2019/20 Review
The Season - Take 1
2019/20 saw City in National League North for a 3rd consecutive season. Never in City's history have we been promoted within 5 years of relegation.
After a strong finish to the previous season, Steve Watson made tweaks to his squad rather than large scale changes. New signing and captain Steve McNulty allowed Watson to play his preferred 3-5-2 system that saw City's season get off to a good start. All the summer signings were free transfers, although according to FA documents, City paid £6,130 in agents' fees for Peter Jameson, Dan Maguire and Andrew Bond in the period 1st February 2019 to 31st January 2020.
Winning our first 4 away league games set a new club record. City went unbeaten in our first 16 league games, not losing a league match until November 16th. Along the way, and spanning 2 seasons, City also broke a club record when going 21 games without defeat. No doubt, being able to carry forward a strong nucleus from the previous season enabled City to hit the ground running.
Stand out performances were beating Kings Lynn by 3-0 and at the end of October, an impressive display of attacking football saw City beat Stockport 2-0 live on TV in The FA Cup and a week later, a more back to the walls display saw a 1-0 top of the table win at Chester, thanks to a Dan Maguire goal. By now, City were clear at the top of the league with Chester and Kings Lynn emerging as serious rivals. Early season success was built on standout displays down the left from David Ferguson and Alex Kempster and a defence well marshalled by Steve McNulty. The only time City struggled, in relative terms, was when Steve McNulty suffered an injury and some of the worst traits in our defence re-emerged.
City's strong early season form gave way to an inconsistent run from November onwards, losing 2 home game to Altrincham in November (FA Cup and FA Trophy). The old failing of struggling to overcome lesser teams at Bootham Crescent was to cost City dearly. Despite the hype, key summer signing Dan Maguire was to prove to be one of the season's disappointments, a prolific goalscorer, his work rate quickly impressed City supporters. However, a series of injuries (as he struggled to adjust to full time football / training) badly curtailed his season, he was unable to replicate his Blyth form where he had regularly scored 20+ goals per season.
Throughout the rest of the season, City rarely recaptured their early season form. City's lead at the top of the table slipped away, Kings Lynn went ahead and were seemingly pulling clear. At one stage, with games in hand over City, there was a realistic prospect of them being 10 points clear of City when they played those games.
King Lynn's season ended with defeat in each of their last 3 homes games (including 1-0 against bottom of the league Bradford PA) and just 4 points from their last 6 games. With City's variable form, it was almost a case of which team would lose the league and whether one of the chasing pack could catch the top 2.
At the time the league was suspended, City were 2 points ahead of Kings Lynn and 6 ahead of Brackley in 3rd place. City and Brackley had 8 games to play and Kings Lynn had 10. On points, Boston, Altrincham, Chester and Spennymoor filled the other play off places. On points per games, Gateshead replaced Spennymoor in the top 6. The big difference between City and Kings Lynn was in goalscoring. Kings Lynn scored 62 league goals, City just 53, a total bettered by 5 teams. For City, Jordan Burrow top scored with 14 goals whilst Adam Marriott netted 28 for Kings Lynn. How City could have done with a deadly finisher to really
make a difference.
City's last game of the season was a 3-1 win at Alfreton on March 7. After news that Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta had tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday March 12, the following day, The Premier League and The Football League postponed all games that weekend. On Friday, The National League confirmed its weekend (March 14) games were going ahead, although some clubs postponed them when clubs noted some players were self isolating. City said their game against Altrincham would go ahead, but after 10pm, City announced the game was postponed as both clubs said they had members of staff in self isolation.
As the situation worsened, all football was put on hold, initially until April 3 and the until the end of April. Meanwhile the FA and leagues sought to determine how to conclude the 2019/20 season. When the season ended, City were top of the table, 2 points clear of King's Lynn and 6 clear of Brackley. King's Lynn had 10 games left to play, 2 more than City and Brackley but their form had dropped off a cliff in the run up to covid. On April 2, York City announced they'd made, "the difficult decision to close the club for the foreseeable future. The sudden onset of the Coronavirus pandemic, uncertainty around the conclusion to the 2019/2020 league and our inability to make plans with any real certainty, has had an immediate, unforeseen financial impact on the club. In line with the government's Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, club staff and players have been placed on furlough until further notice. The chairman, who has personally supported the club financially since 2006, paid all wages in full to this point and will ensure that all staff receive 80% of their wage during their time on furlough, irrespective of the government scheme's upper limit. The club is no longer operational and the offices will be closed, however the club shop remains open online. The club's social media channels and website will only be updated with urgent news related to the league or Coronavirus".
On April 22, it was announced that National League clubs had voted to end the 2019-20 season at its current point, with promotion and relegation outcomes "under careful consideration". It seemed to take an age to decide the final outcome, all options (including void the season, one up (leaders or points per game basis), top 2 up, play offs to decide the second promoted club) seemed on the table at some stage. A "Promote2" campaign, with Dan Simmonite an early proponent, went viral.
By late June, in stages, the final decision was made that Kings Lynn were champions (via points per game and promoted) and play offs for the other promotion place would follow. With City deemed to be second, we enjoyed a bye into the play off semi finals where we hosted Altrincham (winners over Chester) on July 25. Alex Kempster missed a glorious early chance in a tepid (especially in front of goal) display as City meekly surrended 2-0. Reasons abounded for the display, including lack of match fitness when compared to Altrincham, physical fitness (in a few cases), inability to train as a full group or arrange a friendly due to covid and motivation (when considering the number of players released 2 days later) and the possibility that some players had already decided they wouldn't be with City next season.
City's 3-5-2 formation was intended to be solid at the back, to an extent we were, but at the expense of attacking threat. Big hope Dan Maguire suffered from an injury plagued season whilst our main attacking threat, the Ferguson / Newton / Kempster left sided axis was quickly found out and snuffed out. Unfortunately, we didn't really have a Plan B. Once again, Kempster had a frustrating season, outstanding in part, but drifted in and out far too much.
With the vast bulk of the squad out of contract, it remains to be seen what the squad will look like for the 2020/1 season. Indeed, it is not entirely clear where (or when) City will start the season, a further series of delays meant Monks Cross was not ready as expected in January 2020 and build work continued beyond the coronavirus outbreak. With build completion still outstanding (at the end of July 2020) and a lack of test events (which require a 2,000 person event), it is even possible football will be played at Bootham Crescent in autumn 2020.
Once again, there was a lack of opportunities for home grown players. Only Dyer made any league appearances, Whitley and Allan's only games were City's first 2 FA Cup games and Charlie Jebson-King came on as a late substitute at Irlam.
Off the pitch, the biggest disappointment was further delays to the completion of Monks Cross. An end of year (2019) deadline came and went. At a Fans' Forum in early January 2020, the club announced the very imminent dates of the 3 test events only for the authorities to almost immediately cancel them as they announced further delays in completing the build. Monks Cross - The History, The Delays
Post Season: An announcement on July 29 (delayed by a day) confirmed that Steve Watson and Micky Cummins had both extended their contracts.
March 2020 also saw the publication of City's 2018/9 season accounts which showed another large loss.
Retained List
With 13 players released (personally a couple more than I was expecting), Watson’s certainly intends to re-build for next season. He’s got 9 weeks, presumably he has targets in mind (maybe deals already lined up), but will be behind some clubs in his recruitment, Chorley recently announced their 8th summer signing.
For a team that finished 2nd in the table, 13 is maybe a lot of player to release, but few of them were likely to improve.
Dyer and Maguire are maybe the exceptions. Dyer (and Jake Watson) are yet more of City’s bright youngsters who have failed to make the grade as professionals with City.
Upfront, Maguire, Langstaff and Burrow are all released. Cases could be made for all 3 being retained, equally, so could cases to release all 3. The latter 2 have flattered to deceive over 2 seasons. Burrow’s goals (allied to work rate) might make him a candidate for a new contract as a 2nd striker. Maguire suffered from a run of injuries and was never able to fulfil his potential. To many, Kempster is lightweight and has struggled to maintain his form over a full season. If he'd stayed, he’d certainly have needed some good support alongside him.
Watson signalled his direction of travel after the Altrincham game when he suggested the youngsters were important for next season.
Certainly, many of the released players were senior professionals, with wages to match. Their release could possibly see a significant reduction in the wage bill.
It remains to be seen whether Watson can recruit enough new players and get a team to gel in 9 weeks. He starts with 3 contracted players, 8 he wants to offer new contracts (5 signed and 3 (Kempster, Ferguson and Green) declined and moved elsewhere). Maybe he will offer terms to one of 2 of the youth squad. A strong new spine is required (centre back, centre mid and striker). It would also be good to see a viable, pacy wide alterative. Only when the new squad is assembled can the released list be fully assessed.
