2024/5

HEADLINE

Season - Preview
The Squad
Season - Review (wip)
Season - Game By Game (wip)
The Players - Mid Season Report (wip to end of season)
Away On Loan (wip)
Retained List (wip)
Agents' Fees (wip)
Unused (wip)
YCFC Academy (work in progress)
North Riding Senior Cup
Pre Season Friendlies - For The Record

... *** THIS PAGE IS WORK IN PROGRESS THROUGHOUT THE 2024/5 SEASON *** ... *** THE FINAL ISSUE WILL BE SUMMER 2025. UNTIL THEN, SOME CONTENT / SECTIONS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR WILL REFERENCE PREVIOUS SEASONS *** ...

Season - Preview

Geography Once again, for the 2024/5 season, the National League will be very south east centric, with 12 teams based in an area roughly bounded by Southend, Oxford City and Eastleigh. In the south east, the league gains Sutton and Braintree but loses Bromley, Oxford City, Boreham Wood and Dorking. It also regains its south west contingent with Forest Green Rovers and Yeovil entering from different directions. Elsewhere, City lose the big pay day of a visit from Chesterfield. The league also welcomes Tamworth and Boston for the loss of Kidderminster. York City will travel 7,458 miles across the 2024/5 Vanarama National League season. That is just 7 miles more than the 7,451 miles travelled during the 2023/4 season. Both are less than the 7,908 miles clocked up across the 2022/3 season.

Season Tickets On May 24, 2024/5 season ticket details were announced and a day later, a 10% early bird discount was also announced. The headlines were a price increase to £350 (full price) / £315 ("early bird"), up from £330 / £299 and changes to concession bandwidths (up to 65 (from 60) and down to 16 (from 18)) and a first, a monthly / spread payment (direct debit) option with payment between August and March 2025. Season tickets went on sale on Wednesday, June 5th at 10am with the "early bird" discount available until midnight, Sunday July 7th. Season tickets were be purchasable (a YCFC word) online via new system provider Future Ticketing, in-person at the ticket office and over the phone. Supporters looking to renew and retain an existing season ticket seat had until midnight on Sunday July 14th to do so. "Early bird" prices were available to all. For direct debit payments, the arrangement meant a monthly payment, every month, starting in August and finishing in March. A £5 administration charge was added onto the first payment in August. That also applied to paying for a car parking spot on a monthly basis. Over 900 season tickets were sold on the first day (June 5) and reaching 2,001 by June 14. June 30 saw City announce record sales and on July 9 it was announced that 2,549 had been sold.

Kit On May 23 Hummel were announced as City's kit supplier on 3 year deal. Home kit was a red pinstriped shirt reminiscent of the early 1980s, white ("coconut milk") was the away kit and pink ("cotton candy") was the third kit, excluding keepers, a first for City. All shirts were modelled with navy blue shorts.

Face Painting On August 1, City hosted a well received open LNER training session. All players and the management team were happy to pose for photos and sign autographs as all parts of the club came together. "Pretty Faces By Lottie" delivered a free face painting to supporters, perhaps Dave Penney was right after all. Open day for the Junior Reds.

Elsewhere Looking around the league, we have seen 3 “proper” Football League clubs promoted in the last 2 seasons, depending on interpretation between a third and one half of the clubs in the 2024/5 National League could be considered in that category. However none would appear to be stand out promotion candidates.

  • Barnet are the bookies’ favourite and have been very busy in transfer market (a whole new team in and about as many out). The argument that City’s new players will need a season to gel doesn't seem to apply to Barnet. Signing a whole new team comes with risks.
  • As ever the relegated teams, Forest Green Rovers and Sutton, are short in the betting market, neither would appear to have big budgets (although a Barnet podcast later suggested FGR paid £165,000 for Joe Quigley) and might suffer from the perennial problems of taking a season or 2 to adapt to non league football.
  • Relegated a year earlier, Rochdale and Hartlepool are under new ownership and with new finances but it remains to be seen how quickly they can progress. Hartlepool, with Darren Sarll, the ex Woking manager, appointed in the summer, might be the better bet.
  • Altrincham and Aldershot both kicked on last season, proving that a team can rise from the doldrums towards the play offs, whether they can maintain those lofty heights is dependent on filling the gaps caused by the sales of key players (Conn-Clarke, Stokes and Tolaj included), so both might struggle to improve further. Last season, Altrincham finished 4th on 77 points last season, an improvement of 13 places and 19 points. Last season, Aldershot were 8th, the season before they were 18th with 53 points, the same as City had last season. Likewise, FC Halifax have lost several players after reaching the play offs.
  • Southend and Oldham are 2 more ex league clubs. Southend’s ownership crisis is behind him them, let us hope that the new owners deliver whilst Oldham, seem to fail to deliver every season. Last season, Southend with a 10 point deduction were close to a play off position.
  • In comparison, Solihull Moors and Gateshead both reached the play off positions despite being clubs with smaller budgets. Can Moors bounce back from 2 Wembley defeats in May and can Gateshead re-group after their ground tenure issues last season? Both will do well to do as well again.
  • Last season saw 3 clubs drop straight back down after promotion, that fate might befall Boston, Braintree and Tamworth this time. Yeovil, with the recent National League experience might be best placed to survive.
  • Last season, after punching above their weight for several seasons, Boreham Wood were relegated. That might be the fate of Wealdstone this time, they slumped badly towards the end of last season and with a small budget and dodgy pitch, they might struggle again. Ebbsfleet, Maidenhead and Woking might also struggle. In July 2024, Woking’s owner, Drew Volpe, said they will go into administration unless a buyer can be found in the next few weeks. A £600,000 loan has given the Cards a lifeline to begin the new season next month. Volpe revealed he had invested "over £3.425m" in the club since taking over in 2021.
  • Dagenham and Redbridge and Eastleigh both seem to becoming established National League clubs, so expect another season of mediocrity from both.
  • After a slow start last season, AFC Fylde improved and may continue that progress this season.
  • PS This was written before I read WSC.
  • For City, after 2 seasons flirting with relegation, it is to be hoped that stability a stronger squad can mean we push on and upwards, it shouldn’t be asking too much for a play off position. Although for City, success might be Adam Hinshelwood still being in charge at the end of the season.

