Leeds put clear water between themselves and St Andrews with a consummate display on Wednesday afternoon, winning 31-7. Owing a mix up in communication, the womens team thought they were playing, leading to a hasty switchover. However, this seemed to have no effect on the mens side, who quickly got into their stride with 2 goals in the opening minutes.
Leeds’ ability to keep possession meant they expended little energy compared to their opponents, and even when they lost the ball the Gryphons were able to get back in numbers and nullify any threat that the Scottish outfit posed. A long-range piledriver from No 6 George Wibberley was arguably the pick of the bunch in the first quarter, as the team continued to put away their chances with ruthless efficiency.
Ed Scott, goalkeeper for Team GB in the London 2012 Olympics, marshalled the back line superbly for the home side, and his breathtaking passing opened up the St Andrews defence time and time again, with the ball often landing perfectly in the path of the offensive players, who finished with aplomb.
Leeds were in an understandably buoyant mood, and picked up where they left off in the second quarter, with Jarrah AlKandari proving particularly potent in front of goal. Even inside their own 5m line they were happy to play the ball around, and despite the scoreline they were unrelenting in their pressing as St Andrews found it very difficult to gain a foothold in the match. Even when they did manage to break through, a combination of their profligacy and Scott’s heroics meant they could not close the gap on their opponents.
The second quarter was rounded off by a superb shot from Scott, who scored from his own half to the astonishment of his team-mates. Throughout the encounter, Danny Casey was a vocal presence in the Leeds rearguard, and he gave a rousing speech just before the third quarter kick-off, urging his team mates not to slack off, and to keep pressing for more goals. The score quickly shot up from 12-1 to 16-1, but after that St Andrews gained a bit of momentum and put away a few chances of their own.
Despite the match being over as a contest, Leeds were looking to dramatically improve their goal difference, and against the whipping boys of the Premier North division they had an excellent chance to do just that. A slick move at the end of the period saw Scott lob a perfectly weighted pass into the patch of Ben Kelleher. He in turn fed Casey, who made no mistake from close range.
The last portion of the match was St Andrews’ most successful, as they started to move the ball around with much more freedom. However, every time the visitors had a spell of dominance, Leeds responded in kind, with more clinical finishing from the home side seeing them stretch their lead. AlKandari was especially successful in putting pressure on a beleaguered St Andrews, as he constantly managed to nip the ball away from an opponent, with the outcome often being a goal to Leeds.
The match got a little disjointed towards the end, with a few instances of grappling, but the outcome was never in doubt and the Leeds players can be rightly proud of a high-quality performance. The boys now turn their attention to a play off clash with a team from the Premier South division. After a performance like that, Leeds will be a team that nobody wants to face.
Image courtesy of Lucie England-Duce
Alex Bowmer