U15s Sunderland 1 – 0 York & District (Champions Cup)

Date: 9th December 2023
Competition: Champions Cup (Group Stage)
Venue: Sunderland

Team Lineup: Ben Alder, Harley Waddington, Luca Long, Oliver Waygood, Jack Wasson, Jungi Park, Bodhi Justice, Isaac Arif, Finn Davis, Ewan Daly, Matthew Orr

The final group game of the Champions Cup was meant to be a home game for York, but due to the weather the match was rescheduled and eventually relocated to Sunderland’s all-weather pitch in order to ensure the fixture was fulfilled in the required timeline. Due to the rearrangement York were down to the barebones of 11 players with illness, injuries and absence depriving the team of their strongest matchday squad. The team travelled in hope rather than expectation against a very strong side who were competing for one of the top spots of the group in order to secure progression through to the elite tier of the cup.

With no substitutes the game plan was to be pragmatic and conserve energy while minimising the threat of the high press and transition, so York played a more direct game than usual, which very nearly worked as the team fell to a narrow defeat against a very good side.

Matthew Orr was asked to lead the line working tirelessly to block the passing lanes, run the channels and spearhead the attack. The wide players of Finn Davis and Ewan Daly were outlets for the defence as well support players for Orr in attack. It was through this combination that York started the game brightly as Daly combined well with Jun Park and Bodhi Justice in midfield to create overlaps, getting crosses into the box and forcing corners. There were some shots from distance that tested the Sunderland keeper and the their defence as they blocked York’s efforts. One Sunderland player took a shot from Daly painfully in the face, but thankfully was OK to carry on.

Sunderland started to grow into the game and showed their passing prowess. York were defending well put putting themselves under pressure with some poor passing out from the back or through unforced errors in midfield. However the back four of Luca Long, Harley Waddington, Oliver Waygood and Jack Wasson were doing very well, playing on the front foot getting ahead of their opposition player to clear their lines, but now the ball was starting to come back with more regularity. This was the game that York expected, but so far were defending superbly. Ben Alder was called into action to make a couple of excellent saves and in a phase of play both Wasson and Waygood made goal-line clearances to keep Sunderland out. However from the resulting corner the deadlock was broken when the Sunderland midfielder lost his marker to head home for what was eventually the only goal of the game.

Now York needed to show character, to stay in the game until halftime and build some confidence…and that they did. Excellent defensive work continued with superb kicking from Alder and Waddington pushing York up the field. Davis was dropping deep to help Wasson and get the ball forward to Orr. Justice and Park were starting to grow into midfield and battled hard. Isaac Arif was starting to get more time on the ball and his driving runs were a great relief for the York defence as he gave the Sunderland defence something to worry about. Halftime arrived with York still very much in the fight.

Second half saw Sunderland start very well forcing multiple corners that York defended very well, with Alder punching clear at key moments and defenders clearing their lines. However the longer the game went on the more York had a chance to get something as Sunderland began to play more into York’s hands with long balls and overhit passes. Arif was now a driving force in midfield, making strong progressive runs. York were still in the game but the lack of subs was taking its toll with Bodhi Justice taking some punishment in midfield and Ewan Daly coming out second best in a tackle resulting in him having to leave the field of play for the last 5 minutes with a muscle strain.

Down to 10, but still working hard, York gave one last final push with Park just failing to get a shot away when good work released him in the box. Orr was winning aerial duels and putting the Sunderland defence under pressure which resulted in the ball dropping to Justice unmarked on the edge of the box, but his tired shot was straight at the keeper, although he almost spilled it over the line to give York the equaliser. So close to getting something from the game, but it was somewhat of a moral victory for the York boys who showed superb effort, determination and fitness to withstand the Sunderland team who deserved their win, and qualification for the elite phase of the competition by finishing in the top two.

For York it was a reminder that the bar is high in this competition as they prepare for the knockout rounds, but with the added confidence that with the right application they can compete and give their next opponents a real test.

Final score: Sunderland 1 – 0 York