GW2 saw all three teams play on the same day for the first time this season, with the 1s holding down fortress Maiden Castle, and the 2s and 3s trying to take the points from unfamiliar lands.
The 1s were involved in a battle which, between the wet weather and the struggle to find our groove, was unsightly at times. But, like all good teams, they managed to win despite not being at their best and, around 78 minutes into the bout, it was very sightly indeed for the home fans.
The 2s put out a strong side for their first away day of the season, with a strong core of the group having already played a few Wearside matches this season. Despite being drawn into a physical battle in the first half, they calmly saw themselves through to an impressive win.
The 3s, having won at home the week before, were also on their travels, as they played Teeside. Coming up against one of the stronger teams in the league, they put in a good performance, but received no tangible reward for their efforts. With plenty of positives to take, they'll be looking forward to going again next week.
Read about what the boys had to say about their matches:
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Durham 1s 4 - 3 Edge Hill (H) Wednesday 16th October
Written by Phil Kay
In the first 1s game of the season, Durham faced off against Edge Hill 1s on a rainy Wednesday afternoon at Maiden Castle . As captain Freddie Merrett said in the team talk before the game, ‘We’ve been building for this game since the start of preseason’.
This meant that the pressure was on, and it was game time.
The game kicked off and it was clear that Durham were the better side but lacked the end product in the final third to go ahead. Against the run of play, it was Edge Hill who took the lead following a free-kick into the box which Durham failed to clear; the ball bounced around and ended up in the net.
Fortunately, Durham equalised not long after, with a goal from an unlikely source. Ossie O’Neill came up with the equaliser to get his first goal for Durham- something he prophesised on the walk to the game.
Fin Gwillim hit the post from very close range before O’Neill squeezed in the rebound from a tight angle.
Durham were quick to double their lead with Fin Gwillim making amends for his earlier miss (along with two others) by converting a great pass from Josh Stewart.
However, it was Edge Hill who would be happier going into the break as they equalised with a goal very similar to their first. A long throw into the box which wasn’t dealt with, and the two sides were level at 2-2.
Half-Time: Durham 1s 2-2 Edge Hill
Durham came out flying in the second half with Gwillim adding another to his tally after a smart turn on the edge of the box and then burying the ball in the bottom-left corner.
The home side were in control for the next portion of the game with chances failing to hit the back of the net. Edge Hill capitalised and managed to equalise with a goal of very high quality. A strike (baby fade) from 25 yards which rose into the top corner; unfortunately for the goalscorer, there was no camera and this report is the only record of it.
With time ticking on, Durham were pushing hard to go ahead again. Eventually, the pressure told.
O’Neill dropped his shoulder and skipped past his man before passing it to the recently introduced Freddie Walton. The winger already had quite the impact in his first couple of minutes on the pitch, but his next action would be the one that counted.
He took the ball past his man with ease, and hung in a left-footed cross into a good area.
Out of nowhere, Gwillim popped into frame (quite literally in one sense) and leapt at the ball and, with two feet off the ground, steered it in with the outside of his boot.
Pumped up, he ran over to Walton, confident that he’d scored the winning goal. As we’ve learnt over the last few years: when you’re in need of a goal, call Fin Gwillim.
He had, but it wasn’t quite that simple. Durham then faced a 10 minute barrage of balls into the box and, barring a couple of moments that made the heart skip a beat, they held on to all 3 points.
There will be no easy games this season, and it’s a lesson best learnt early on; there’ll be plenty more.
On another day, Fin could have scored six as he missed three chances in the first half that he would expect himself to score. However, the three goals he did score were not only of high quality but came at crucial times in the game. His performance massively helped get Durham over the line for an immense three points on the opening matchday.
FULL-TIME: DURHAM 4-3 EDGE HILL
Player of the Match: Fin Gwillim
Line-Up: Marko Porozovs; Josh Stewart; Ossie O’Neill; Ellis Challinor; Freddie Merrett; Alex Dinan; George Pitsillides; Rory Edwards; Phil KAy; Zach Alfalahi’ Fin Gwillim (Yellow Card 20’) (Goal 35’, 48’, 78’)
Substitutes: Patrick Dixon; Sam Benoist; Morgan Lant; Freddie Walton; Seb Hopkins
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Leeds Beckett 1 - 3 Durham 2s (A)
Writeen by Anthony Selvadoray
On Wednesday, the Durham 2nds kicked off this year’s BUCS campaign with an away match at Leeds Beckett. Upon arrival, there was no one present to guide us to the changing rooms, leading the team to explore the campus for a bit.