Plus:
Season / Club Records:
The Players Goals: Burrow 14, Kempster 12, Newton 5, Green 4, Griffiths 3, Wiloughby 3, Bond 2, Ferguson 2, Maguire 2, Tait 2, Moke 1, McLaughlin 1, Dyer1, Durrell 1, Langstaff 1 McFarlane 1, Own Goals 3 Assists: Ferguson had the most (16). Full list TBC Red / Yellow Cards: TBC The Season - Take 2 (still to come) The following is taken from an article in the
Yorkpress on dd mmm 2020.
National League North Attendances 2019/20 With home league attendances up from an average of 2,500 in 2018/9, City's 2,705 average crowd was comfortably the highest in NLN.
In NLS, Dulwich Hamlet topped the averages with 2,200, one of 7 teams in that league with a 4 figure average.
In National League, Notts County topped the attendance averages with 5,210. Stockport, Wrexham, Chesterfield, Hartlepool and Yeovil all had a higher average than City. For the record, Harrogate with an average of 1,301 were the 19th best supported NL side.
City's average also bettered that of 4 Division 2 sides.
Rank Team Lowest Highest Average %Increase 1 York City 2,039 3,543 2,705 8.16 2 Hereford 1,552 2,707 2,047 -1.35 3 Chester 1,601 3,653 2,019 9.79 4 Darlington 1,183 2,204 1,471 5.52 5 King's Lynn Town 833 4,019 1,417 99.02 6 Kidderminster Harriers 984 2,117 1,364 -15.91 7 Boston United 894 2,360 1,304 19.30 8 Spennymoor Town 869 2,260 1,182 42.93 9 AFC Telford United 602 2,085 1,148 -15.15 10 Altrincham 614 1,879 1,139 -8.51 11 Southport 604 1,830 1,006 -6.07 12 Gateshead 707 1,390 978 16.29 13 Blyth Spartans 576 1,481 836 2.45 14 Guiseley 267 1,891 793 1.54 15 Kettering Town 543 971 750 -10.50 16 Brackley Town 330 905 532 -13.64 17 Leamington 310 865 517 -22.49 18 Farsley Celtic 189 1,123 510 34.92 19 Alfreton Town 283 800 497 -07.10 20 Bradford Park Avenue 256 1,127 484 -7.63 21 Gloucester City 161 1,570 422 23.39 22 Curzon Ashton 160 870 376 -16.44 For all the details see
Non League Matters and
Football Web Pages, both wonderful web sites.
2019/20 Under 19s For the 2019/20 season, City competed in the northern section of the newly constituted National League Under-19 Alliance alongside 9 other National League and National League North teams. 12 teams competed in the Southern section. The 22 teams benefitted from the National League Academy Licence programme which seeks to protect teams and young players at Steps 1 and 2 from League sides' advances. It is hoped the scheme will also encourage development of players and coaching staff, as well as being able to offer a certified academy structure that could, in turn, attract a higher calibre of young talents. Steve Watson said: "The scheme is to protect clubs like us at this level, or should be, so we're not building players up for somebody to just come and cherry-pick. That has to be good news for clubs like us."
Being designated for Under 19s, sides can contain "first season professionals", those one season beyond their academy days (Nathan Dyer, Jake Watson and Reiss Harrison) alongside academy players.
The side, one of 546, also competed in the FA Youth Cup, entering at the earliest possible stage. Note, the FA Youth Cup is restricted to Under 18 players (i.e. first season professionals excluded).
Home league fixtures are generally played at City's Wiggington Road training ground (YO32 2RB) on a Wednesday afternoon with an early kick off to finish in daylight. Home FA Youth Cup games are played under the lights at Bootham Crescent.
End Of Season Review: It was a disappointingly early end to another FA Youth Cup campaign. However league form was good, always one of the pacesetters, the Minstermites were top of the table when lockdown ended the season and were placed 4th on PPG. With around 24 players featuring during the season, second season players, strikers Ethan Henderson (4 goals in 8 starts and one substitute appearance after injury delayed his first game until January and was a non playing sub against Hereford in March) and Kiari Ventura plus defensive minded midfielder Archie Whitfield might be considered to be closest to earning a pro contract. Keeper Jake Teale gave some outstanding performances, but with 2 contracted keepers, there is unfortunately no room for him. Of the first year players, there are high hopes for burly striker (and the season’s top scorer) Luke Jones and midfield dynamo Alfie Evans. Many will hope their teammate, Oli, son of Scott, Jordan kicks on next season.
Position Team Played Points Goal Difference Notes 1 York City 15 30 23 3 games left to play. 4th on PPG 2 AFC Fylde 16 30 16 5th on PPG 3 Guiseley 13 28 25 3rd on PPG 4 Hartlepool United 12 26 30 2nd on PPG 5 Chester 10 26 19 1st on PPG Further Reading: National League Under-19 Alliance website.
YCFC Academy / York St John University Strengthen Links On 17 December 2019, York City announced that York St John University are to become the club's new Academy partner. The partnership should to add to the collaboration between the organisations where SJ provide the use of facilities to the club and their students work with players on periodic fitness tests and performance analysis, sports science and physiotherapy support.
The University's logo will appear on Academy shirts. All university students will have access to discounted match tickets while the university and its sport subsidiary, Yorkshire Academy of Sport, will be involved with both football club and Academy operations.
For York, the link-up signals another stage in the Academy's resurgence which no boasts National League Academy Licence status and has UEFA 'A' or 'B' qualified coaches at all age groups.
York City's head of youth development Dan Wilson said: "There is a huge sense of pride among the Academy lads knowing that they're being supported by such a fantastic organisation. We have an excellent youth setup here and this partnership will only improve the support we can provide to the aspiring young footballers in our ranks. It's fantastic that the club can also support York St John students as they gain experience within a professional environment. It's fantastic that the Club can also support York St John students as they gain experience within a professional environment. Last season, Robbie Hurworth joined us as a sports science and physiotherapy intern and now works for the club as academy physiotherapist four days a week. As well as providing a pathway for young players it's great that this partnership allows us to support people like Robbie who want to progress into a career in the sport."
Rob Hickey, Chief Operating Officer of York St John University said: "We are passionate about sport and its scope as a vehicle for positive social change, so working with York City Football Club is a perfect fit for us. It cements the University's commitment to the economic, educational and cultural life of our city and the region. As a major provider of sporting facilities in the city, we are proud to support the next generation of players."
Yorkshire Academy of Sport coordinator Jamie Salter said: "Establishing formal links with the football club is a sign of the progress we are making as an institution, particularly through the Yorkshire Academy of Sport. We are keen to offer support, expertise and resources to our community partners whilst integrating students in real-world scenarios to help boost their future employability opportunities. The proximity of the University to the football club provides the ideal opportunity for sharing practice and experience and we hope that this is the start of bigger things."
York City Football Club's Commercial Manager, Chris Pegg, said: "Having a close relationship with a high-quality university is a magic combination, both our institutions play a major role within the city. York St John University is essential in driving aspects of the economy and community, alongside the partnership we're proud to actively encourage increases in participation rates in higher education."
2019/20 National League Youth Alliance Date Opponents Competition Venue Result Wed 04 September PONTEFRACT COLLERIES FAYC - PR1 H W 3-1 Wed 11 September CHESTER NLAU19 (N) H L 1-2 Wed 18 September AFC Silsden FAYC - QR1 A W 5-0 Wed 25 September Alfreton NLAU19 (N) A W 6-1 Wed 2 October GUISELEY FAYC - QR2 H L 2-3 Wed 23 October AFC FYLDE NLAU19 (N) H W 2-0 Wed 30 October Boston NLAU19 (N) A W 3-1 Wed 6 November Mansfield NLAU19-LC1 A W 6-1 Thur 14 November CHESTERFIELD National Cup R1 H W 1-1 (P 3-2) Wed 4 December Carlisle PV NLAU19-LC2 H W 2-2 (P 4-2) Fri 6 December SOLIHULL MOORS NLAU19 (N) H W 4-0 Wed 8 January FC HALIFAX NLAU19 (N) H W 5-2 Mon 20 January FC Halifax NLAU19-LC3 A L 0-1 Wed 22 January ALFRETON NLAU19 (N) H W 4-0 Wed 29 January AFC Fylde NLAU19 (N) A D 2-2 Wed 5 February BOSTON NLAU19 (N) H W 2-0 Wed 12 February Hartlepool NLAU19 (N) A L 0-2 Wed 19 February HARTLEPOOL NLAU19 (N) H D 2-2 Wed 26 February DARLINGTON NLAU19 (N) H W 5-0 Wed 4 March GUISELEY NLAU19 (N) H L 0-2 Fri 6 March FC Halifax NLAU19 (N) A D 2-2 Wed 11 March Solihull Moors NLAU19 (N) A W 2-1 Mon 16 March Guiseley NLAU19 (N) A Postponed Wed 1 Apr (Was 20 Nov) Darlington NLAU19 (N) A P - Waterlogged Pitch Wed 15 January (TBC) Chester NLAU19 (N) A P - Cup Clash City had the better of the early exchanges. The referee waved play on when Charlie Jebson-King went down on the edge of the box and a Jack Wright effort went just went wide. On 10 minutes, after a great ball in from the left from Charlie Jebson-King won City a corner. The corner went in, the keeper missed it and Jack Wright headed home into the empty net. 2 minutes later, Charlie Jebson-King went down and after lengthy treatment was unable to continue, being replaced by Jack Degruchy. City continued to press with shots from Reiss Harrrison and Kiari Ventura (returning after a torn hamstring), in between Ventura picked up a yellow card and the referee told Carlisle's number 11 to remove his earring. On 31 minutes, Carlisle equalised against the run of play when Malone put the ball into an empty net after Teale parried a shot. Carlisle continued to press towards half time.
