UK Student Archery Association

NEUAL title race 2/2 [18/May/18]

Heading in to the NEUAL Indoors, there was still very much all to play for in the senior NEUAL table, with 4 teams in with a shout of taking overall top spot. Victory at the Championships would have guaranteed the overall crown for Newcastle, Central Lancashire or Liverpool, whilst if York won they could only be derailed by Newcastle claiming second spot. Fifth place at BUCS Q Round had left Bradford a touch too far behind to take the title themselves, barring an unlikely sequence of results.

At the BUCS round, a mere 25 points covered the top 5 teams and things were similarly tight at NEUAL Indoors, with 28 points covering the top 4. Bradford's 2188 saw them finish third, with a 583 from Matthew Gardiner made him the match's top scorer by a full 15 points and almost powering Bradford to second. Liverpool, without some of their top archers, slipped to 2073, 100 behind the top 4 teams, but still enough for fifth place.

That left York, UCLan and Newcastle still in with a shout. Newcastle, who had 79 league points on the board, scored 2175 with a solid team effort. However this score was only enough for fourth. UCLan needed to beat York as although they were 1 point ahead going in to the match, they had an inferior aggregate. York's final tally was 2203, with UCLan on 2190 - only 13 points away from what would have been a maiden victory. David Shaw (York) scored 568, whilst there was a 561 from Joshua Green (UCLan). York and UCLan both ended their campaigns on 97 points. Newcastle placed third on 96 with Liverpool on 94 and Bradford on 93.

In the novice team competition, Keele held a two league point advantage going in to the fixture and scored 1448 to win the novice team category at the Indoor Champs and win the overall league title. Liverpool were second on 1423, just ahead of Bradford on 1417. However Bradford held on to second spot in the league, a point ahead of Liverpool. Paula Uusnakki (Liverpool) was the top novice in the match on 552, Ather Butt (Bradford) 30 behind. Keele's novices are NEUAL champions for the third time following previous wins in 2007 and 2012.

York won the first 4 NEUAL crowns from 2003 through to 2006 but have had to wait 12 years for number five. The White Roses are now two clear of Lancaster, Keele and Sheffield all of whom have won three times. Following the absurdly tight finish to the SEAL season, NEUAL has served up something not dissimilar, with York coming from 4th place to take on the title on match aggregate, on the final day of the season. Fittingly, York's 2203 was the highest score of the entire NEUAL season and their aggregate across the five fixtures was the highest in the league.

Central Lancashire and Newcastle have both posted by far their best ever finishes in NEUAL, with a 2nd and a 3rd respectively. Indeed both clubs were within a whisker of claiming a surprise maiden triumph. Liverpool and Bradford were also in the hunt for the title in a very competitive NEUAL season. The title race really came alive across the championships rounds once the leading sides were competing directly against one another. Debutantes Chester didn't shoot at the Indoor Champs and this left them 16th overall, but they did show improvement over their first campaign.

Senior table on 19th Feb:
York 60 points (6523 aggregate), UCLan 60 (6117), Newcastle 60 (5966), Bradford 59, 4 teams 58

Senior table on 26th Feb:
Newcastle 79, UCLan 78 (8286), Liverpool 78 (8251), York 77, Bradford 75

Senior table on 18th Mar:
York 97 points (10890), UCLan 97 (10476), Newcastle 96, Liverpool 94, Bradford 93

See the final NEUAL 2017/18 standings.