Where will we be on Bank Holiday Monday May 5th when our league season ends at Eastleigh? Predictions vary widely, but it would be good if there are no last day nerves as in recent seasons.

Pre-Season City enjoyed a stable pre-season, the first for several years. The jury was out regarding City's style of play. Hinsh's strong belief in his passing style saw City concede a couple of soft goals whilst at times, we saw some sparkling attacking play. Maybe at Worthing, Hinsh was allowed some leeway given that he'd been there for around 7 years and had guided them to their highest ever position in the pyramid. Now at a higher level and with City's larger and more demanding supporters, he has less margin for error.

At Worthing, the players seemed to respond well to him and a number moved onto better things. Hinsh seems to be a manager who instils confidence and self belief into his players, witness Alex Hunt's debut under Ardley and the immediate improvement when recalled by Hinsh. Never underestimate the huge difference mindset can make to performance. In recent years, it is easy to recall many players who struggled at City but have gone on to play well at a higher level.

In other news...

  • Launched in April 2024, City's 2024/5 commercial brochure detailed a wide range of commercial opportunities, including a £70,000 figure for a season as front of shirt sponsor.
  • By June 3, Darlington's "Boost The Budget" had raised £190,000, beating their £175,000 target.
  • On June 25, a new City investor was announced with an accompanying YCST statement. Effectively, the 24% shareholding that Julie-Anne Uggla bought last November from the YCST has been sold to a "silent partner".
  • July 19 saw the York City Supporters Trust (YCST) announce the launch of the YCFC Business Directory. The initiative aims to create a robust network of local businesses that support the growth and prosperity of both the club and the broader York community by providing a direct link between local business and the club’s amazing support. See YCFC Business Directory.
  • On July 29, DAZN was announced as NL's new broadcast and streaming partner in a 7 yer deal.
  • Beyond City, York City Ladies announced (June 28) their application to enter a Reserves team into the FA Women's National League Reserves North for the upcoming season has been accepted.

The Squad

By August 1st, City had 32 contracted professionals, including 3 senior pros on long term loans (Cordner, Kouhyar and Dyson), 3 more (Sykes – Kenworthy, Siziba and Latty-Fairweather) who don’t seem to figure in the first team squad and 4 former academy products.

By the time the 2023/4 season retained list was finalised, City had retained 24 players, offered 3 new contracts (all accepted within 9 days) and released 4 players. In addition one scholar had his pro contract extended and 2 more scholars signed their first pro contract.

City have made 9 summer signings, only 2 (Hunt and Aguiar) are believed to have costs fees. However, a fair amount of money will have been spent to pay off the contracts of 7 (Barnes, Campbell, Castro, Davies, Kennedy, Sanders and Woodyard) players.

City enter the new season with the same owner as last season, that hasn’t happened since 2021 which ended with City winning the NLN play of final. It is to be hoped that lessons have been learnt from last summer’s transfer lucky dip. It does seem to be a much more focused approach.

On May 25, City announced 4 signings (Felix, Nathaniel-Geroge, Male and Pearce) and Jon Greening started a twittter spat with Matt Uggla. Hinshelwood later noted, “I just think that Ollie is a real intelligent player, I could ask him to play left wing, right wing, number ten or as an out-and-out number nine and he could do all of those roles. That’s just the intelligence that he has got, that allows him to play in a variety of positions”.

May 28 saw City hold a behind closed doors trial day at the LNER aimed at players who had played at least step 4 or above, or have come out of an academy.