2019/20 North Riding Senior Cup
The Young Minstermen had a comfortable win in the FA Youth Cup at Bootham Crescent and progressed to the next round where they will play Silsden AFC away from home.
Charlie Jebson-King noted, "Very good performance by the boys, happy to get a goal and 2 assists".
City: Team Line Up (11 names, plus used subs). Unused Subs: Names.
Opponents: Team Line Up (11 names, plus used subs). Unused Subs: Names.
Bookings: TBC
Sent Off: TBC
Referee: TBC
Attendance: TBC
City's youth team kicked off their National League Football Academy season with a 2-1 defeat to Chester.
The visitors opened the scoring at Wigginton Road through Tom Ruffer before Nathan Dyer equalised with a half-volley into the bottom corner 53 minutes. Steve Watson watched on as the young right-back connected with an Alfie Evans cross from the byline to fire home into the bottom corner on the half-volley. Despite an improved second-half showing, City were left to rue their missed chances as Chester capitalised on City's defensive mishaps. Regan Rubin capitalised on a defensive mix-up to give Chester the points.
Charlie Jebson-King - who made a handful of appearances in pre-season - was among those on the cusp of the senior team making an appearance, alongside Kiari Ventura and Reiss Harrison. They joined right-back and regular first-team substitute Dyer in the starting 11.
Youth Team manager Tim Ryan said: "It was a good game, we knew it was going to be tough, we played them last season in the National Cup and we managed to beat them 2-1 that time but they've got the better of us today. There are loads of positives to take, some good performances from individuals but at the same time, half the team can come out of credit. Both of their goals were errors in my opinion, and this means we're left having to work our socks off to get back into the game and scrape a goal out of nothing. The balls that are being put in by Charlie (Jebson-King) and Nathan are of real quality, but nobody is getting on the end of them. At the opposite end, balls are bouncing on the six-yard line in our box and the opposition are poking in goals against us."
Ryan was keen to commend the assured performances of Dyer and Jebson-King, both of whom proved a constant threat to the Chester backline despite the result. He said: "Nathan is chomping at the bit to get in to the first team and he's a great lad. When he steps back down to youth level, his attitude, drive and endeavor to do well for this team is brilliant and he's a pleasure to have here. In terms of getting on the scoresheet too, he's done very well. Charlie is one of those lads who is maturing week in, week out, he's training with the first-team and I know that the manager holds him in high regard. He's a local boy, who we'd love to see on that pitch at Bootham Crescent in a first-team shirt. He knows he's still got work to do to get to where David Ferguson is for example, but his attitude and his application to do that is definitely there. The fact that young players are able to be amongst the first-team is fantastic for the whole youth set up within York City. To have Steve and Micky who really engage with us is brilliant for the players and when they see youngsters within the senior environment, they should be striving for that, to make it possible for themselves to do the same."
City: Teale, Cawthorn, Jebson-King, Whitfield, Watson, Drury, Dyer, Evans, Ventura, Harrison, Jones; Subs: Degruchy, Binsley W.Jackson, Jordan, Wright
Opponents: Team Line Up (11 names, plus used subs). Unused Subs: Names.
Bookings: TBC
Sent Off: TBC
Referee: TBC
Attendance: TBC
Goals from Will Jackson (2), Brandon Finn, Blake Drury and Jack Cawthorne saw City progress.
City: Teale, Wright, Whitfield, Cawthorn (Jordan), Drury, Jebson-King (c), Harrison (Degruchy), Evans, Jackson (Jones), Finn, Ventura; Unused Subs: Degruchy, Jordan, Binsley, Jones, Chamberlain.
Opponents: Fairlie, Waite, J. Lawrence, G. Lawrence, Parsons, Forsdyke, Cunningham, Gregory, Milner, Hardisty-Blackwell (c), Procter; Subs: Gledhill, Starkie, Bridge, Tetteroo-Smith
Sent Off: TBC
Referee: TBC
Attendance: 137
Goals from Reiss Harrison (2), Luke Jones (2), Blake Drury and Charlie Jebson-King saw City run out worthy 6-1 winners at Alfreton.
City: Teale, Binsley, Jackson (W), Whitfield, Watson, Drury, Harrison, Jebson-King, Finn, Evans, Jones. Subs: Cawthorn, Degruchy, Dixon, Jordan, Kemp
Opponents: Team Line Up (11 names, plus used subs). Unused Subs: Names.
Bookings: TBC
Sent Off: TBC
Referee: TBC
Attendance: TBC
City hosted Guiseley, the team who pipped theem to last season's league title in the FA Youth Cup.
Guiseley took an 18th minute lead when Nathan Newell's free kick took a huge deflection off Guiseley's Robbie Fox and looped over keeper Jake Teale and into the net. Guiseley dominated the majority of the first half after going one up. Jake Teale kept out Robbie Fox with a smart save and then Carlos Nunes had his goal bound shot blocked. Just before half time, City should have equalised when Guiseley's keeper Hagie Demba kicked the ball straight to Luke Jones but with an open net to aim at 20 yards out, he put it wide.
Straight after the restart, Guiseley's Adam Haw struck the bar from just outside the area. After 62 minutes, City equalised when Luke Jones capitalised on a mistake at the back from Guiseley to level the scores. It was short lived as Nathan Newell, at the back post, headed home from close range after 71 minutes. In a frenetic finish, Charlie Jebson-King, once from 40 yards, twice went close for City before City were caught on the break and conceded a third on 90 minutes to Daniel Watson. Straight from the kick off, Reiss Harrison pulled a goal back. A final City free kick was of no avail as City bowed out 2-3.
Youth Team Manager, Tim Ryan said, "We were always in the game, but I thought they came here and did a job on us. We knew it wasn't going to be an easy game. We've improved dramatically over the last two or three months and I hoped our players could get on top of their players, unfortunately that didn't happen. I'm disappointed for the lads, it was a great chance for them to progress a bit further in the Youth Cup and get into the stages where the club is striving to get. I'm gutted we're out and the lads are gutted as well. It's time to now concentrate on the league and get as high as we can but we also want to progress players. The manager (Steve Watson) was there tonight and that was brilliant for us. We want to push as many players as we can towards the first team."
City: Teale, Binsley (Wright 46), Jebson-King, Whitfield, Cawthorn, Drury, Harrison, Evans (Degruchy 48), Finn, Jackson, Jones; Subs: Jordan, Kemp, Dixon, Martin.
Opponents: Team Line Up (11 names, plus used subs). Unused Subs: Names.
Bookings: TBC
Sent Off: TBC
Referee: TBC
Attendance: 103
York City Academy are level on points with the league leaders after sealing a 2-0 win over AFC Fylde at Wigginton Road. Goals from Brandon Finn and Reiss Harrison proved to be the difference for York as they took three points in the National League Academy North D.
City are now one of four sides that sit on six points alongside Guiseley, Fylde and Chester. York are second with a goal difference of +6, bettered only by Guiseley on +10.
Charlie Jebson-King, who appeared for York's first-team earlier in the season in the FA Cup second qualifying round tie against Irlam, captained the team. Fellow first-team squad members Reiss Harrison and Jake Watson also started for the Minstermen.
After just seven minutes, York took the lead as Reiss Harrison headed home from close range after a failed clearance by the Fylde goalkeeper.
With 18 minutes left, City doubled their lead after a Jebson-King corner dropped to the feet of Brandon Finn who struck a low shot into the bottom corner.
First year striker, Luke Jones had a goal ruled out for offside (22 minutes) and thrice failed with one on ones (18 (flagged offside), 64 (saved) and 76 (saved) minutes).
Youth team manager Tim Ryan said after the game, "That was the best performance of the season from the lads. We mixed the side up slightly today and I was really pleased with the whole squad. The two strikers today missed a few chances but it would be more of a problem if they weren't getting into those areas. I'll keep encouraging them to get into those goal scoring positions and eventually they'll both get a flood of goals. Fylde have scored a lot of goals in their last few fixtures. To keep them out is brilliant. The back three as well as the keeper were really dominant and really enthusiastic to defend". Rarely was keeper Jake Teale troubled, although he pulled off a smart save near the end of the game to keep his clean sheet intact.
City: Teale, Wright, Jebson-King (c), Whitfield, Watson, Drury, Harrison, Degruchy (Evans, 65), Finn, Jackson (Jordan, 79) , Jones. Unused Subs: Cawthorn, Dixon, Binsley.