A quick stop at the sports center gave US a chance to grab some food from the cafe (although it doesn’t compare to the MC cafe..) and enjoy a few pre-match games of ping pong until Ryan Cook managed to get the ball stuck in the ceiling.
At 3 p.m, we kicked off in heavy rain. Durham quickly took the lead after I played a ball in behind for Ben Pearson, who skillfully dribbled past the goalkeeper and crossed to Oscar Schuller, who finished with a brilliant header.
However, just before half-time, Leeds Beckett’s relentless pressing caught Durham off guard as they regained possession right in front of our goal, and made it 1-1.
Half-Time: Leeds Beckett 1-1 Durham 2s
The second half began with Durham on the attack. A clever flick from Oscar Schuller sent Ben Pearson through on goal, and he slotted a worldie into the top right corner from outside the box.
Our pressing and solid defensive efforts paid off as we kept Leeds Beckett pinned in their own half, which frustrated a couple of their players, leading to two of them receiving 10-minute sin-bins.
As the game neared its end, any remaining doubts about the result were erased when Jonah Blake found the back of the net from a free kick delivered by Ben Crew.
For today’s player of the match, a few salty opposition players on the way back to the changing rooms claimed our best player was the referee (despite the fact they didn’t manage a single shot on goal in the second half).
However, we’ve decided to go for a less controversial choice and, while the overall team performance was outstanding, one player stood out; Jonah Blake. He dominated in the air, winning 10+ headers, made numerous crucial tackles throughout the game, and skippered us to our first win of the season!
FULL-TIME: LEEDS BECKETT 1-3 DURHAM 2s
Player of the Match: Jonah Blake
Line-Up: Jasper Gourley; Freddy Alcock; Ryan Cook; Chris Wild; Jonah Blake; Adam Browne; Ben Crew; Owen Birkett; Ben Pearson; Anthony Selvadoray; Oscar Schuller
Substitues: Zane Liles; Ethan Woodcock; Sacha Lee; Max Nisim; Jamie Green
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Teeside 2 - 1 Durham 3s (a)
Written by George Vardon
The Third Team set off on Wednesday 16th October for our second BUCS game of the year against Teeside University, and our first away game of the season.
We got on the coach and after a quick headcount realised we were one man short, a few panicked faces looked around before we realised that Tom Gomes had opted to sit at the front of the bus with the Women’s team and with that we were off.
We arrived at a very nice 4G pitch, the home of Stockton football club and got changed ready for the game.
The game started quickly and we knew Teeside were going to be a good team with them scoring from an early cross shot which caught us off guard. However, we got back together quickly and started playing some good football and creating a few chances through the middle with Callum, Ollie and Ty linking up nicely in midfield.
However, arguably against the run of play, Teeside managed to get the ball from a header out of our box and one of their players scored a good goal on the half volley from the edge of the box.
Half-Time: Teeside 2-0 Durham 3s
A rallying team talk from Loosemore and our coach for the day, Oli, got us fired up again knowing we were the better team and we started the second half strong with lots of early chances.
Despite this, that first goal refused to go in and we knew time was starting to run out until with around 15 minutes to go some good work down the right handside allowed Loosemore to whip in a perfect cross into Tom Gomes who slotted it away into the top corner.
The pressure was all on Teeside with a couple more chances falling to Durham but, unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. Disappointingly, the game stayed this way and we suffered our first loss of the BUCS season but there were plenty of positives to take away from the game including our fight and desire to the end alongside the fact we really started to click in the second half.
Whilst we were all disheartened by the game, moods lifted quickly when we discovered a nearby pub, where we waited for the Womens' game to finish.
Player of the Match went to myself (diplomatically, I promise) at the back due to some good defensive work alongside the whole backline. We will look to build on the positives from the game next week against Lancaster University.
FULL-TIME: TEESIDE 2-1 DURHAM 3s
Player of the Match: George Vardon
Line-Up: Jonty Hughes-Penney; Harry Loosemoore; Paddy Harvey; George Vardon; Sam Metheringham; Callum Raisborough; Tom Gomes; Oli Tweddle; Felix Wallop; Tiolu Asagba; Dan Katsande
Substitutes: Archie Duggan; Dan Hart; Jamie Wood; Sam Checketts; Isaac Jowett
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