Speaking in June 2024 on York Hospital Ball, Matt Uggla noted that City’s recruitment had ” multiple targets in each position, with a more measured approach to paying, not just pay what is asked, don't break (pay) structure and find out about player's personality. At a YHB event that month, he was reported as saying, "the club now has a maximum agent fee policy and all agents are told that before any deals are done. It won't be increased for anyone. The club are also trying to establish a potential signing's character, getting more references" and "when the club brings the player in for discussions they now sell him the club and city before even thinking about the financials. They take them into town for dinner, up to the training ground and then they give them the stadium tour. The club gets a feel for how the player reacts to all that". He said last pre-season the club "all got fixated on their main targets and were just willing to pay whatever it took. The players knew it, the agents knew it and they got taken to the cleaners". This year, City appeared to have a list of targets and if the player wasn't willing to sign for the right deal, City would move on and look to the next player on the list.

Last season, City suffered an appalling early season injury crisis, this season for pre season game number 5 (Notts County), City's bench was limited to just 5 names, County named 10. It is to be hoped that the twinges and niggles that saw a reduced bench do not develop into full blown injuries. During that game, City used just one sub as Hinsh sought to get 90 minutes into legs.

Given Hinsh’s stated aim that would suggest his squad is near complete. 22 senior pros and 4 academy graduates, maybe room to bring in one or 2. That said, the squad still looks unbalanced. The signing of Cameron John filled a significant hole, the lack of an out and out left back, admittedly there are other players who could fill in. In general, defence looks light in terms of seasoned pros. All told, the squad seems to have an abundance of attacking and wide midfield players. With 7 to be named on the bench (5 subs allowed per game), that should allow plenty of strong options to finish a game.

Compared to last season, City's squad is fewer in numbers, but higher in quality, it is to be hoped that with 5 substitutes allowed from a bench of 7, that is to City's benefit. We will have the ability to bring "starting XI quality" options off the bench to attack tiring defenders. Fast wingers and Lenny in one of his favoured positions as a last 20 minutes finisher. Read more: 5 Subs

Pre-season saw City adopt Hinsh’s preferred style of play. At times there were defensive frailties and a lack of height in defence, up front there was enough to suggest an exciting season.

  • Harrison Male proved himself by far the most accomplished keeper in playing out from the back whilst Callum Howe was the stand out centre back. His partner may depend on the opposition, Darragh O’Connor provides height whilst Ryan Fallowfield provided a higher skill level.
  • Wherever Marvin Armstrong and Joe Felix play, they should bring energy to the side.
  • In attacking midfield, we can select from Alex Hunt, Ricky Aguiar and Billy Chadwick. Upfront, Hinsh might name all 4 of Dipo Akinyemi, Ollie Pearce, Tyrese Sinclair and Ashley Nathaniel-George.
  • Add in Dan Batty, Lenell John-Lewis, Paddy McLaughlin, Callum Harriott, Leone Gravata, Levi Andoh and Adam Crookes and the squad looks deeper than in many recent seasons. Injuries permitting.

Gary Elphick noted it was the “best pre-season ever”.

Season - Review (WIP, TO START, plus everything else from here)

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Add in (style):

