A DAY of losses and lessons learned was sampled by York University teams in their latest British Universities and Colleges Sports (BUCS) fixtures.

The men’s hockey firsts were beaten 5-2 by visiting Leeds seconds, who showed a more clinical touch in front of goal.

Traiuling 3-0 at half-time they rallied with a Kris Sivagnanam reply and later Nico Bode made it 4-2 but Leeds bagged a fifth to seal the game.

But the women’s firsts enhanced their promotion prospects with a 12-0 thumping of University of Sheffield’s 2nd team.

Elsewhere, the men’s football seconds lost 3-0 at home to Leeds.

Captain Matt Hallam said the margin of defeat did not reflect the balance of the game in which injuries, a brutal crosswind and dubious offside decisions all seemed to play their part.

Although York sit just above the relegation zone, they should be safe as Hull have racked up minus six points due to forfeits.

The football women’s firsts also currently sit just above relegation in the BUCS league, yet they managed to pull off their first win of the season, beating visiting Newcastle’s firsts 1-0.

The men’s basketball firsts were well beaten 67-39 by classy visitors Durham, who are a certainty for for promotion.

Mid-table mediocrity beckons for a York side comparatively low on quality but unquestionably committed.

York will have easier games, but it was a wake-up call for a side whose confidence had been restored by recent performances.

As if to seal a day saturated with defeat, the men’s rugby firsts lost away to Leeds seconds, whom they had beaten at home earlier in the season.

Losing 27-15, it was a bitter defeat, and leads one to the conclusion that all in all, this was a week for York University’s sporting sides to put behind them, in order to look ahead to more promising and profitable encounters.