Barnsley 5-4 York (AET) – ESFA Cup Rd 1
York U13 Schoolboys headed to their South Yorkshire neighbours to play the first round of the National Cup, the weather was horrendous with the whole match played in torrential rain. Having said that the match was played in true cup spirit with York falling agonisingly short after extra time, losing 5-4.
York got off to a fantastic start with a goal by Todd Fella who made a strong run down the left wing and unleashed a fierce shot that beat the keeper for power smashing in to the back of the net. York looked the stronger of the two teams and looked under control in the awful conditions. Barnsley found themselves level after a long clearance from the halfway line skidded off the Astro turf pitch picked up speed and flew over the head of the York keeper in to the net. This gave Barnsley the lift they needed who found themselves 2-1 up going in to half time.
The start of the second half saw Barnsley go 3-1 up from a corner, this was going to be a true test of character for the York lads, 2 goals down and the weather was relentless in its downpour. As expected the character and desire of the York team shone through, the ball broke free to Ben Farrar who chipped the keeper to make it 3-2 with 15 minutes to go. This was what cup games are about, both teams going for the win, York were now on a high and feeling that the match was swinging in their favour. Barnsley stood strong and were awarded a penalty which was neatly slotted away to make it 4-2 with seven minutes to go. Again York rallied and went all out for goals, the ball again was fed to Farrar who took it round the keeper to slot home with his right foot, 4-3 , the clock was ticking down, Barnsley were panicking and York sensed this. With 1 minute left York broke free and it fell to Oliver Williams who calmly made it 4-4, what a come back, what desire and never say die attitude. The ref blew the final whistle 4-4, extra time.
Could York turn this match, well they certainly tried, the first half of extra time saw York dominant, hitting the post, and bombarding the Barnsley goal, the ref blew for a penalty to York, the pressure: had told. It wasn’t to be the penalty was missed and with a cruel blow Barnsley went straight down to the other end, won a corner resulting in Barnsley scoring making it 5-4. This was a step to far for the gallant York boys, as much as they tried the score remained 5-4.
Scorers:- Farrar 2, Fella, Williams