Opponents: Team Line Up (Lanccister, Stanley, Yakov, Shorrock, Ahon, Sutton, Lych, Wright, Hollywood, Brown, Grindrod. Subs: Mcarphy, Poole, Wood.
Bookings: TBC
Sent Off: TBC
Referee: TBC
Attendance: TBC
City's Under 19 side beat Boston 3-1 to complete a 24 hour York double over Boston.
Luke Jones gave City an interval lead. Afer Boston equalised, goals from Will Jackson and Brandon Finn gave City a 3-1 win.
City: Team Line Up Teale, Wright, Whitfield, Cawthorn, Drury, Jebson-King, Harrison, Degruchy, Jackson, Finn, Jones. Subs: Binsley, Evans; Unused Subs: Martin, Chamberlain
Opponents: Team Line Up (11 names, plus used subs). Unused Subs: Names.
Bookings: TBC
Sent Off: TBC
Referee: TBC
Witha bye in Round 1, Charlie Jebson-King scored twice to help York City Academy overcome their Mansfield Town counterparts 6-1 and progress to the next round. NB Some reports stated it was Round 2 (it was definitely City's first game in the competition this season).
Brandon Finn, Luke Jones, Will Jackson and Jake Watson were also on target.
City: Teale, Wright, Dixon Whitfield, Watson, Drury, Harrison, Degruchy, Finn, Evans, Jones. Subs: Jebson-King, Jackson (W), Binsley, Jordan, Kemp (first2 named subs played, unsure if a third played).
Opponents: Team Line Up (11 names, plus used subs). Unused Subs: Names.
Bookings: TBC
Sent Off: TBC
Referee: TBC
Jake Teale was the star for City against Chesterfield, saving three out of five penalties, as City won the penalty shoot out 3-2 after a 1-1 draw at Bootham Crescent. City were largely on top.
City enjoyed the best of the opening stages and on 17 minutes, Luke Jones capitalised on a mistake at the back and tried to place his shot into the corner, only for it to come back into play off the post. City continued to get the better of the first half with Harrison, Jackson, Finn and Jones all prominent.
Chesterfield started the second half strongly and had a couple of chances before Finn had a glorious chance for City as he rounded the keeper only for his attempt to go into the side netting after 54 minutes. City continued to dominate although it took a brilliant save from Teale diving away to his left keeps the scores level with ten minutes remaining. With three minutes to go, Will Jackson picked up the ball on the edge of the box, beat one player and calmly placed a left footed shot into the corner of the net! Within 2 minutes, Chesterfield were level when a Callum Brook header looped over Teale. Chesterfield pressed for a late winner and it took a great goal line block from City to keep the scores level after 90 minutes and to take the game straight to a penalty shoot out.
A great Teale save from Fuertado gave City an immediate advantage only for Jackson to miss City's first penalty. Chesterfield then scored only for Luke Jones equalise before Teale saved again by diving to his right and getting two hands to it. Again, City couldn't take advantage as Degruchy put his penalty over the bar. After another save from Teale, this time down low, Harrison gave City a 2-1 lead. Chesterfield scored their final penalty before Archie Whitfield coolly stepped up and placed the ball into his bottom left hand corner as the keeper went the other way to give City a well deserved 3-2 penalty shoot out win.
Youth team manager Tim Ryan said, "We had six injuries going to the game and the eleven who played the full 90 minutes were absolutely outstanding. We knew they'd come and be a good team, which they were. We more than matched them for effort and enthusiasm. The lads who came into play midfield were exceptional and having Will (Jackson) out on the wing gave us a great outlet and at times he showed real good quality high up the pitch. We usually only practise penalties at the end as a light cool down session. Some of the saves from Jake Teale were absolutely outstanding. The lads will enjoy this win because it is a good scalp for us. We've got six injuries so at this moment in time we are a light squad. We'll have a cool down session tomorrow and then start looking ahead to our next game against Hartlepool".
Described as a cup game, it wasn't the same cup as City had beaten Chesterfield a week earlier.
City: Teale, Wright, Jackson, Whitfield, Watson, Drury, Harrison, Degruchy, Finn, Jordan, Jones. Unused Subs: Binsley, Kemp, Martin
Opponents: Wharton, Brook, Gibson, Geeves, Render, Sharman, Tansley, Fuertado, Hutchinson, Turner, Smith. Subs: Wild, Hargreaves, Clogg, Garwood
Bookings: TBC
Sent Off: TBC
Referee: TBC
A 4-2 penalty shoot out win saw City progress into Round 4 (last 16).
After 48 minutes, Giles fired the visitors into the lead. City pressed with a Jack Degruchy header and Luke Jones shot, neither really troubled the keeper before a great block prevented City going further behind. On 68 minutes, a good Oli Jordan shot was well saved and was quickly followed by a City equaliser when Luke Jones headed home a free kick. A spate of bookings followed with City's Cawthorn and Harrison going into the book alongside Carlisle's number 15 (McKeown). As both teams pressed for a winner in 90 minutes, before the game went to penalties, Jake Teale made a couple of saves, first with his feet and then a great save in injury time whilst for City debutant Jonnny Shepard (details of who he replaced tbc) headed straight at the Carlisle keeper's hands and a Will Jackson cross went over everyone's heads.
At 90 minutes, the game went straight to penalites.
Luke Jones smashed home the first penalty to give City the lead (and maintaining his 100% record from the spot in penalty shoot outs). Carlisle's number 11 made it 1-1 before Jack Cawthorn restored City's lead. Jake Teale saved the next penalty with a brilliant save down low! Shepard's penalty is saved, but once again Teale made a great low save. With 2 penalties left per side, Reiss Harrison made it 3-1, Carlise made it 3-2 before Archie Whitfield confidently scored the decisive penalty,sending the keeper the wrong way.
Once again, keeper City keeper Jake Teale was outstanding in the shootout.
Tim Ryan, City's youth team manager said, "I'm absolutely delighted. Jake Teale yet again was superb, he saved another two penalties today and the lads were all over him, but it's a whole team performance that get all the accolades. It was a brilliant performance and I'm well chuffed for everybody. With the way that Charlie (Jebson-King) has been playing then anyone would miss him. We had to rejig a bit and get a substitute on. I thought Will (Jackson) coped OK and filled that void when Charlie came off. We have spoke to one or two people who have played Carlisle this season and a lot of their lads have had a dip into men's football. That was the most pleasing thing for me today, that all the lads stood up to the physical challenge and battled man to man, and stood up to them who were a massively physical opponent. Jake Wright is getting better every week. Each day he comes in with a smile on his face and he's willing to listen and improve. If he keeps putting in performances like that he's got a hell of a chance in the future. I didn't see much of their second goal, I'd only just got back out there. We didn't clear our lines in our final third. It was a different start to how we had finished the first half. From then on in we are chasing the game. The last 40 minutes we had good fitness levels, we had more chances and showed more endeavour to win. We had them rocking on the back foot. It became end to end, cup football as they say. None of us could break the deadlock but as soon as it went to penalties I said to Dan (Wilson) I'm confident here with Jake in net. We are going to need everybody included in our squad now. There were still five lads injured today. There's also one or two who are itching for game time. We've got Solihull here in a couple of days so we'll assess where we are with injuries. There's a day's rest now so we'll regroup and go again on Friday".
YCFC Academy twitter account referred to opponents as "Carlisle PV", a Carlisle United partnership with Durham based Park View Academy of Sport.
Subs and cards tbc.
City: Teale, Wright, Jebson-King (Degruchy (15)), Whitfield (c), Cawthorn, Drury, Harrison, Jordan, Ventura, Jackson (W), Jones. Subs: Binsley, Degruchy, Finn, Shepard (came on, for who tbc), Martin (confirmation that at least 2 subs played, unsure if third played).
Opponents: Anderson, McHarg, Hutchinson, Walker, Fawcett, Milburn, Malone, Hakmoalii, Giles, Ward (McKeown (45), Ramsey. Subs: Paul, Brown, Dippenaar.
Bookings: Ventura, Drury, Cawthorn, Harrison TBC; Carlisle: Ramsey, 15 (McKeown?).
Sent Off: None
Referee: TBC
City's Under 19 side beat Solihull Moors by 4-0 in a game delayed 48 hours due to the team's cup exploits.
Luke Jones (2) and Jack Cawthorne gave City a 3-0 lead at the break. Brandon Finn added a fourth.
City's Jack Wright (2 yellow cards) and Moors' Michael Hickey were sent off.
City: Teale, Wright, Whitfield, Cawthorn, Drury, Jordan, Harrison, Degruchy, Jackson, Ventura, Jones. Used Subs (for who tbc): Binsley, Finn, Shepherd; Unused Subs: Chamberlain, Kemp
Opponents: Team Line Up (11 names, plus used subs). Unused Subs: Names.
Bookings: York: Harrison; Solihull: Chirata
Sent Off: York: Wright(2 yellows); Solihull: Hickey (2 yellow)
Referee: TBC
York City Academy maintained their challenge at the top of National League Under-19 Alliance with a 5-2 win over Halifax Town.
