University of Leeds Men's FC Win Late In the Cup

Leeds University Men’s Football Club walked away as winners from a hard-fought contest against the University of Sheffield Men’s Football Club.

The Gryphons were on the right-side of a 4-3 scoreline, with an 84th minute winner ensuring that they progressed into the second round of the BUCS Men’s National Trophy.

Leeds raced into a 2-0 lead within the first half before the Sheffield captain brought his side back into the game with a brace, either side of half time, to level the match 49 minutes in.

An in-swinging corner saw Leeds wrestle back their lead, yet Sheffield responded once more: slotting home a cross to leave the game poised at 3-3 with half an hour still to play. However, Leeds took the lead for the third time late on, and this time it proved pivotal to knock their opponents out of the cup.

So, how did the match unfold?

In their gold and black strip, Sheffield had the better of the early chances. After a scrappy start to the game, their captain had a series of attempts but was unable to convert, as the stopper in the Leeds net, Harry Aldo, reacted superbly on multiple occasions to keep the scoreline at 0-0.

The game soon became end to end with both teams enjoying opportunities but were unable to break the deadlock. Both keepers made good saves, although attack was clearly dominating defence in the early stages.

Leeds went ahead 22 minutes in, through a nice finish across the goal by Jacques Lorraine. There was some controversy over the goal, but the referee alleged that the ball had crossed the line, and Leeds were in front, arguably against the early run of play.

Just three minutes later, this lead was doubled. Henry Moxley ran onto Johan Coughlan’s cross to slot home low into the bottom left corner. It was a well-worked goal, and rewarded the bright starts that both wingers had enjoyed.

Leeds had been clinical; Sheffield had not.

However, the game remained open and chances continued to fall for both teams. A nice move from Leeds saw their left- and right-wingers both exchange cross field switches but unfortunately the move came to nothing.

Moments later, the Sheffield captain did get his goal with a shot that went under the Leeds keeper to nestle into the net. This led to a scrappy end to the half, although Sheffield had an opportunity to equalise on the verge of half-time as they were awarded a free-kick right on the edge of the box. Their talismanic captain stepped up to shoot directly but, as was the story of the first half, the Leeds keeper made yet another good save to deny him again.

After a remarkably short half-time interval, of just four minutes, both sides were soon back out having switched sides. Sheffield won another free-kick in a very similar position to the one at the end of the first-half. This time their captain struck the inside of the post but it was not followed in and Leeds escaped: a clear warning sign.

From the resulting corner, the referee pointed to the spot, alleging that a foul had been committed in the scramble to clear the ball. The Sheffield skipper tucked the penalty away into the right hand side of the goal and the game was back level.

As the game progressed, challenges started to fly in and both sides were visibly up for the contest. With 52 minutes on the clock, Leeds’ captain Will Puffette met an in-swinging corner to put his side back into a 3-2 lead. Leeds had repeatedly used in-swinging corners throughout the game, and Sheffield looked vulnerable when attempting to defend them.

Leeds had been much the better side in the second half, and enjoyed the majority of the chances as they restricted their opponents to opportunities that were mainly on the counter-attack.

Leeds were denied a fourth goal when Lorraine found himself in space in the box, but had his low shot excellently blocked by a Sheffield defender inside the six yard box.

However, Sheffield soon found themselves level again, as their number 10 slotted home their left-winger’s low cross. It was against the run of play, but both teams now fancied themselves to win the tie.

With 70 minutes on the clock, the high intensity that the game had been played at began to catch up with some of the players, many of whom had covered a significant amount of ground. Both sides made a number of changes, hoping that fresh legs could prove decisive.

Sheffield’s left-winger was thwarted by a succession of important clearances and tackles by Leeds defenders, as they looked to make sure that they did not go behind for the first time. The Sheffield captain then found himself with a clear view of goal, but just as he lined up his shot the referee blew his whistle, before the striker put the ball in the back of the net. It turned out that the referee had spotted a handball, but it was not clear and was to prove a pivotal moment in the game.

The match tightened up as it entered the final fifteen minutes, but Ade Adeniji released this tension unleashing a fierce shot from outside the box, which the Sheffield keeper could only bat away straight into the path of Leeds’ number 11. However, Sheffield’s number 3 made an excellent recovery tackle to stop him in his tracks.

Nevertheless, Leeds’ fortunes were to change just a minute later as Coughlan managed to end up on the end of a looping second ball and tucked it away to give his side the lead with just six minutes of normal time remaining.

Leeds’ onslaught continued through Coughlan, who then hit the post, before being taken out minutes later by the Sheffield keeper rushing out on the edge of the box. The referee subsequently booked the goalkeeper, who then saved the resulting free-kick down low.

In injury time, it looked for all the world that Leeds had sealed the deal. Lorraine, full of energy, tackled the keeper to win the ball and slot it home. However, the referee disallowed the goal on the grounds of offside.

This led to protests from the whole Leeds side, and the referee attempted to sinbin the Leeds skipper. He was then informed that sinbins had been removed from the rulebook ahead of the 2026/27 season, so dished out a second yellow to reduce Leeds to 10 this way instead.

This led to a nervy end to the game as Sheffield tried to make their one-man advantage count, and despite a prolonged injury time, they were unable to muster any late chances giving Leeds a hard-fought win.

Leeds had been excellent in the second-half, managing to take control of key spells of what was otherwise a frantic game and this saw them through to the next round of the cup. In the first half they had been clinical, and significant credit must go to Harry Aldo for the sheer number of saves he made.

Words by Ben Carter | Image Credit: Freya Lamont, @freyachristinaphotography on instagram