Image Credit: Luke Snell

Derwent were beaten by Durham’s Collingwood College in a closely fought contest in the men’s football As game. Going 2-0 up midway through the second half proved pivotal for the visitors, who held on for a slim win despite Derwent’s late consolation strike.

The match was a tight and nervy one in the opening exchanges – both teams were getting to know one another and, particularly in the midfield, that affair apparently included a number of crunching early challenges.

But just as the rhythm of this now even game seemed settled, Collingwood sprung into action and scored a scrappy goal from a messy corner. The wall was bobbling around in the box, but, when it came to Ed Main, he was in prime position to beat Derwent goalkeeper Rory Ellis and stab in the opening goal in only the 15th minute.

Full-throttle battles and tackles continued throughout the game, even extending to the referee. Unhappy with a decision, Derwent’s Richard Kiy decided to shove the ref back a few yards, prompting some jeering and cheering from his college’s ever-faithful fans.

The hosts came close from a freekick as they tried to haul themselves level, but they came closer again just a few minutes later. Number 7 Tom Baucher hammered the ball over the bar following some very cute interchanges in the middle of the park.

At half-time, Collingwood had edged the first 45 – they led by a single goal.

Oscar Le Seelleur came on for Derwent at the beginning of the second half, as did number 9 Cameron Collins. Le Seelleur brought a new level of calm and composed to Derwent’s backline. Collins wanted to do the same in the final third, but pulled his hamstring after taking on an ambitious swivel snapshot. Off he went, five minutes into his afternoon. Shame.

This was a match of freekicks – every time you looked away a new one seemed to have been awarded. From one of Derwent’s on the right wing, Brandon Moy’s backspin punt forward was grazed just wide off the head of Baucher. Derwent were pushing hard.

But it was the very next freekick – Collingwood’s – that bought the second goal. A sleeping Derwent defence allowed Tom Gallagher’s delivery to float right to the feet of striker Eduardo Garcia. He duly tucked home to double the visitors’ lead. They’d been clinical.

Collingwood’s right-back Will Herbert nearly increased the margin further in the closing stages, firing just wide after a corner had fallen to him on the edge of the box. Crucially, he didn’t, and Derwent were still in the contest… just.

With two minutes to go, York’s representative college caused a slightly anticlimactic pitch invasion, narrowing the gap with Oskar Fossberg’s simple finish in amongst a crowded area. Was it game on?

In the end it wasn’t; it was game over. Derwent and fought well throughout and their effort was not to be called into question. But Collingwood had claimed all five points for Durham, in a match their captain described as a “difficult game” post-match.