Blue
Square Premier - 5th September 2007
At KitKat Crescent - Att 2,079 (98 Altrincham)
Report
The Minstermen failed to claim their first home victory
of the season after being held by struggling Altrincham. The
visitors took the lead through Darren Tinson (44) but Richard
Brodie (45) levelled. Paul
Brayson (51) fired the hosts in front before Joe O'Neill
(90) netted an injury-time equaliser.
Former York City striker Joe O'Neill scored a dramatic equaliser
deep into added time as the visitors claimed a vital point at
KitKat Crescent.
The Minstermen had earlier fought back after veteran centre-back
Darren Tinson headed struggling Altrincham into a 44th minute
lead.
Home striker Richard Brodie forced home an equaliser sixty seconds
later, before skipper Emmanuel
Panther set-up England non-league international striker
Paul Brayson six minutes into the second-half.
But the hosts once more showed their vulnerability at set-pieces
as ex-City striker O'Neill pounced to head home substitute Colin
Potts' late corner.
York chief Billy McEwan
selected on loan Republic of Ireland under-21 international
goalkeeper Stephen Henderson at the expense of the more experienced
Tom Evans, who reverted
to the substitutes' bench.
Glasgow-born midfielder Panther also passed a late fitness test
as his side chased their first home victory of the season.
The Minstermen had the first chance after just two minutes when
winger Martyn Woolford
raced onto Chris Lane's attempted back-header before firing
tamely at Altrincham keeper Stuart Coburn, while Craig
Farrell volleyed high over the bar at the far post after
Coburn had missed Mark
Robinson's cross.
Home debutant keeper Henderson was seeing little of the action
at the other end until being forced into collecting Steve Aspinall's
19th minute free-kick.
Henderson was then required to punch away a corner from ex-Crewe
Alexandra midfielder Gareth Whalley, while opposite number Coburn
followed his example to clear Robinson's cross before Stuart
Elliott returned the loose ball back over the crossbar from
25-yards.
York striker Brodie robbed ex-Macclesfield Town centre-back
Karl Munroe in the 26th minute but could only force a routine
save from Coburn, while Woolford also sent a rising left-footed
drive over the target.
The hosts' on loan keeper Henderson then raced out to head clear
of the onrushing Carlos Logan before the visitors struck just
before the break from their first serious effort on target.
Recent home signing Darren Kelly cleared at the expense of a
corner that was delivered from the right by Whalley for the
unmarked TINSON to head powerfully into the
net, via the underside of the crossbar.
The Minstermen were level inside sixty seconds as Elliott launched
a free-kick forward for BRODIE to defeat the
aerial challenge of keeper Coburn and the ball eventually crossed
the line as covering defender Munroe attempted to clear under
pressure from David
McGurk.
York were ahead six minutes into the second-half following a
fine move that had Elliott and Farrell combining to send Panther
surging into the area and escaping an opponent before pulling
the ball back for BRAYSON to direct a low right-footed
finish into the bottom right-hand corner from 15-yards.
The Robins responded with a long throw from right-back Lane
on 67 minutes that was partially forced away by keeper Henderson
and substitute Potts hooked over an open goal from the edge
of the area.
The hosts also had an escape when the referee chose to play
the advantage rule as the visitors' substitute Chris Senior
chased onto a long though ball. Goalkeeper Henderson - no doubt
recognising a raised offside flag - assumed that a free-kick
had been awarded, and duly dropped the ball outside his area
- from where Senior immediately returned it back into an empty
net. But Durham official Mr Webb then promptly reversed his
original decision.
Altrincham were pushing their opponents increasingly onto the
defensive, and Henderson saved a Munroe header following a free-kick
from Potts, who then flashed a dangerous cross across the six-yard
area in the 89th minute that narrowly avoided Warren Peyton
at the far post.
York's midfield enforcer Elliott had a shot hacked off the line
by Lane sixty seconds later, before Potts delivered a corner
from the left two minutes into added time that found unmarked
ex-City striker O'NEILL sending a downward
header that bounced high into the roof of the net.
There was still sufficient time remaining for Elliott to whip
over a free-kick that was headed back across at the far post
for McGurk to send the ball wide of the target from five-yards
out.
Ref: D. Webb
The Teams
York City: Stephen Henderson, Ben Purkiss,
David McGurk, Darren Kelly, Mark Robinson, Craig Farrell, Stuart
Elliott, Emmanuel Panther, Martyn Woolford, Paul Brayson, Richard
Brodie (Onome Sodje 76)
Subs (unused): Tom Evans, Danny Parslow, Ross Greenwood, Chris
Beardsley
Booked: none
Altrincham: Stuart Coburn, Chris Lane, Karl
Munroe, Darren Tinson, Stephen Aspinall (Sean Clancy 70), Robbie
Lawton, Gareth Whalley, Jake Sedgemore (Colin Potts 62), Warren
Peyton, Carlos Logan (Chris Senior 54), Joe O'Neill
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