EXTRA time agony befell York Schoolboys Under-13s as they went down 4-3 to Leeds in the final of the Yorkshire Cup.
The sides were locked at 3-3 after normal time at Tockwith, but the West Yorkshire side netted in the first extra period to snatch the trophy.
Leeds settled quickly and immediately had the York defence on the back foot, but goalkeeper Mike Ellis was in fine form and made a series of strong saves to keep his side on level terms.
After 12 minutes, York failed to deal with a set-piece and Leeds went in front with a close-range finish.
The response was instant as York came back strongly to go ahead with two clinical finishes.
The first came from the prolific Dylan Howlett and the second was netted by Adam Swords, who rounded off a superb team move by slotting home a Tom Robinson pass.
However, just before half-time, York lost concentration and Leeds drew level following a swift break.
The second half saw more of the same, with Leeds always dangerous – particularly from set-plays.
York were playing on the counter-attack, prompted by Robinson, Aaron Collis, Callum Hirst and Jacob Rose.
York stunned their opponents by regaining the lead on 55 minutes thanks to a cool Rose finish.
At 3-2 up 15 minutes to go, York were hopeful of a famous victory.
Leeds pulled out all the stops in search of an equaliser, testing a York defence in which man of the match Henry Swires was outstanding.
The pressure finally told and Leeds grabbed the leveller after a goalmouth scramble.
Entering extra time, both teams were tiring and York had made all five of their substitutions.
Leeds won the game with a close range header in the first period and York were unable to rally again.
The performance and result were a huge improvement for York, following 5-1 and 7-1 league defeats against Leeds.
The entire squad played their part in the final and, despite just missing out, manager Matt Gore expressed his pride at how they ran a superb Leeds team close.
Trials for next year’s U14s squad will take place in the summer.
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