U13s Leeds 1-3 York

The u13 York & District Schoolboys headed to St. Theresa’s in Leeds for their second league game of the season in what turned out to be an excellent result and a very encouraging performance against a strong Leeds team.

Straight from the start York were on the front foot with Micah Douglas and Daniel Kennedy providing great width on the right and Lucas Matthews and Edward Shakeshaft on the left. It was Shakeshaft who had the first meaningful foray from the left into the Leeds box, showing great pace. Douglas was also finding space on the right and was a constant threat in the first half.

The midfield 3 of Miles Merer, Harry Clarkson and Ewan Daly were controlling the tempo and moving the ball well, resulting in a good midfield combination to put Olaf Gorcyczewska in on goal for his first of the game. It wasn’t long before Gorcyczewska was in again but this time providing an assist to Daly to finish from close range, to put York 2-0 up and in a commanding position. Daly had a headed effort from a corner go wide as York continued with the pressure and Douglas had a chance to make it 3, slicing wide as the ball bobbled just before he struck it.

Leeds started to grow into the game and were showing some great technical ability and pace upfront. Joe Turbine and Charlie Goodwin at the back were coming under more pressure but were coping well, restricting Leeds to long shots. Ewan Waddington was now on for York to provide additional pressing energy in midfield, a constant thorn in the side of Leeds. In goal Oliver Wood was assured, getting his body behind every shot offering a calming presence. Leeds however found a way through with a blistering strike from distance to make it 2-1 at half time to York.

The second half started with Leeds firmly on the front foot but some excellent last-ditch tackles from Turbine and Kennedy were helping York keep their noses in front. Goodwin and Matthews were working hard on the other flank to keep Leeds at bay. York were under pressure and were trying to force play through the middle rather than using the space on the flanks, which meant the ball kept coming straight back. Wood was called upon to produce a wonderful save to tip a Leeds shot over the bar. But York were defending corners well and in a rare counter attack York managed to break through with an unfortunate mistake from the Leeds keeper gifting Gorcyczewska his second goal of the game. Now York’s tails were up having stemmed the Leeds pressure and Clarkson and Merer in midfield were finding more space as York continued to produce more chances with Shakeshaft missing a great opportunity to put the game to bed. Waddington also had a couple of half chances, but just couldn’t get the ball out of his feet properly to find the required finish. Leeds tried hard to get back into the game, but the referee eventually called time for a 3-1 win to York and a well-earned 3 points on the board.

Next Saturday York will host Barnsley in their first competitive home fixture since the start of lockdown in 2020.

Scorers: Gorcyczewska x 2, Daly