  • The end of 2023/4 season saw the start of what a Hinsh team would look like, the signing of Marvin Armstrong added energy and dynamism to midfield. With a handful of summer signings, he was able to more fully embed his philosophy.
  • City's performances have generally exceeded pre-season expectations. The lack of defensive stability (and height) have been largely allayed. Going into November, the defensive record was the best in the league. Conversely, despite the wealth of attacking options, more had been expected from the attack. It is difficult to name City's best 2 wide players, some might say the likes of Tyrese Sinclair and Ashley Nathaniel-George are more effective when played centrally. It took until October for Ollie Pearce to start finding the net on a regular basis whilst Hinsh followed Neal Ardley by preferring to play Dipo Akinyemi out wide, believing his pace and strength out there outweighed his poor first touch.
  • Sometimes, especially early season, some noted that City’s play could become predictable at times and with a preference to use the wings rather than the middle of the pitch. The buccaneering Hinsh dynamism might need tweaking, City can be sometimes too ponderous in possession allowing the opposition to get their defence set. Moving the ball forward faster might help to pull the opposition out of position and to make more space.
  • In November, some social media posters have suggested that City have as many as 7 undroppable players. I’m not quite sure I can agree. I would name Male, Felix, Howe, MFW and Pearce. We’ve seen Batty’s impact in midfield at times whilst across the rest of midfield and further forward no one has said pick me, pick me every week. A number of players have impressed in brief spells, often from the bench but when promoted to the starting line up, they haven’t had the same impact.
  • In one way, it is a solid and structured set up, in another, its fluid and flexible with many players confident to move positions during a game as circumstances dictate. City's fluidity and unpredictability must make them very difficult to prepare to face, press and get the ball off.
  • Callum Howe had license to roam and just concentrated on heading everything away rather than any specific man marking duties, City defended deep as a team with a 2 man DM in front of the back line and strong awareness from the attack of threats on the back line which often sees them tracking back. Credit to the players for their game awareness / intelligence, they have been switched on. Equally, the flexibility must cause opposition problems, pre match, opposition plans for Joe Felix being on the right, he plays on the left, during the game, all the full backs (Felix, Ryan Fallowfield and Cam John) have shown how they can pop up elsewhere, wide forward or centre midfield included whilst the wingers readily swap sides and Dipo Akinyemi does what Dipo does across the width of the front line. It must be an absolute nightmare to mark City's player, opponents being dragged out of position, leaving gaps for City to exploit, increasingly so as the game progresses and physical and mental tiredness kicks in. Several times we've seen a solid press loosened after 30 or so minutes.
  • Can City's success be put down to the strength of our squad, particularly the strength of the bench (at times it is almost like for like with little drop off in quality), a possession rate of over 60% which tires out opposition which allayed with our fitness, work rate, fluid movement and changing formations means that it requires a lot of physical and mental effort to combat it, constantly chasing the ball and having to deal with City means that as opposition tire, mistakes creep in and City finish strongly.
  • Meanwhile, a relative lack of injuries has allowed City to largely rotate from a settled squad of 20 about players
  • By the end of October (the FC Halifax game), City had conceded just 9 goals but had fallen behind 7 times (Southend, Sutton, Boston, Braintree, Woking, Barnet and FC Halifax) but had only been beaten once, showing mental resilience / fitness. Also, when City took the lead, City very rarely went on to drop points. A complete opposite from the 2023/4 season when City would regularly lead at half time and then capitulate.
  • But is Adam Hinshelwood being too clever and over thinking line up and tactics?
  • In midfield, players have regularly been rotated, perhaps a combination of injuries, managing niggles and to combat opposition. Perhaps, the first choice line up is moving towards Dan Batty, Alex Hunt and Armstrong as regular starters.
  • Equally, the regular changing of the full backs can’t help. With Felix played on both sides, we’ve also seen Fallowfield, Jeff King, Alex Crookes and John deployed, again sometimes due to injury, but whenever Felix has played on the left, his game has lost something.
  • Despite multiple wide men options, none has consistently provided width and options, occasional tricky play, but often falling to take on and go past their wingers and put crosses in, most of the Tyrese Sinclair / Ashley Nathaniel-George goals being of the "worldly type". David Ajeboye struggled to add anything new, Mo Fadera has shown raw pace but is still raw and Callum Harriott never got a run of games to show what he could do. Luca Thomas' best position is still to be confirmed, but at this stage of his career, substitute seems to be his best position. Not forgetting Leone Gravata and Billy Chadwick. Pre-season, with our array of wingers, I had anticipated exciting wing play, crosses onto the head of Akinyemi with Ollie Pearce picking up the pieces. Sadly it has not worked out like this, although the amount of goals City have scored is refreshing.
  • At the other end of the pitch, City have 2 decent keepers, rarely has either ever let Hinsh down. One has been a regular first team keeper for several seasons, the other barely a regular starter in 10 seasons. Notwithstanding appearances, one looks composed and calm with the ball at his feet and the other doesn’t, you can see the panic spreading across the faces of some City supporters when Watson has the ball at his feet. Hinsh isn’t the first manager to have 2 decent keepers and is not the first to look to rotate them, but usually that rotation occurs in cup games, not important league games.
  • In front of the keeper, Hinsh has frequently swapped Howe and Malachi Fagan-Walcott between right and left centre backs.
  • Whilst a lot of changes are made to manage workloads and combat opposition, it maybe means that players are not instantly switched onto what their teammate alongside them is thinking or will do.
  • Possibly more worrying is that for both away games against Forest Green Rovers and Altrincham in November, Hinsh went for an attacking 442 line up. For those 2 games, against decent sides, City’s midfield axis was Batty / Hunt and Hunt / Aguiar with Pearce deployed in front of them, just behind the main striker (Akinyemi at FGR and then Thomas).
  • You could say with just 2 “proper” midfield players we were numerically weak in that department and then compounded the situation by pulling Pearce back from his best position as our main striker.
  • Whilst it is laudable that Hinsh sticks to his footballing principles and goes for it, maybe sometimes caution is the best way forward. That said, City started strongly at Altrincham and had City turned a good first few minutes into a lead, the game might have had a very different outcome.
  • Comments Hinsh made after the Maidenhead 6-2 win might suggest we are unlikely to see such a line up in similar circumstances any time soon.
  • Maidenhead saw the end of November, a month of 2 parts, big home wins and 2 away league defeats.
  • Also:
    • On November 6, Joe Payne / analystbar dissected how Hinsh's City tactics have taken them top of the league
    • City's strenght off the bench and fitness levels were ably demonstrated on November 6, when Soccerstats goal time analysis showed how City have dominated the late goals market.
  • Away from the pitch, some events have occurred suggesting that City are taking a more structured approach, whisper it quietly, even a Football League approach,including:
    • After 6 months working with Adam Hinshelwood, on September 4, Tony McMahon was appointed City's Director of Football. Hinsh called him out earlier for his scouting ability saying that he was excelling in a recruitment role which encompassed contract negotiations and presumably he was instrumental in the summer cull. Watch interview
    • On >November 14, Clayton Donaldson was named as City's "Head Of Development" as plans were announced to launch a development side for the start of the 2025/6 season. Certainly it appears to come with a lot more planning than the aborted version that came with the influx of signings in the days immediately after Matt Uggla's arrival in June 2023.
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  • xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Work in below (players)
  • Ryan Fallowfield noted (YHB, Nov 2024) players verytogether and socialising outside the club, something he has not been used to.
  • xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Work in below (events)
  • Hinsh appears to be able publicly to criticise players without damaging morale
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Add in (other):