City gave a debut to Lucas Martin in goal and a first appearance of the season to Ethan Henderson, last season's top scorer who was returning after 9 months out following a full knee reconstruction.
Ethan Henderson - Read More.
Brandon Finn scored a brace, and there were goals for Kiari Ventura, Reiss Harrison and Ethan Henderson as well as York raced into a 5 goal lead.
Ventura burst clear down the left to net the opener after just 7 minutes with a clinical finish from 10 yards. Finn bagged his first 6 minutes later from the penalty spot, firing low into the corner of the net, after he was brought down. Finn netted the third in the 20th minute after the keeper, Zak Taylor, dithered. As City's intensity dropped, Halifax got more into the game. It took a smart save from Lucas Martin to deny Massimo Ciccarelli a goal. Harrison got the young Minstermen's fourth in first half stoppage time after he surged forward and drove his shot, from just inside the penalty area, into the top left via a deflection.
With City on top, they made 3 half time changes. It took sub Henderson just a minute after the restart to make it 5-0 to City with a thumping header from a terrific Jebson-King free-kick. Towards the end, the visitors pressed forward more. Jean-Jacques Kirongozi's deflected effort looped in in the 72nd minute to deny York a clean sheet. Patrick Grooms added an excellent second for the visitors in the 92nd minute, slaloming his way past a number of City defenders to score a brilliant solo goal.
It was a good 5-2 win for City with the sides meeting again next week in the National League U19 Alliance League Cup (Round 4). The result lifts York second in the table, four points behind leaders Fylde with two games in hand.
Youth team manager Ryan was pleased with how his side started the game. "I thought the lads started really, really well after a little bit of a break over the Christmas period and came back chomping at the bit. (I was) really baffled a bit to be honest how our performance went, although we did go on to get another couple of goals. We were second best in big departments and big areas of the pitch against a side with a lot of younger lads in it. Once you're 3-0 up after ten, 15 minutes its hard to maintain standards and that's the hard thing they've got to learn. We did make a lot of changes but that's part of getting people game time and filtering people in and resting people for next week. It disjoints the team a little bit but people went into positions they know so it was a frustrating second half. We've got games in hand to close the points gap. We've only lost one and the teams at the top have only lost one. When we play them time will tell - the points on the board at the end of the season don't lie".
City: Martin, Wright, Jebson-King, Whitfield (c), Watson (Cawthorn, 54), Drury (Binsley, 75), Harrison (Kemp, 46), Jackson (Jordan, 46), Finn, Degruchy, Ventura (Henderson, 46). Unused Subs: Twitter feed noted 5 used.
Opponents: Taylor, Crossley, Ciccarelli, Aliyu, Crane, Grooms, Da Costa (Kirongozi, 42), Harrison, Rowson, Submani, De Santi; Used Subs: Butcher (for who tbc); Unused Subs: Owen, Caan.
Bookings: TBC
Sent Off: TBC
Referee: TBC
Attendance: TBC
City bowed out the National League Youth Alliance League Cup (round of 16) when going down 1-0 away to FC Halifax (and a Josh Caan goal) in a game that was originally scheduled for January 15 but was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
City: Martin; Dyer, Wright, Watson, Jebson-King; Whitfield, Drury, Harrison, Jackson (W); Finn, Ventura. Used Subs: Degruchy, Henderson, Jackson (D); Unused Subs: Binsley, Kemp.
Opponents (alphabetic order): Bromley, Butcher, Caan, Ciccarelli, Crane, Grooms, Kirongozi, Owen, Smith, Stainrod, Rowson. Used Subs: Da Costa, Subhani; Unused Subs: Aliya, De Santi, Harrison.
Bookings: Drury, Wright, Henderson; FC Halifax: Morgan, Stainrod.
Sent Off: None
Referee: TBC
City bounced back from their 1-0 defeat away at Halifax, beating Alfreton Town 4-0. Kiari Ventura opened the scoring. Second half goals from Nathan Dyer, debutant Josh Knowles and Charlie Jebson-King rounded off a comfortable afternoon for the home side.
It took just five minutes for York to hit the front. Jebson-King saw his left footed strike hit the post, and Ventura reacted the quickest to tap home the rebound. City dominated the first half but couldn't add any more goals. Ventura had a couple of half chances that he couldn't convert, and Dyer headed over at the back post after a brilliant cross from Jebson-King.
Just like the first half, City started the second on the front foot and doubled their lead. A corner was headed away by Alfreton, only as far as Dyer who slammed the ball into the roof of the net after 48 minutes. Knowles got his debut goal midway through the second half. A cross from Dyer to the back post found Knowles, whose header looped over the keeper and crept just over the line. The final goal of the afternoon came from Jebson-King after 75 minutes. He found a little area of space in the box and his left footed effort went in off the post, as City eased to a 4-0 win.
Manager Tim Ryan said after the game: "I'm very pleased. They travelled up here with a slightly defensive mindset and were very camped in at times, similar to what we faced on Monday. I thought the lads applied themselves right. If you keep knocking on the door and keep trying things you get the results. In the first 25 minutes we could have had three or four goals. If we had scored it might have changed the style of the game and they might have had to come out and get something. We played them at their ground three months ago and we scored six on a big open pitch which our lads really enjoyed. Their manager has come up here knowing we have good attacking threats. They certainly set up ready to break and they did well at times. It's natural that when it is only one nil you know that they could always get back in the game. When you get two ahead the players start to enjoy themselves a lot more. Today we got four substitutes on so it's a matter of working as a squad and trying to get everyone involved and giving them certain game time. I am a big believer that players that are training day in day out the best should genuinely get picked for the games."
City: Teale; Dyer, Wright, Watson, Jebson-King; Whitfield (c), Drury, Harrison, Jackson (W); Jackson (D), Ventura. Used Subs: Degruchy, Henderson, Kemp, Knowles; Unused Subs: Martin.
Opponents (alphabetic order): Beekman, Brough, Czerwak, Dunkley, Green, Harrison, Harwood, Lamb, Rhead, Rodgers, Whyte. Used Subs: Beard; Unused Subs: Jones.
Bookings: Jackson (D); Alfreton: Whyte
Sent Off: None
Referee: TBC
Attendance: TBC
City managed to mount an impressive comeback against top of the league AFC Fylde, on a blustery afternoon at Mill Farm. The match was played in challenging conditions for the players. With a strong wind present throughout the game which was blowing towards one half of the pitch. City included Jonathan Haase in the starting line up for the first time.
The home side got off to a fast start. Cameron Hollywood scored his fifth goal of the season through a set piece, in the 7th minute, to put Fylde ahead. The first half proceeded to be a tight affair, with York eventually being unable to restore parity going into the interval.
Fylde went on to extend their advantage after the break. The hosts had the better of the second half and it began to seem that they were going to cruise to three points before City began their comeback. Goals from Kiari Ventura and the last kick of the game from Jake Watson saw City salvage a point.
Fylde's head coach, Conrad Prendergast, expressed his disappointment at conceding a last minute equalizer, "It was a tough one to take". He praised his team's overall performance and highlighted his team's efforts in the second half, where they were able to restrict York to very few chances. Prendergast has urged his team to be able to see out games, which could be an important factor in Fylde maintaining their league position.
The draw leaves City in 3rd place, 7 points behind leaders AFC Fylde (but with 4 games in hand) and 2 points behind Guiseley (with 2 games in hand). Chester are 4th, 2 points behind City and with a game in hand.
City: Teale; Wright, Watson, Degruchy, Haase; Whitfield (c), Drury, Jackson (D), Kemp; Ventura, Henderson. Used Subs: Binsley, Jordan; Unused Sub: Martin.
Opponents (alphabetic order): Aiton, Byrne, Dreghorn, Grindrod, Hollywood, Morgan, Parker, Roberts, Stanley, Wilcox, Wyers-Roebuck. Used Subs: Ashcroft, Green, Sutton, Shorrock; Unused Subs: -.
Bookings: Ventura, Whitfield; AFC Fylde: -
Sent Off: None
Referee: TBC
Attendance: TBC
City had a comfortable 2-0 win over Boston. The win takes City to second place in the league (5 points behind AFC Fylde, but with 4 games in hand), level on points with Guiseley and 2 points ahead of Chester who have a game in hand over City. City gave a debut to Ben Dale, a young right back.
After 7 minutes, City took the lead. A great cross from Jebson-King to the back post was headed home by Reiss Harrison. 5 minutes later, Ventura headed another great cross from Jebson-King onto the post. City dominated the rest of the first half without adding anymore goals. Another ball into the box from Jebson-King this time found Ventura, who headed against the post and eventually Boston were able to get it cleared. Chances were limited for both sides in a cagey first half. Will Jackson tried his luck from the edge of the area and fired over left footed. City keeper Jake Teale had no saves to make during the half but was alert to claim crosses that came into the area.
