Courtesy: Nouse - University of York Students Newspaper


Futsal team take win in fundraiser

by Dan Holland

Sunday 23 June 2013

UNIVERSITY FUTSAL TEAM 8-5 COLLEGE CUP ALLSTARS

The University futsal team ran out 8-5 winners in their fundraiser match against a College Cup Allstars side on Sunday night.

In a match that saw a selection of college players, led by Vanbrugh’s Phil Taylor, take on the futsal team in a bid to raise money for their trip to the European University Championships in Malaga this summer, the experience of the university side ultimately saw them through in the second half.

The difference in styles between the two sides was evident from the off, but it was the Allstars who made an impressive start, no doubt buoyed by the idea of causing an upset. Matt Darling forced Jonny Sim into action with the first shot of the game, before he then had to tip a Matt Mawdesley shot onto the post.

At the other end, though, the futsal team’s counter-attacking prowess and ability to pounce on any mistake was starting to tell. As they gradually began to take control, Guy Bowden and Dom Hallas both tested Kallum Taylor in the Allstars net, then the former finally opened the scoring with a clever dinked finish.

Sim’s personal battle with Mawdesley would become a theme of the match, and the keeper certainly had the upper hand in the first half as his Halifax teammate hit a few more thunderous efforts his way.

The Allstars were impressing in unfamiliar surroundings though, and grabbed a deserved equaliser through Joe Easter, sliding the ball calmly into the corner. And soon after, Easter put his side in front in more emphatic fashion, firing high into the top corner to beat Sim for the second time in a matter of minutes.

They could have furthered their lead before half-time, Sim getting a hand to Mawdesley’s outrageous volley to put it behind via the crossbar, and then reliant on Tom Day to clear a Tom Brandreth shot off the line from the resulting corner.

Day was getting closer to a goal for himself, first denied by Taylor’s reactions and then hitting the post with a well-controlled volley. The futsal team did get their equaliser soon, Hallas tapping in a nicely worked free kick routine to level the scores at the break.

The feeling among the futsal camp at half-time was that their discipline and fitness would see them to victory in the second half, and that proved correct. It wasn’t long before Day broke through the middle of the court and rounded Taylor to put them back in front.

Taylor’ shot-stopping hadn’t let him down, and he needed to be alert to keep out Hallas, while Mawdesley continued to bombard Sim with shots from all angles for the Allstars.

But as the futsal novices began to tire, their BUCS Premier League-winning opponents took full advantage. McCoy added a fourth, before Day produced a sublime piece of skill to bring Sim’s long throw out of the air and fire past Taylor in one swift movement.

After a brief lull, 5-2 soon became 7-2 and the memories of an Allstars lead were fading fast. Bowden and Hallas were combining well, and both added their names to the scoresheet once more to increase the deficit.

There was still plenty of fight left in the Allstars though, captain Phil Taylor pulling one back. But any hope of a comeback looked certain to be gone as Bowden completed his hat-trick for 8-3.

At long last, Mawdesley finally got the better of Sim to claim a goal his performance deserved, and he added another with the final move of the game to make the final score a respectable 8-5.

The game had provided more than a decent runout for the futsal side ahead of their European travels, and might have unearthed a couple of potential additions to the side for next year. Futsal captain Tom Day told Nouse afterwards, “It was a nice evening, and nice to get a run-about against some good quality players. They hadn’t played futsal before, but put in a really good performance in the first half. Second half, we came out and pushed them a bit harder and it showed our fitness and knowledge of the game. After our success this season there is a lot of interest from the football team, and hopefully that will continue our success next year.”

York: Sim, Hallas, Day, McCoy, Brown, Bowden.

Allstars: K Taylor, Rix, Brandreth, Darling, Mawdesley, Easter, Harris, P Taylor.






Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com