Out of over five hundred trialists, the sixteen players involved in securing a historic cup-tie have certainly proved their worth over the course of the season. Earning a place at the top of the tree playing the most popular sport in the University is an achievement in its own right but this cup run is rapidly gaining momentum around campus and the home-tie against superior opposition, AFC Silsden, will surely bring a crowd of supporters only matched by the fiercely competed derby against Northumbria University.
However, it’s been a convincing run to the third round for the West Yorkshire side facing the Newcastle outfit, dismantling Redcar Athletic 4-0 in the first round, and showing no signs of let-up in the following round, seeing off Abbey Haye by four goals to one. What they will not be used to facing, though, is a crop of extremely talented and younger opposition, characteristics rarely seen in the depths of semi-professional football. Players in the infancy of their adulthood, still reaching their peak potential and fitness levels will provide a stern physical and technincal examination for Silsden who simply will not be used to playing ninety minutes against a team with the natural endeavour and vigour that is only found in the younger amateur outfits. Inexperience, though, is likely to be a factor for the University side. Playing the game and not the occasion, whilst a cliché, is an essential component if they are to have any chance of reaching the fourth round.
Blocking out the well-intentioned pressure and support of hundreds of hopefuls is key and once that whistle goes, it’s down to the eleven footballers representing the thousands to produce a professional, disciplined and quality-filled display. Having seen-off Durham University 3-0 just weeks before this fixture, there is more than enough quality in the ranks to continue this miraculous and historic run but their youthful exuberance on the pitch will likely be a double-edged sword. Whilst the yard of pace and minutes in the legs are likely to be superior to Silsden, the streetwise experience of a team so used to playing at this level could quite easily cancel out the lively approach of the Newcastle side.
It would be unfair to label it naivety without a ball being kicked, but they could quite easily be caught out if Silsden silence the crowd with an early goal or flurry of chances. That being said, a fast start by the Uni side and suddenly the crowd are up and the momentum could be very difficult to shift. The supporters, many of whom would have trialled for the opportunity to play in this game just two months prior, will watch on knowing that a university side have never reached the final of the FA Vase, with established sides such as Guiseley and Newport Pagnell engraving their names on the trophy in the past five years. It is certainly an avenue into increasing not only the status of the University football level but also their journey into the upper echelons of the non-league pyramid.
Having only qualified to enter the tournament in the 2021-22 season, reaching the last sixty-four of the competition in which hundreds of teams strive to qualify for earns its own place in the history books of this great university, and whilst any further progress could be viewed as a bonus, there is a genuine shot at a cup run to remember. The ‘magic of the cup’ adage is certainly playing a role in the progress of the team with any ‘Football Association’ tournament famous for its so-called ‘cupsets’, with examples from the very top where the coveted FA Cup sees memorable shocks regularly in each advancing round.
The brisk chill of a north-eastern afternoon will play host to this talked-about cup tie, with the fans warmed by the festivities entering the city and the hope of a new dawn and era of university football, in which established teams are challenged and beaten, all on the way to achieving a day out at Wembley Stadium. Though in victory or defeat, no matter how extreme, history has been well and truly made from the pitch of Cochrane Park.