On 59 minutes Kiari Ventura doubled City's when he played though on the right hand side of the area and composed himself before hitting one across the goalkeeper and into the bottom corner. The only other chance in the game fell right at the end for substitute Brandon Finn. His header looped onto the bar following a cross from the left. Overall, it was a comfortable afternoon for City.
City Youth Team Manager Tim Ryan said after the game: "It was tough going at times. Credit to Boston, they came, they sat deep so it was one of them where we've got to work an opening and identify where those openings are high up the pitch. For an hour until we made the substitutions, I didn't think we moved the ball quick enough, or probe high up the pitch well enough so it was a tough day at the office. At the end of the day, across the season you get tough games, and others where you get a lot of openings. We tucked two goals away so we'll take the three points. We started really brightly, creating three or four crosses from Charlie (Jebson-King) on the left hand side, hit the post and scored one so it would have been a totally different story if we could have got one or two more goals early. It wasn't a matter of any harsh words at half time, we just needed to play at a higher tempo in and out of possession and get the ball moving a lot quicker to make space. It got a little bit laboured at some points. We always seem to roll our sleeves up against teams higher up the league as we did against Fylde. The lads always give me everything they've got, but sometimes we just need a bit of quality to finish teams off."
Charlie Jebson-King said after the game: "My personal targets are to be the best player I can be and help get this club promoted even if I don't play. I want to stay here and keep improving all the time and hopefully help the club back to where it wants to be. York is always looking at improving the technical side of the game as well as the mental side, especially with coming through the academy. You are speaking to the coaches all the time, who are hoping to improve you. They are aways there supporting you and I have come on leaps and bounds since I have been at the club. When you are with the youth team, you have a little bit more time but with the first team, they (the opposition) are on you in a second. It improves your game awareness, especially playing with men as well as they are going to ask more from you which has helped me as a player. They are pushing me all the time to be the best player that I can be".
City: Teale; Dale, Watson, Drury, Jebson-King (Haase, 72); Whitfield (c), Harrison (Finn, 53), D Jackson (Wright, 82), W Jackson; Ventura, Henderson (Degruchy, 53); Unused Subs: Martin.
Opponents: Frestle, Mallender, Stevens, Horniman, Fisher, Armond, Gaukroger (c), Hardstaff (Wilkinson, 57), Jackson, Crashely, Taylor. Used Subs (no record of who they replaced): Burkitt, Johnson, Dilley; Unused Sub: Forbes.
Bookings: None
Sent Off: None
Referee: TBC
Attendance: TBC
City went down 2-0 at Hartlepool on a blustery day, the home side's win elevating them to title challengers alongside City, AFC Fylde, Guiseley and Chester.
Hartlepool kicked off on a blustery day and took the lead on 5 minutes with a twice taken Ben Reay penalty. 3 minutes later, City almost equalised when Henderson's shot dribbled narrowly wide. However, on 21 minutes, a cross into the box from Luke Chapman wass missed by everyone before finding the back of the net to double Pool's lead. City gradually got into the game, on 30 minutes, a great through ball found Ethan Henderson who shot well over the bar. 2 minutes later, only an excellent sliding challenge from Watson denied Grey a chance to score the hosts third! As the half progressed, City got more into the game.
The second half was goalless although City were much more in the game. On 63 minutes, a through ball for Ventura was collected by the Hartlepool keeper. City's keeper, Jake Teale made a couple of great saves to twice deny Pools as the game entered the final quarter. On 81 minutes, great play from Kiari Ventura saw Will Jackson collect the ball in space, his curled effort went agonisingly over the bar.
Manager Tim Ryan said: "I was disappointed with the performance. I just said to the lads that, credit to Hartlepool, I think we have been beaten by a better team with collectively better players on the day than us. It is a learning curve for some of them. To give an early penalty away, whether it was harsh or not, and then for the referee to re-spot it, after a great save from Jake Teale, made it a tough start. The conditions as well, as it proved second half when we got a little bit into the game, played a part but there were no complaints whatsoever. We were second best all over the pitch."
City: Teale; Wright (Finn 46), Watson, Drury, Jebson-King (Cawthorn, 79); Archie Whitfield (c), D Jackson (Binsley, 66), W Jackson, Degruchy (Jordan, 56); Ventura, Henderson. Unused Subs: Martin.
Opponents: Lowerson, Miller, Webster (c), Naisbett (Sturdy, 16), Thompson, Pilling, Campbell, Shepherd, Reay, Chapman, Grey. Used Sub: Willoughby. Unused Subs: Leonard, James, Gibson.
Bookings: TBC
Sent Off: TBC
Referee: TBC
Attendance: TBC
City and Hartlepool played out a thrilling 2-2 draw in a re-arranged game, a result which did neither teams' title aspirations much good but ended Pools run of 5 straight wins. A point for City means they sit third in the table, 4 points adrift of leaders AFC Fylde, whom York have three matches in hand. 3 points behind City are Chester (one game in hand) and Hartlepool (3 games in hand).
After an early Hartlepool appeal for a penalty, City took the lead on 9 minutes when a hopeful ball over the top bounced over the centre half and Ethan Henderson acted quickest, heading the ball over the keeper into an empty net. 6 minutes later, Jebson-King floated a cross from the left but Cawthorn headed straight at the keeper. On 20 minutes, Hartlepool equalised when
Harrison Webster's cross from the left found Luke Chapman in the centre and he brought the ball under control, manoeuvred in to space and finished well for 1-1. As City pressed, Ventura had a great chance but he failed to connect with a ball from the left and Henderson shot wide from the edge of the box. Hartlepool took a 2-1 lead on 44 minutes when Joe Grey Grey burst clear on the right hand side before curling a low shot beyond the Lucas Martin into the back of the net.
From the re-start, Henderson failed to capitalise on a loose back pass as his toe poke went wide. As City pushed for an equaliser, Ventura scuffed an effort from inside the area allowing the keeper to gather. In an end to end game, Hartlepool should have scored a third but put their effort, from 3 yards, wide at the back post. For City, Sheperd failed to win a penalty when he went down, Henderson's shot was blocked, Jebson-King hit a free kick straight at the wall and Will Jackson hit one a long way over the bar. On 75 minutes, Charlie Jebson-King picked up a clearance and hit a left footed from the edge, it took a slight deflection and beat the keeper to level the scores. With both teams looking for a late winner, it took a good save from Martin with his feet and a brilliant last ditch tackle from Watson to keep City level.
City Youth Manager Tim Ryan said after the game: "I think it was a point gained today. We got beat 2-0 at Hartlepool last week against what I thought was the best team we've played. We changed a few things around today to try and combat what they had and expose their weaknesses, and I think it worked really well. We did miss a couple of chances to win the game. Every single lad has emptied their tank today and they must be absolutely drained, so it's nice when they come out with something gained especially against a team that beat us last week. We got something out of today's game which we can take into future weeks. I thought Ethan (Henderson) and Archie (Whitfield) were excellent. People watching that came will have been really impressed by them. Ethan's header was a really good, brave header that he committed to. A minute into the second half Ethan misses a one on one which was another brilliant area for him to get into, creating another chance by chasing down defenders. At half time I said to the lads that we were well in the game and the shape is working really well and we’ve created chances. It was a matter of keeping going and to keep believing. Oliver Jordan has been chomping at the bit. His game time has been slightly hindered because of how well Archie has been playing. I had a chat with him and said I need to see a little bit more from him and the last couple of weeks in training he's shown real desire so I've thrown him in and he did really well. After injuries we've got a squad of about 18 players. I always say to the lads that it's up for grabs who plays and whoever is performing well in training will get a chance. It's been the first season that this league has been in place and it's been really good. We've had competitive games week in week out. The top half teams can beat anybody and lose to anybody as well. We didn't really set ourselves any targets at the start of the year but we just want to finish as high as possible and accumulate as many points as we can".
Hartlepool youth manager Ian McGuckin admitted afterwards, "The draw was probably a fair reflection on how things went. The old adage is that if you're not at your best and can't win the game then you make sure you don't lose it so we're reasonably satisfied with the point. It continues the unbeaten run which is pleasing but we could have done better defensively at times so that's something we have to try take in to our remaining games. It was a scrappy game for the most part on a pretty soft pitch after all the rain which made it difficult; we held our own and probably could have won it but we'll take a point and move on".
City: Martin, D.Jackson, Drury, Whitfield (c), Watson, Cawthorn, Ventura (Degruchy, 80), Jordan, Henderson, W.Jackson, Jebson-King. Used: Sheperd (47); Un / Used Subs: Wright, Kemp, Binsley.
Opponents: Lowerson, James, Miller, Webster (c), Naisbett, Pilling, Campbell, Shepherd, Chapman, Grey, Sturdy (Willoughby, 79). Unused Subs: Leonard, Gibson.
Bookings: TBC
Sent Off: TBC
Referee: TBC
Attendance: TBC
City climbed to second place in the table with a comfortable 5-0 win over bottom of the table Darlington.