  • 241116 LVR posted "Latest series of dreadfully acted and scripted kids TV show Jamie Johnson FC was filmed at the LNER".
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Sadly as ever, during the season, City lost a number of well known personalities, including former manager Alan Little (08/Aug/2024), former players (Peter Popely (03/Aug/2024)) and player (dd/mmm/yyyy) and supporters (Ray Wynn (23/Jul/2024), Brian Kesteven (26/Aug/2024), Steve Clark (31/Aug/24), Dick Thornton (23/Sep/2024), Connor Abbott (xx/Sep/2024), Moray Taylor (08/Nov/2024), Keith Wishart (25/Nov/2024), Ian Fleming (09/Dec/2024), xxxxxx xxxx (dd/mm/yy) and xxxxxx xxxx (dd/mm/yy)).

Along the way:

  • May 2024: City launched their 2024 Community Survey and results were published in August. A pleasing 771 people responded, one highlight was the high number of comments received about food and beverages in a report many outsiders would consider to be a "box ticking " exercise but what will have proved invaluable insights to the club.
  • August 22: City placed 21st (out of all 164 clubs in England's top 7 divisions) in the Fair Game Index. Clubs were ranked on 4 criteria, in order of weighting, financial stability, governance, equality / ethical standards and fan / community engagement. Across the 7 leagues, City were ranked overall top on financial stability and top in National Conference for fan and community engagement. City were ranked equal 9th in our division on equality / ethical standards and down at 14th equal for governance. One can only assume that our exceptional 2021/2 financial results, as the McGill era and sale of Bootham Crescent were concluded, published in spring 2023, contributed to our financial stability rating. Divisional winners were Spurs, Norwich, Cambridge, AFC Wimbledon, City, Tonbridge Angels and Chester. Read the full report.
  • August 25: City launch an app, for £54.99 (pa) / £4.99 (pcm), you have access to exclusive and extended content
  • In September, after Crawley's manager Scott Lindsey left for MK Dons, Gateshead's Rob Elliot was quickly installed as odds on favourite for the vacancy, a later entry into the betting at 14/1 3rd favourite at 14/1 was Adam Hinshelwood
  • On September 19, the new National League Cup was launched, it is designed to give young players from Premier League and EFL clubs additional opportunities to test themselves against senior opposition (PL2), with the aim of further aiding elite player development. When match expenses have been counted, that will surely leave just a few pennies as income, indeed clubs might need to carry an extra player or 2 in their squad to cope. Opening night crowds (including Dagenham (184), Ebbsfleet (213), Woking (227), Halifax (292), Oldham (445) and Boston (467)) might even suggest clubs made a loss when hosting games. By game day 2, Altrincham were offering free admission for their game with Blackburn and attracted 873 for their game with Blackburn. Conversely, on December 3, Rochdale attracted a gate of over 3,500 for the visit of Manchester United. One source stated, with £1,000,000 on offer in prize money, in each group stage game, every win by a NL team was worth £8,000 in prize money and a draw half that amount.
  • September 27: City's summer 24% "silent" partner revealed to be the family office of Bill E Ford, Chief Executive Officer of private equity firm General Atlantic. The investment is driven by Ford’s sons, Billy and Tim. Read More. As of November 2021, General Atlantic has over $86 billion in assets under management. Quite what US investors see in investing in City intriguing.
  • October 3: City launch Club Ambassadors made up of former players, initially Andy Leaning, Chris Jones, Daniel Parslow, Derek Hood, Graeme Crawford, Ian Blackstone, Joe Neenan, Pat Lally and Steve Tutill
