Successive home victories boost York City’s chances of survival
York City’s Blue Square Premier survival chances look much healthier following consecutive home victories against Eastbourne Borough and Forest Green Rovers in the last four days. After the Minstermen picked up the maximum points available from the two fixtures at KitKat Crescent, they can now enter the final weekend of the season, during which they face Weymouth on Friday evening and Lewes on Sunday afternoon, in control of their own destiny. City, who have already sold 8,500 tickets for their FA Trophy final against Stevenage Borough at Wembley on May 9th, require just one more point from the forthcoming double-header to avoid joining already-relegated Woking, Northwich Victoria and Lewes in step six football next season.
Daniel McBreen, the Australian striker, ended his near 22-hour league goal drought to settle Saturday’s match with Eastbourne, sending a scuffed shot beyond Lee Hook from 12 yards following Levi Mackin’s perfectly-weighted pass. York, looking more assured in returning to a traditional 4-4-2 formation, were positive from the first minute in their quest to escape the bottom four, carried forward by right-winger Adam Smith and striker Richard Brodie, who twice connected with headers in the first-half. David McGurk headed against the outside of a post in a nervous second period, although the South coast visitors failed to trouble Michael Ingham’s goal.
Buoyed by the three points, and Rob Duffy’s late equaliser for Mansfield Town which pushed Woking to the brink of demotion, City entered Tuesday’s fixture against Forest Green determined to erase their worries once and for all. Fielding an unchanged eleven, York struggled to secure possession against Jim Harvey’s team but still created the clearest openings, inspired by Smith and Adam Boyes on the opposite flank. Away goalkeeper Terry Burton was tested by Smith, from a free-kick, and Brodie, who had worked space in the penalty area, in the first-half. On 58 minutes, York broke the deadlock through Boyes, whose opportunism allowed him to convert the rebound from Brodie’s parried low drive for his first league goal for the club. Five minutes later, the advantage was doubled by Brodie’s curling effort, which ricocheted off the crossbar and deflected in off the goalkeeper’s body. After substitute Onome Sodje has struck the post, Forest Green scored a late consolation through Marcus Palmer, but York had done enough for their crucial 2-1 victory.
Despite the long journeys involved this weekend, York will be seeking to accumulate more points to gain momentum ahead of the showpiece final at Wembley two weeks on Saturday. For the time being at least, however, it appears that trips to the likes of Vauxhall Motors, Solihull Moors and Fleetwood Town in the Conference North have been avoided.
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