After 2 early chances for Kiari Ventura, City took the lead on 11 minutes when a brilliant ball over the top from Charlie Jebson-King caused problems at the back and a Darlington defender kicked it into his own net. City continued to press, Will Jackson shot straight at the keeper from the edge of the penalty area. After 21 minutes, Lucas Martin comfortably caught a shot from distance. City made it 2-0 on 36 minutes when Ethan Henderson played the ball into the path of Will Jackson who smashed it past the keeper from close range. 2 minutes later, Nathan Dyer was brought down in the box. Charlie Jebson-King sent the keeper the wrong way from the spot to give City a 3-0 half time lead.
With City in control, all 5 substitutes were introduced during the second halfwhen City continued on the attack. A Will Jackson shot went wide before Jake Watson headed home from a corner after 52 minutes. Dom Jackson missed from close range before Ethan Henderson added a fifth on 65 minutes.
City dominated for the whole 90 minutes and only a number of missed chances prevented a bigger win.
After the game, Tim Ryan said, "In the first 15 minutes it was fairly even but once we got our foot into the game and exploited their weaknesses it became a comfortable afternoon really. I think the lads will be disappointed to only score five really but pleased to get the result. In the last couple of weeks we've been changing the formation around to combat what we come up against. Today Darlington tried to play out from the back and we have been working on a high press in training so the lads were ready for a three man press. Darlington kept trying to play out from the back and our high press meant we created chance after chance. The defence had a relatively easy day but it was important that they kept their concentration. I always say no matter what type of game it is the defence need to be focused for the full 90. It was a bit of a luxury being able to give the whole squad gamertime. It was a chance for a couple of lads to stake their claim for future games. This week was a little bit light on preparations due to the weather. We have managed to train everyday but we were on the Astro Turf. We managed to get some fitness work in but we struggled a bit with team structure with not having a full pitch to work on. Hopefully, preparations are a bit better for the game next week".
City: Martin; Watson, Drury (Finn, 49), Cawthorn (Binsley, 62); Dyer, Whitfield (c), Jordan (D Jackson, 55), W Jackson (Degruchy, 62), Jebson-King; Ventura (Kemp, 62), Henderson. Unused Subs: -
Opponents (alphabetic order): Alderson, Cranston, Esteris, Hewson, Kuzgun, Lingthep, McWilliams, Richardson, Stansfield, Wynn, Woodhouse. Used Subs (no record of who they replaced): Muchemedzi, Nunes, Thornton. Unused Subs: -.
Bookings: City: Jackson D; Opponents: -
Sent Off: None
Referee: TBC
Attendance: TBC
Second placed City went down 2-0 to third placed Guiseley in a twice postponed (November 27 and December 18) league game at Wiggington Road.
City started strongly with Ethan Henderson's (in action after warming the bench for the first team the night before) shooting straight at the keeper from outside the area. City continued to press, Drury's cross from the left went straight to the keeper. Finn had a huge chance when the keeper passed it to him inside the area but he couldn’t convert. After 15 minutes, Henderson did really well to beat his man and cross from the left but nobody in a red shirt was there to meet it. Guiseley came more into the game and went ahead after a bit of individual brilliance from Rafael Ferreria when he flicked the ball over a defender inside the area, and volleyed home from close range after 24 minutes. Guiseley continued to press, they had a big penalty appeal turned down after collision between City keeper Martin and Fox and then shot over after 40 minutes before Robbie Fox doubled Guiseley's lead on 45 minutes after a break down their right.
City started the second half strongly, Henderson was caught offside and a header from a Dyer free kick was straight at the keeper. Guiseley gradually came more into the game. A double save from Martin on 68 minutes and then a big chance for Guiseley 3 minutes later went begging as the score remained 0-2. In the last 10 minutes, a great block from Watson and another great save from Martin with his legs kept the score at 0-2 at the final whistle.
Manager Tim Ryan said after the game, "I thought it was a very disappointing performance, even though it did get better in the second. There weren't enough players who imposed themselves on the game. We didn't make enough right decisions at the right times. Overall, we were beaten by an all-round better side today. A lot of the goals we concede are errors, it doesn't take a team to pass it around us. We do seem to gift teams goals which makes it difficult for us. We started well, we came out the blocks the better and then we miss a massive chance from close range. If you don't take your chances against a good side, then it comes back to bite you. It's always brilliant for the lads to see Steve (Watson) there, and they should have a real desire to show how well they can play against a decent team. Steve was great, he gave us some feedback at half time. It shouldn't be a pressure when he turns up to watch us, it should give them more of a will to win and perform. I don't think the shape worked today. We played it against Hartlepool. It started as a 4-3-3 but ended up as a 4-5-1, meaning we didn't have enough presence. At half time we changed to a 3-5-2 with two strikers and two wing backs. I wanted the wing backs higher up the pitch to create a bit more and in fairness I think we did in the second half. I always say whatever level you are at and whatever age you are, it's always brilliant to win something. We've lost recently against Hartlepool and again today against teams who are in and around us in the league. We do look to finish as high as we can but as far as the league goes now it could be a step too far for us. The lads will do a little bit of a cool down on Thursday. We will assess where we are with injuries, there was a few lads who had knocks today who weren't quite ready but hopefully they will be ready for Friday's game. We will go again with a smile on our faces and hope to pick some points up." On Ethan Henderson being on the bench for the 1st team the night before, he said, "Ethan came back with us about three months ago and he's knuckled down and worked his socks off and I'm really pleased for him. I was at the game last night and I was willing that he would come on. Obviously the manager didn't think it was right to put him into that environment just yet, especially at 3 and 4-1 down. It's great for the whole youth system. If we can keep pushing players for the manager and for the club then that is great. We've had Nathan Dyer who has been in the mix this year as well as Charlie Jebson-King and Kiari Ventura and a few others who have all featured in games for the 1st team this season. As long as we can keep getting players up to the standard and telling the manager to have a look at them, it shows that the youth team is in good shape."
City: Martin, Dyer, Drury, Whitfield (c), Dale, Watson, Ventura (Sheperd, 28), Jordan (De Gruchy, 46), Finn, W Jackson, Henderson. Unused Subs: Binsley, Cawthorn, Wright.
Opponents: Lambton, Calvert, Newall, Brown, Wilkinson, Henry, Fox, Starcenko, Charles, Bostan, Ferreria. Used Subs (not recorded who they replaced): Heath, Simpson; Unused Subs: Haw, Hey, Brayshaw.
Bookings: TBC
Sent Off: TBC
Referee: TBC
Attendance: TBC
A last minute equaliser saw City draw 2-2 at FC Halifax in a game that was originally scheduled for December 11. With the table firmly split into a top 5 (all challenging for the title), City climbed to 2nd place whilst FC Halifax remained top of the bottom 5.
City kicked off and after a couple of early crosses into City's box which were easily dealt with by City, a Dyer cross from the right saw Henderson drag his shot wide. City continued to press, Finn hit a shot straight at the keeper from close range and Dom Jackson miskicked from the edge of the area after a good move by City. Against the run of play, after 22 minutes, FC Halifax took the lead when a quick free kick caught City out at the back. Nathan Dyer received a straight red card before the game restarted. On 26 minutes, City equalised when Ethan Henderson headed home a cross from the right. Either side of the 2 goals saw 2 yellow cards (Da Costa and Butler) for the hosts. As the game approached half time, Henderson's placed effort went narrowly over whilst a brilliant save from Martin denied FC Halifax the lead before their striker put an effort wide.
Chances were few and far between in the second half. For City, a free kick on the right by Will Jackson found a red shirt but it went wide on the hour. FC Hlifax began to press, a couple of corners came to nothing and Da Costa cut inside the area but City's defence blocked his shot. On 80 minutes, FC Halifax re-took the lead when City lost it at the back and the Halifax striker got his shot away and beat Martin. 2 minutes later, Jones almost managed the chip the keeper after a loose back pass, but the keeper did well to recover and keep it out. As the game entered injury time, City equalised after a great bit of play saw Oliver Jordan win the ball on the right and put in a cross, putting it on a plate for Blake Drury to head home from close range.
Manager Tim Ryan said after the game, "It was a weird game really, but very pleased with the outcome. We played a long time with ten men, and the lads showed great character. We were down to the bare bones at the end, so to get a point at the end was really good. I spoke to Nathan about the red card and he thought was he said was quite light-hearted. The referee didn't see it like that. For a young lad who's trying to get as many minutes under his belt I feel it was quite harsh. He could have warned Nathan rather than send him straight off. I would have fully expected us to win the game with 11 men on the field. I still think that we were the better side even with ten men. We changed the shape slightly at half time to try and be more defensive. We went more attacking with 15 minutes to go but it cost us as they opened us up again. The main thing about today was the character that the lads showed, getting us a deserved equalizer. The lads will have the weekend off and then come back ready for a long journey away to Solihull, which again will be a tough game for the lads."
City: Martin, Wright (Binsley, 53), W Jackson, Whitfield (c), Cawthorn, Watson, Dyer, D Jackson (Jordan, 52), Finn, De Gruchy (Jones, 69), Henderson (Drury, 46). Unused Subs: -.
