The top male hockey players of the competition displayed some excellent skill and certainly fought for victory until the very last minute. York kicked off the scoring action within the first couple of minutes, but Lancaster seemed consistently threatening whenever they gained possession. Their pace and attacking vision earned them a goal back in the first ten minutes. Once the scores were level, York seemed to dominate the possession but again, Lancaster grasped every opportunity they had and eventually stretched the lead to 3:1, two goals scored within seconds of each other. Lancaster’s urgency on the ball was paying off but York managed to close the gap with two well executed short corners leaving the score level at half time.
The second half was extremely loud in volume, with the crowds going crazy for their teams in a gripping score line. The half brought plenty of end to end excitement, but no real chances were put away in the first few minutes. With the home crowd behind them though York took yet another great short corner to sneak into the lead, leaving Lancaster looking a little hot under the collar. The Reds did pull the score line back to 4:4 and pushed hard for a winning strike with a couple of unluckily missed chances but York once again devised a strategic attack that the Lancastrian defence couldn’t quite handle. Not giving in till the fat lady sung, Lancaster levelled the score again to 5:5 leaving things very tense in the dying moments of the match. It was hard to say who deserved to walk away with a victory here, but once your lead is lost it’s hard to come back and although Lancaster put in a courageous effort, York’s 6:5 victory seemed to reflect that holding onto your lead is what wins you matches. Overall, a thrilling game full of frustration, enthusiasm and determination that made hockey a very popular sport this year.