  • October 30: Following the success of the get togethers of the 1974 and 1984 promotion squads, a sell out (£65 per ticket) anniversary dinner was held at the LNER. Daley Mayall wrote, "it was enjoyable evening. Introduced by Graham Bradbury who has hosted dinners before, ably assisted by commentators Guy Mowbray and Jon Champion who conducted the player interviews, and there were some good stories during the event. The 3-course meal was good too. There was also a raffle where someone generously paid £75 for the 'Here We Go' (1984 squad vinyl) single! I had a nice chat with Ian Holmes who seemed to vanish off the radar to organisers of these kind of events for a number of years, but has embraced a couple of recent get togethers, it was good to meet him. Yes, I did see him play the odd game for us during my formative years supporting City when we were in Div 2. It was nice to see some representatives of the current team / management, with Hinsh, chairman Matt Uggla, Paul Sackey and The Shop in attendance, and I believe Tony McMahon was present in the lounge before it all commenced. Hinsh and ex-boss Denis Smith were interviewed in tandem and during their chat towards the end of the evening, and it was comforting to hear certain comparisons with the side from '84 and our current side, and how the players forged good working relationships on and off the field which bonded the squad and led to good displays on the pitch. It bodes well moving forward. Harmony is a good thing. It emerged that John Byrne knew Hinsh quite well because of their connections to Brighton & HA, and I saw them chatting on a couple of occasions. I'll try and list all those ex-players in attendance. Those in bold were interviewed on the night, 1973-74 (Graeme Crawford, Chris Jones, Jimmy Seal, Barry Lyons, John Reynolds, Ian Robb, Dennis Wann, Ian Holmes, Brian Pollard, Chris Topping, Phil Burrows and John Peachey) and 1983-84 (John Byrne, Gary Ford, Ricky Sbragia, Chris Evans, Keith Houchen, Derek Hood, Alan Hay and Denis Smith). Others spotted in attendance were Joe Neenan and Tommy Stanley. A nice touch was the presentation of a small trophy and shirt to all the players who represented the club during the promotion year of 1974 and the 1984 champs, arranged by the club, although the shirts hadn't arrived in time for the 70s squad".
  • 241014: Hinsh named September's Manager Of The Month
  • 241106: Hinsh named October's Manager Of The Month. Read YCFC and Vanarama statements. Not since John Ward in 1992 has a City manager won back to back awards.
  • 241105: Bootham Crescent seating memorabilia raffle launched
  • "League One and League Two Clubs follow the Salary Cost Management Protocol ("SCMP"). These state that clubs can only spend a fixed percentage of its revenue on player wages etc. This limit can also be added to or impacted by equity injections or net transfer spend."
  • 241209: City launch Executive Circle Business Club
  • 241211: Ollie Pearce (7 goals in 6 games) was named as Vanarama's Player Of The Month for November. George Alexander (Eastbourne Borough (NLS)) and Harrison Burke (Chester (NLN)) won the divisional awards. Read More.
  • 241218: Neal Ardley appointed Woking manager.
  • 241224: Fagan-Walcott permanent deal announced, although officially undisclosed transfer fee / contract duration, it is believed to be a 4 year contract, making it the longest ever contract in City's history
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  • FA Cup prize money:
    • Qualifying Round 1: winners - £2,250 / losers - £750
    • Qualifying Round 2: winners - £3,375 / losers - £1,125
    • Qualifying Round 3: winners - £5,625 / losers - £1,875
    • Qualifying Round 4 (City's entry point): winners - £9,375 / losers - £3,125
    • Round 1 (40): winners £45,000 / losers £15,000
    • Round 2 (20): winners £75,000 / losers £20,000
    • Round 3 (32): winners £115,000 / losers £25,000
    • Round 4 (16): winners £120,000
    • Round 5 (8): winners £225,000
    • Round 6 (4): winners £450,000
    • Semi-final (2): winners £1,000,000 / losers £500,000
    • Final (1) winners £2,000,000 / losers £1,000,000
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  • The Isuzu FA Trophy Season 2024-25 Payments made from The FA's prize fund
    • Preliminary round: Winners receive £1500, losers receive £400
    • First round qualifying: Winners receive £1500, losers receive £400
    • Second round qualifying: Winners receive £2250 losers receive £575
    • Third round qualifying: Winners receive £2450, losers receive £625
    • First round: Winners receive £3000, losers receive £775
    • Second round: Winners receive £3750, losers receive £1000
    • Third round: Winners receive £4500, losers receive £1250
    • Fourth round: Winners receive £5250, losers receive £1500
    • Fifth round: Winners receive £6000, losers receive £1750
    • Quarter Final: Winners receive £7500, losers receive £2000
    • Semi-Final: Winners receive £15,000, losers receive £5000
    • Final runners-up: £30,000
    • Final winners: £60,000