Opponents: Bromley, Smith, Ciccarelli, Owen, Crane, Butcher, Grooms, Jaques Kirongozi, Da Costa, Rowson, Stainrod. Used Subs (for who, not recorded): Harrison, Caan. Unused Subs: Aliyu, Foster, O'Grady.
Bookings: FC Halifax : Da Costa, Butler. York: -
Sent Off: York: Dyer
Referee: TBC
Attendance: TBC
Goals from Luke Jones, the team's top scorer and Brandon Finn helped City to a 2-1 away win at Solihull Moors. Chirata scored for the home team. The win puts City top of the table from AFC Fylde on goal difference (played a game more). 3rd placed Guiseley (2 points and 2 games in hand), 4th placed Hartlepool (4 points and 3 games in hand) and 5th placed Chester (4 points and 5 games in hand) will be looking to climb to top spot. 10th and bottom are Darlington with 3 points from 7 games). On PPG, the table read Chester, Hartlepool, Guiseley, York and AFC Fylde.
City: Team Line Up (11 names, plus used subs). Unused Subs: Names.
Opponents (alphabetic order): Allsopp, Bennett, Boone, Chirata, Hickey, Jennings, Kite, Quartey, Ricketts, Scott, Siddall. Used Subs (for who, not recorded): Bushaj, Chapwanya, Guerra, Ikechukwa. Unused Subs: Not Recorded.
Bookings: York: Jordan
Sent Off: TBC
Referee: TBC
Attendance: TBC
A City featuring squad players (all professionals with first team experience) beat Pickering Town 5-0 playing a changed 3-4-3 formation in the round of 16. Although not at their best, with 2 tiers' between the teams, City dominated and Pickering did not have a meaningful effort on goal until the 90th minute.
City lead 2-0 at half time through a smart Macaulay Langstaff finish and a long-range strike by Nathan Dyer. Langstaff, Maguire and Harrison added goals after the break.
Early chances went begging when Macaulay Langstaff flashed a dangerous early ball across goal after good link-up play with Dan Maguire while the pacey Dyer got on the end of a cross field Green ball to play into the area. Moke had a non threatening effort from distance saved by Foulkes whilst City had a goal from a corner disallowed for offside. Durrell and McLaughlin each exhibited some neat passing in the opening quarter of the game, but York were also guilty of some frustratingly sloppy play, both Moke and Jebson-King giving the ball away unnecessarily.
When the opening goal did come, it was a nicely worked one. Maguire capitalised on Turnbull's mistake at the back and nipped onto the ball and passed wide to the overlapping McLaughlin, who cut it back for Langstaff. His one-touch side-footed finish into the bottom corner left Foulkes standing. Dyer doubled York's advantage in the 36th minute with a superb strike to Foulkes' bottom-left corner. McLaughlin rolled the ball into his path 25 yards out and the right-back struck it sweetly first time with his right. Green came close to adding a third before the break, punting a side footed free kick from just outside the area over the wall and towards the bottom left corner, but Foulkes got across and down smartly.
Five minutes into the second half, it was three. Maguire received a ball through a populated penalty area and fired across to the back post where Langstaff was waiting to force it home.
The goal aside, Pickering had started the second half with good intent, half time substitute Jackson Jowett threatening to bundle through York's defence before firing off target, while Holmes drove an effort from distance straight into Whitley's gloves. Maguire made it four on the hour. Durrell skipped through the Pikes' midfield and laid off to McLaughlin, whose effort was palmed into the path of Maguire and he calmly dinked into the roof of the net. With some distance between them and their struggling visitors, City could afford to play with a bit more freedom. Durrell looked very sharp in close control and Langstaff had the Pickering defence well beaten for pace. It was therefore no great surprise that City's fifth came from a Harrison backheel after the ball was played back into a crowded area from a corner.
The final 20 minutes were a comfortable procession. When called on in the 90th minute, Whitley made a good save down to his left.
Star man: Macaulay Langstaff. Was busy throughout as he made a case for inclusion in York's next league outing, and was duly rewarded with two goals.
City: Whitley, Dyer, King, Spratt, Jebson-King, McLaughlin (Whitfield), Green (c), Moke (Jackson), Durrell, Langstaff, Maguire (Harrison). Unused Subs: Teale, Drury.
Pickering Town: Foulkes, Thompson, Taylor, Best, Turnbull, Tilsley (c), Heeley, Davison (Jowett), Cable (Simpson), Holmes, McNaughton (Nichols-Holness). Unused Subs: Cooper, Knox.
Bookings: TBC
Referee: Matthew East
Attendance: 256
With Micky Cummins and Tim Ryan in charge, City overcame Whitby Town 4-3 on penalties (2-2 after 90 minutes) to progress to the NRSC Semi Final at the Turnbull Ground. City included Simon Heslop alongside squad members and youth team players. Whitby, with Lee Bullock as assistant manager, named ex City players Jassem Sukar, Daniel Rowe, Matt Dixon and Ewan Horwood in their matchday squad. Brad Fewster wasn't named in the squad whilst Jeff Miller was on their bench as physio.
First half goals from Josh King and Dan Maguire had put City in control but a fightback from Whitby after the break saw them draw level, sending the cup tie to penalties. It took City a few minutes to warm into the game on a bitterly cold evening on the Yorkshire coast, and they were very nearly punished for their sluggish start when Whitby forward Greg Rutherford pounced on a defensive error, but his shot flashed across the face of Whitley's goal. As the game approached the ten-minute mark, York's first meaningful visit to the Whitby half would produce the opening goal. A teasing Nathan Dyer cross from the right earned City a corner, and from the resulting set piece the ball broke to Will Jackson on the edge of the area, who saw his shot turned into the bottom corner by Josh King from close range, his first in City colours since his progression from college football. City's young side grew in confidence after taking the lead with Tom Allan's powerful drive forcing Bland into a good save. As the half wore on though the hosts began to create a series of half-chances - Whitley had to be out quick to smother a Rutherford shot after he found a pocket of space in behind the City defence. The bobbly playing surface at The Turnbull Stadium made quick, passing football incredibly difficult, but Whitby produced the best move of the game when Rutherford played a slick one-two with strike partner Luke Bythway, but he couldn't keep his footing to get a shot away with Whitley advancing. A misplaced pass in midfield then set Rutherford clean through again, but he took an age to get a shot away and Simon Heslop was able to execute an excellent last-ditch challenge. Maguire was a peripheral figure for York for much of the first half, but in the final moments of opening 45 minutes he produced a moment of genius. Patient City build-up involving Allan and Maguire on the edge of the Whitby area culminated with Dan Maguire swivelling and lofting a delightfully weighted left footed chip over Bland into the top corner. It would be Maguire's last action of the game as he was replaced at half-time, with City heading into the interval with a two-goal advantage. The scoreline was perhaps harsh on Whitby who controlled much of the first period, and the theme continued into the second half with Rutherford seeing another effort well blocked from close range.
The uneven surface would then cause Whitley problems with just over an hour played, he was unable to control a backpass on the edge of his area, allowing Whitby sub Paul Blackett to nick the ball but his weak effort was gathered by the retreating City stopper. After 65 minutes, Whitby scored when City failed to deal with Dale Hopson's long ball down the middle and Paul Blackett was quickest to react, rounding Whitley before slotting home from a tight angle. Whitby pressed for an equaliser with striker Blackett looking dangerous, but City's defence held firm as they edged towards the final whistle. But Whitby's onslaught continued and they were rewarded for their endeavours in the fifth minute of stoppage time, King blocked a header on the goal line but York were unable to clear, with Kieran Weledji bundling home a dramatic last-minute equaliser to send the game to penalties.
Whitby's Paul Blackett converted the first spot-kick, before Tom Allan blasted his effort against the crossbar. Whitley got a strong hand to Whitby's second penalty (Callum Patton) but the ball squirmed into the bottom left, before Josh King dispatched his penalty to keep York in touch. Whitley got down well to his right to save Whitby's third spot-kick (Jassem Sukar), with Will Jackson levelling the scores with his penalty. Both sides converted their fourth kicks (Daniel Rowe and Reiss Harrison), before Whitley saved again (Evan Horwood), this time low to his left. Dom Jackson scored City's fifth and final penalty to send the Minstermen through to the last four of the competition.
City: Whitley ( C ), Dyer, King, Heslop (Drury 67'), Allan, Jebson-King, Whitfield (Watson 45'), W.Jackson, Harrison, York, Maguire (D.Jackson 45'). Unused Subs: None (only 3 subs named).
Opponents: Bland, Kitchen, Horwood, Weledji, White, Sukar, Patton, Ropper, Hopson, Bythway (Blackett 57'), Rutherford (Rowe 79'). Unused Subs: M.Dixon, Gell, D.Dixon.
Bookings: TBC
Referee: TBC
Attendance: 363
Man of the Match: Josh King (as chosen by Whitby Town sponsors)
Postponed due to coronavirus. In August, it was announced that City had withdrawn from the competition.