comment: The moment of truth

Last Saturday, a team of the rose and all clad in white, came up against the greatest challenge it had faced so far - and was ever to face in the near future. On foreign soil and braced before their opposition in green, they were determined to emerge victorious. But hopes were crushed from the outset, as two simple mistakes in the first half gifted the opposition a lead which they could never claw back.

You could be forgiven for thinking that I'm talking about England's defeat to South Africa in the World Cup Final, but I'm in fact referring to a team much closer to home. Last Saturday, the York University Football 1sts suffered a crushing defeat to Leeds 1sts, as they conceded six goals without scoring any of their own in reply. After kicking off the season with a morale-boosting away victory over Northumbria 2nds, the defeat to Leeds has plummeted the team into a much more sombre mood.

York were a bit unlucky against Leeds. Few could say that Leeds didn't deserve their win - but the 6-0 scoreline was flattering. Also, it is Leeds. It's not every day that York are going to have to face the quality of Leeds captain Roy Sandman, who - looking like one of the Weasley brothers from Harry Potter - worked his magic throughout Saturday's game to control events and ultimately lead Leeds to victory. The referee didn't help either. He was happy to call everyone 'fella' throughout the match, but as far as decisions going the way of York went, he didn't seem a goodfella himself.

But this is missing the point. Nitty-picking over luck fails to explain York's total destruction last weekend. The real reason? A lack of time. With the season starting as we were all heading back for Freshers' Week (I've yet to meet another university student who goes back as late as we do), it was always going to be a race against time to get the York 1sts ready; a race which they obviously failed to win in time for Leeds. Freshers Alex Cooper and Alistair Laird suffered more than most, with only a week to fit into the team before the NUL season kicked off. Not everything can run as smoothly so quickly as Man City's SGE 'video players' (much better than their JVC equivalents - Elano guaranteed).

The lack of time together was also seen in the partnership between captain Dom O'Shea and Tom Wilson in centre midfield. Both naturally offensive midfielders, although they tried to take turns in covering defensive duties, their natural desires to get forward occasionally gave Sandman the space to wave his wand. 'Oh god,' I hear you sigh, 'Not another Gerrard and Lampard extravaganza covered by a load of boring pundits year after year!' No. The potential for the partnership is there, the time is not.

Unfortunately we've faced this problem for years now. But it's this problem which saw York 1sts get thumped on Saturday and which has given the team the first real challenge of their season: no one likes to get thumped 6-0, but can they bounce back? Do they have bouncebackability?

Whenever the Premiership kicks off, the promoted teams always seem (for some reason, which I'm sure is obviously just coincidence) to end up visiting Old Trafford, Stamford Bridge or the Emirates within the first few weeks. Most fans groan: a hammering by Rooney & Co. will evaporate any confidence the team might have had, and they will wallow in a pit of pessimism throughout the rest of the season (as a Sunderland supporter and a sufferer of the infamous 15 point season, I know what I'm talking about). But that's not necessarily the case. It all comes down to a question of mental strength. If you're strong enough to come through it, then a hammering ain't so bad; at least it's over and done with!

Six weeks ago, a team of the rose, all clad in white, got hammered 36-0. Five weeks later, after beating one of the favourites and the host nation, they found themselves in the World Cup Final. They had the mental strength. Have the York 1sts got it? We'll see today.

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