Road to Wembley - Round Four
It was
three weeks of eager anticipation since I’d seen the Knights comfortably
overcome Egremont Rangers in the previous round and I was looking forward to
catching up with one or two old friends from Rochdale having done some
reporting work for them last season.
This
would be Rochdale’s first foray into this season’s Challenge Cup and having gained
promotion to the Championship following a fine victory away to Toulouse in the
Promotion Final they have started the 2017 season in good form. The Hornets reached the fifth round of the
competition last season so would come into this game as slight favourites
against a York side that had been nilled by Barrow in their opening League 1
game and just sneaked past South Wales the previous weekend.
It was
the first time this season where I would venture to the match on my own so it
was a long round trip up and down the M62 on a rather quiet Sunday
afternoon. However, my plan of getting
to the ground early and finding a parking space didn’t quite go to plan as, in
typical football/rugby ground-in-the-middle-of-a-housing-estate style, I ended
up having to squeeze into an empty spot a few blocks away and walking back to
the ground. I did ask a steward about
parking but my only other option seemed to driving about half a mile back to
the hospital, paying £2 for the privilege of parking there, then walking all
the way back so I was pretty pleased when I eventually found the space I did.
I still
made it in good time though and was able to buy a match programme (which was
considerably more substantial than last time than the previous round’s) and
bought a half-time draw ticket for a total of £3 pounds. To be honest I didn’t hear what number had
been drawn out so I could be sat at home writing this with a wad of cash
somewhere in York with my name on it! I
seriously doubt it was mine - I’m not that lucky - but if anyone was there and
remembers if it wasn’t claimed my ticket number is 0623, so please do let me
know.
As the
teams were warming up I had a brief catch-up with Luke Harrison, a director of Rochdale who I knew from my time at Spotland last season, and was able to take
a spot near the half way line again.
The match
got underway and it turned out to be much more eventful than I thought it would
be. The York players were clearly up for
this game against higher league opposition and seemed to have a point to prove
to their fans after an indifferent start to the campaign.
So much
so that they raced into a surprise 14-0 lead inside the first 20 minutes during
which time Rochdale were barely out of their own half. The tone was set when a Hornets man dropped
an easy ball in front of his own line right from the kick-off to hand York
head-and-feed of the scrum just 10 yards out and the Knights took their early chances
well.
Two
converted tries and a penalty were registered before Rochdale finally realised
they were actually playing a game. I was
texting my dad before the game joking whether the York kicker Harry
Tyson-Wilson would be able to convert any of his kicks this week as it took him
seven attempts to score with his boot in the previous round. I was clearly eating my words at full time as
he’d go on to nail all of his kicks.
Two quick
converted tries in a five minute spell brought the game, and the crowd around
me, to life as the score was poised at 14-12 with less than ten minutes of the
half remaining. I was led to believe
that the referee was having a bad game and didn’t know what the hell he was
doing. At least that was what the few
hundred York supporters in the stand were regularly confirming with the use of
some loud and tasty language! Deja vu
struck hard when it felt like I had been in this atmosphere before – oh wait, I
had!
One of
the more enjoyable aspects of the half was the comical, but accurate,
blow-by-blow commentary from the group of elderly gentlemen sat next to me who
liked to discuss all aspects of both codes of rugby and had clearly been coming
to watch York for the past 40 or so years.
The crowd
were much more pleased by half time as York had managed to sneak in another six
points to lead 20-12.
I was
starting to feel parched so took the opportunity at the half time break to
venture down to the nearest food and drink kiosk which turned out to be the
clubhouse bar. I waited in the queue and
got my £1.60 ready as it stated on the board for my pint of orange cordial and lemonade
and nearly choked on my first sip when the bar lady charged me £3.20! I staggered back to my seat and was left
think that I may as well have bought a proper pint for that price.
As I sat
back down preciously holding the most expensive fizzy soft drink I think I’ve
ever bought the game was back underway.
In my head Rochdale were going to pull themselves together and turn this
game around, but York are not their bogey team for nothing. York had beaten the Hornets in all three
meetings last season and they were about to make it a fourth in a row.
Rochdale did
pull the scores back level with 20 minutes remaining in a great second half for
any neutrals watching and I could hear the nerves jangling all around me. But it was to be York’s day as the
Tyson-Wilson brothers had the last say thanks to Bobby’s try and Harry’s conversion
which produced a six-point margin which Rochdale wouldn’t come back from.
The ref
blew the final whistle and the York fans were ecstatically congratulating their
players whilst I stood back in the stand clapping both sides off the pitch
after what was in fairness a very good cup tie.
I left
the ground feeling that this victory could well kick-start York’s season and
see them push on for a place in the play-offs at the end of the year. And with that passionate home crowd behind
them every game they probably won’t be far off.
I now
look forward to seeing where my ‘Road to Wembley’ takes me next. Will it be a third consecutive trip to
Bootham Crescent or will the draw be kinder and give me a tie a bit closer to
home?
If you like what you read you can follow me on Twitter at @TheRLBlogger.
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