Season - Game By Game (WIP)

  1. 240810 Southend (A) D 1-1: Some early heart attack play at the back gave way to a composed City performance (66% possession) with the finishers making a big impact
    • Pre match, Southend's blue and yellow card show seemed to get over whelmed by Adam Hinshelwood walking towards City's supporters and getting a huge cheer. It was followed by a warm one minute's round of applause from all sides of the ground for Alan Little who passed away 2 days earlier
    • With 5 attacking wide men (excluding Kouhyar) on City's books, none were in the starting side, although 2 (Tyrese Sinclair and ANG) and LJL came on and performed the finishing role, both wingers looking to take on and go past tiring defenders
    • After an early sighter from a left wing free kick that went narrowly wide, Southend took the lead from a right wing free kick on 16 minutes
    • Shortly afterwards, when defending a set piece, the 4 City defenders lined up on the edge of 6 yard box were all shorter than the players they were marking
    • Gradually City came into the game and largely controlled the second half
    • Once again, LJL showed why he divides fans, his regulation header saw City draw level but a few minutes later, he put an easier one wide
    • One Southend fan noted they had sold over 800 replica shirts on the day they went on sale, a case of pre season optimism feeding sales, let's hope City are still on the up when our shirts go on sale
    • Post match, Southend fans and forums were suggesting a top 3 finish for City, some highlighted our lack of height and others felt they expected more from their own side, who looked good for half an hour before tiring badly and, with plenty of time wasting, looking to be happy to settle for a 1-0 win
    • Speaking on The Crux Of It podcast (11/Sep/24), Rory Watson said that Hinsh had told him he'd play in the game but he was ruled out with concussion
    • YCFC match report
  2. 240817 Tamworth (H) W 2-0: After a slow start, City stepped up in the second half to record a comfortable win
    • Watch another warm one minute's round of applause Alan Little with chants of "Alan Little's Barmy Army" to the fore
    • Akinyemi was absent, stated suffering with a "slight knock". In his absence, when Sinclair and Felix got into decent wide positions, their options to put in a cross were restricted as Pearce and Chadwick didn't have the same physical presence as "Big Dips"
    • Mikey Morton and granddad (who first took him to a City game) in the crowd
    • With Tamworth's intentions, after back to back promotions, evident from the start, City had most (72%) of the possession but failed to win a corner until about 2 minutes before half time
    • City's first goal game came from the penalty spot, 49 league games since the last one, the penultimate game of the 2022/3 season against Aldershot
    • Dan Batty strolled through the game, long passes, short passes, breaking up plays, launching attacks and driving runs forward, a complete midfield display, the best for City for years, although not a single player put in a below par performance
    • Smaller than expected crowd put down to a combination of the holiday season, greater scrutiny on the abuse of children's tickets and increased prices for the younger child's ticket
    • At full time, the crowd was announced as 3,820 and later revised to 4,684. Was that the difference between in the ground and tickets sold (i.e. absent season ticket holders)
    • Post match, Howe, Felix and Batty all in the lounge drinking and chatting with the fans, something that Hinsh is encouraging
    • YCFC match report
  3. 240820 Rochdale (H) W 1-0: An early Ricky Aguair goal put City in front and whilst not as dominant as previous games, it was still a satisfying win
    • Hinsh made 4 changes at once on the hour to match up to Rochdale's formation and deep into injury time, Paddy McLaughlin was deployed as a substitute, the first time in City's history have 5 substitutes been used in a game
    • The crowd of 5,362 was down 104 on the corresponding August bank holiday fixture a year earlier. Rochdale's support shrunk by 239 whilst City's grew by 135
    • On a Rochdale fans' forum, it was noted:
      • "No complaints about the result. York were sharper and better organised as a team than we were"
      • "Not up for it tonight. York were a yard quicker and wanted it more than us"
      • "Got what we deserved which was nothing. York better in attack and defence, stronger and quicker than we were"
      • "Second best at everything tonight sadly. Out-passed, out thought, out fought and out scored"
      • "One thing York deserve credit for was ensuring our wide players didn’t get to the byeline as much as in previous games. Felix who played on both sides across the 90 minutes was excellent for them"
      • "Tbf, their number 10 (Pearce) missed a couple and there were others too. We might gave scraped a point on another night but were much more deserving of a win (than draw) vs Daggers (3 days earlier"
    • Post match there were some players' tunnel shenanigans, City were later fined £750
    • YCFC match report
  4. 240824 Sutton (A) WDL 2-2: 2 old boys (Will Davies and Josh Coley (an Under 16 City schoolboy)) deny City the 3 points
    • Pre match, Hinsh noted City were back in the old routine, leave early Friday, train down south (Dartford) and early arrival at the team hotel. Pre Southend, the team trained in York and reading between the lines, the journey south was more difficult in the Friday rush hour traffic
    • With Watson and Connor starting their first games this season, City's back 5 saw 4 positional changes from the last game. It showed
    • City were wasteful with a high number of long balls forward having too much weight on the zippy pitch whilst, especially in the first half, the attack was caught offside too often
    • Neal Ardley watched City for the first time since his sacking from the Directors Box
    • David Ward tweeted to say that "after Hinsh had done his post match media, he noticed lots of rubbish left in the City dugout and got a wheelie bin, took it to the dugout and removed it all before taking the bin back. Sutton representative tapped him on the back to thank him. Top class"
    • Elsewhere, Aston Villa held a minute's applause for 6 recently deceased former players, including Alan Little, the 3rd successive Saturday a former club had done so, after Southend and City
