U11s Sheffield Clarets 1-1 York
A frustrating result for York at a windy St. Georges’ Park in Sheffield as a late own goal denied the York schoolboys of a deserved 3 points in their continued pursuit of the league summit.
A combination of bad luck and lack of composure in front of goal meant that it felt like 2 points lost rather than 1 point gained in this re-arranged fixture that had been previously abandoned due to a mid-match blizzard!
The weather was still a factor as the strong wind certainly gave an advantage to whichever team was playing with it, that made for an exciting contest. York started well with the returning Logan White causing problems up front. Despite playing against the wind the York boys were playing the better football and created several nervous moments in the Sheffield box. York were a little guilty of overplaying the ball when close to the opponent’s goal but were the team with momentum. At the other end the referee was in a great position to see the ball had not crossed the line when a save from York keeper Zac Watson deflected onto the crossbar and back into his arms. It was a tough day for keepers and defenders as the wind was causing havoc.
The excellent Michael Kydd was playing some lovely passes out of defence, alongside the equally solid Theo Clarke and Bobby Moore. In midfield Bodhi Justice and Thomas Holtby were on top in their personal battles and width from the marauding Charlie Calderwood and hard running Finn Davis was asking plenty of questions of the Sheffield defence.
0-0 after the first 20mins and York now had the wind at their backs, but their dominance could not be converted to goals. Logan White was very effective upfront as his pace was a real threat to Sheffield getting in behind them on several occasions. His persistence eventually paid off when pressure on the Sheffield keeper forced the opening goal. York’s dominance continued with the woodwork being struck on multiple occasions. Oliver Ellis wonderful shot hitting the crossbar, followed by Moore, White and Calderwood all doing the same. White also shot wide when through with the goal at his mercy. The second goal just wouldn’t arrive, and at 1-0 Sheffield always had a chance.
The final period saw both teams have 10mins each with the wind. Still York dominated but couldn’t capitalise with the Sheffield defence holding strong or poor finishing from the York boys. The introduction of Ewan Daly to inject additional pace into the wings was short lived as he came off after only 10mins still recovering from the previous week’s muscle twinge. Then came the sucker punch with 5 mins left on the clock when a speculative effort from Sheffield was inadvertently headed by the York defender into their own net. York responded with continued attacks and thought they’d won it when Moore’s long-range effort was spilled by the Sheffield keeper only to recover in time to prevent it crossing the line. Shortly afterwards the referee drew the game to a close, with York feeling deflated to have lost ground on the league leaders.
Scorer: Logan White
