BUCS week 3 saw the 1s and 3s in match action, with the 2s taking their week off to put in some time on the training pitch. After a very enjoyable 90 minutes of crossing and shooting drills, here's hoping that Chris's claim of adding "at least 3 goals this season" comes true.
The 1s made the short journey to Newcastle for one of their many North-East derbies this season and, having got off to a winning start, this was the perfect opportunity to put in a confidence-boosting performance.
The 3s were up and on their way not too long after the sun, as they journeyed all the way to Lancashire for a cup game. They were keen to make sure that their long journey back home would be enjoyable, and to kick-start what could turn out to be a memorable cup run.
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Newcastle 0-3 Durham 1s (A) Wednesday 23rd October 2024
Written by Ossie O’Neill
This week’s BUCS match was one to remember. Durham vs Newcastle; the Northeast derby...
Durham set off on the coach at 13:45 alongside Lacrosse, making the short, yet daunting, journey to Cochrane Park. In recent years, Durham have had little success going away to Newcastle; Club Captain Freddie Merrett defined the importance of the game when he said, in all his time at the club, he has never won away to Newcastle.
Unfortunately, due to the early kickoff in the Lacrosse game, the boys were left waiting in the bar 2 hours prior to kickoff and eager to get in the changing rooms. Many members of the squad indulged in dry roasted Nobby's Nuts to settle the nerves and keep them ticking over until kick-off.
Finally, the lads got into the changing rooms and started kitting up but, to the dissatisfaction of many, Sam was on tunes again, Yankeefying the dressing room with his musical taste.
After wise words from coach Adam Furness and several players the lads set out onto the pitch.
The game kicked off with an extremely dominant start from Durham having the lion’s share of possession and pinning Newcastle into their own half. Several chances were created by George, ‘The Cypriot Speed Demon’, down the right side which resulted in near misses from Gwillim.
The Durham ‘ultras’ were on the edge of their seat, and everyone could feel a goal coming but, despite all the pressure and several penalty shouts, Durham were struggling to find an opener. However, our prayers were answered at the end of the first half by a goal line scramble which saw Zach Alfalahi put it in the back of the net.
Half Time: Newcastle 0 - 1 Durham
As the second half began, Durham had a rocky first fifteen minutes due to a couple of effective substitutions and positional swaps from Newcastle. But, we soaked up the pressure well; playing longer balls in behind and letting the back line squeeze up.
Fortunately, a beautiful corner delivery from Rory Edwards, right on the keeper, found a deflection and ended up in the top right corner of the Newcastle net. Gwillim claims to have gained a touch on the way, but we will let Rory and Gwill squabble that one out. [Editor's note: "Haters very quiet" is Gwillim's immediate response to the Veo being released]
All that mattered was Durham were 2-0 up and the pressure had been relieved.
After the goal, Durham started to see a lot more possession and Gwill played a beautiful pass into the path of Phil Kay and, due to his textbook run, he was 1-on-1 with the keeper. Phil’s shot took a deflection off the keeper and ended up hitting the crossbar, leaving him with a simple yet delicate finish.
Despite being a whole squad performance - including those not in the squad who made the journey to watch - one performance that stood out was from Rory Edwards. His tenacity in midfield winning all his aerial duels, combined with his composure to pick out the right pass time and again was unmatched. This was topped off by a controversial goal/assist which will be soon confirmed by the VEO.
Player of the Match: Rory Edwards
Line-Up: Harry Archer; Josh Stewart; Ossie O’Neill; Alex Dinan; Jonah Blake; Ellis Challinor; George Pitsillides; Rory Edwards; Fin Gwillim; Zach Alfalahi; Phil Kay
Substitutes: Paddy Dixon; Sam Benoist; Morgan Lant; Freddie Walton; Seb Hopkins
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UCLan 0 - 4 Durham 3s (A)
Written by Paddy Harvey
It was an early start for 3s on Wednesday with an away trip down to Preston ahead of us for a huge cup game in the Northern Conference Cup.
After a short stop at the services (and some questionable pre match meals from McDonalds), the boys were back on route. However, as kick-off loomed closer with time of the essence, a special someone (Sacha Lee) thought it would be a good idea to go to the bathroom in a chicken shop and further delay the coach.
Nevertheless, the 3s arrived at the Preston FC academy ground on time for kick-off and, with a brisk warmup, the game commenced Vs UCLan 2s.
Durham were on top from the beginning, with Loosemore and Paddy finding lots of space down the flanks. It was not long until a teasing ball from Loosemore found Sacha’s head at the back post, and the composed finish put Durham 1-0 up after 15 minutes.
The boys did not take their foot off the gas, as the midfield of Cal, Sam and Tweddles dominated play. Shortly after, a Loosemore corner found its way in the back of the net making it 2-0 to Durham.
Half-Time : UCLan 0 - 2 Durham
After a positive first half, Durham rallied as UCLan began to gain some momentum with their changes at HT (bringing on some 1s players).
However, some good link up play on the left and a gorgeous ball from Tweddles found Sacha at the back post again, and he made it 0-3. Soon after, Isaac went on a superb run down the left (after receiving some abuse during his stint as a linesman) and a drilled cross found Tweddles, who tucked it away, silencing the home support.
It was an exceptional defensive performance from the backline – with an astonishing Penalty save by Jasper solidifying the clean sheet for Durham.
The game finished 0-4, and we will play Manchester 1s in the next round. There was much excitement on the journey back, with an enjoyable quiz and a long awaited night out in Newcastle to follow…
Full-Time: UCLan 0-4 Durham
Player of the Match: Sacha Lee
Line-Up: Jasper Gourley; Paddy Harvey; George Vardon; Max Nissim; Harry Loosemore: Sam Checketts: Callum Raisborough; Oli Tweddle; Sacha Lee; Will Kitching; Dan Datsande
Substitutes: Isaac Jowett; Jamie Wood; Tiolu Asagba; James Webb-Wood, Yahya Aiouaz
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