    • YCFC match report
  5. 240826 Boston (H) L 0-2: A lethargic City went down to an unexpected defeat against Ian Culverhouse's lowly Boston
    • The players who played full game at Sutton and today all appeared flat and under par. They weren't the only ones
    • Boston provided a blueprint for anyone who playing City. With Frankie Maguire doing an excellent job marking Dan Batty, the "quarter back" role fell to Callum Howe whose distribution was not a quick at Batty allowing Boston to maintain their shape
    • City missed a couple of early chances which could have changed the course of the game. However, all 3 strikers were off the pace and we had no cutting edge against a side with a solid back line who were happy to sit back
    • In the end, Boston could have won by more than 2
    • YCFC match report
  6. 240831 Dagenham & Redbridge (A) W 2-0: A hard fought game saw City eventually get on top thanks to the finishers (and a solid defensive display)
    • After last season's last kick shenanigans at Dagenham, City broke clear deep into injury time and Ollie Pearce scored into an empty net, his first City goal from open play to seal the win
    • Scored in the 13th minute of injury time, it is possibly the latest ever goal scored by City in a league game
    • Another rotation between Hinsh's favoured 18 with Dipo and 2 wide men up front
    • Again, plenty of possession that didn't translate into plenty of chances
    • Tyrese Sinclair was included in the Non-League Paper’s Team of the Day
    • YCFC match report
  7. 240907 Wealdstone (A) W 2-0: Back to back 2-0 away wins in London in a week
    • Reverting to the "Sutton Back 5", City gave a relatively assured performance to win after losing all 4 previous games against Wealdstone
    • After a misplaced pass with his first touch, first half substitute Malachi Fagan-Walcott had a very assured debut
    • Once again, City's 427 supporters was the biggest away following of the day in non league football
    • Rory Watson named in the Vanarama Team Of The Week Dan Batty named in the Non League Paper Team Of The Day
    • YCFC match report
  8. 240910 Braintree (H) W 2-1: Going a goal down in 4 minutes, City lead at half time to earn a hard fought win
    • Once again, City's dominance wasn't reflected in the score line
    • A minute's silence was held before the game in memory of David Longhurst
    • Dan Batty made the Vanarama Team of Midweek
    • Hinsh didn't sound best pleased in his PMI
    • YCFC match report
  9. 240914 AFC Fylde (H) W 3-0: With the top 3 all dropping points, City jumped above them all to establish a 2 point lead at the top of the table, the first time City had been table toppers since the covid hit 2019/20 season
    • City capitalised on 2 good away wins with 2 home wins against lowly placed opposition inside 4 days, something that has not always been the case
    • A double for Joe Felix, voted Man Of The Match and selected for the Non-League Paper’s Team of the Day
    • It was the first game of the season when City had scored more than twice in a game
    • For AFC Fylde, defender Harry Davis was sent off. His brother Joe was a City loanee in 2019 and their dad was a City loanee in 1997
    • AFC Fylde sacked manager Chris Beech a day after the game
    • YCFC match report
  10. 240921 Aldershot (A) D 0-0: Not the greatest performance, but a clean sheet and chances (for both teams) to win the game
    • Callum Howe selected for the Non-League Paper’s Team of the Day
    • After 10 games, City's points total has only been exceeded once, in the 1984 Division 4 championship winning season
    • The draw dropped City to 3rd in the table
    • YCFC match report
  11. 240924 Solihull Moors (A) W 3-0: A dominant City performance, about the only criticism was the number of missed chances. It turned out to be as comfortable an away win as you could ask for. Hinsh's first observation was 7 clean sheets in 11 games
    • Paddy McLaughlin dropped out of the matchday squad for the first time this season as City named 6 attacking players on the bench with Joe Felix moving forward into midfield for the first time this season
    • Hinsh praised Malachi Fagan-Walcott's performance as "sensational", he stood out with his dominant defending and also started a lot of City's attacks
    • Off the bench, Tyrese Sinclair scored his first City goals, the first, a goal of the season contender. He was selected for Vanarama's Midweek Team of the Day
    • A Moors' forum poster noted, "Don’t think their keeper had anything to do. York were brighter, sharper, pacier, stronger and streets better than we were . Fairplay to them”. Whilst Stewart Westley, the Solihull Moors / NLTV commentator noted "That was an incredible game to call for #YCFC on NLTV. The best team performance I’ve seen on that ground since I started doing commentary. Unbelievable side".
    • YCFC match report
  12. 240928 Eastleigh (H) D 0-0: After the Lord Mayor's Show...
    • Lack lustre display and only in the last 20 minutes did subs Batty and Hunt add dynamism and more to midfield, allowing the wide play of Akinyemi and sub Harriott to flourish
    • Upfront, Pearce was outmuscled by 2 big defenders
    • YCFC match report
  13. 241005 Woking (A) D 1-1: A late John-Lewis penalty earned City a point
    • After taking the lead on 55 minutes, Woking were more than happy to hold onto what they had, even after City equalised
    • City had more of the ball (and barely left the Woking half in the first 20 minutes) and had chances to take all 3 points. However, City's attack was largely predictable and ponderous, it was easily shackled by Woking's defence. City had 35 touches in Woking's penalty area
    • Hinsh sounded quite frustrated in his post match interview
    • Post match, Woking manager Michael Doyle called City "the best team in the division"
    • It was a 5:30pm kick off with the game shown live on National League TV, the revised time being confirmed less than 3 weeks before kick off
    • Foregoing TV coverage, those spotted on the terraces supporting City included Jack Hinshelwood and Dipo Akinyemi's cousin
    • YCFC match report
  14. 241012 Biggleswade (FACQ4) (A) W 3-1: City avoided a potential banana skin with what turned out to be a comfortable 3-1 win
    • City (3rd in the National League (95th in the pyramid)) entered the FA Cup with a visit to Biggleswade FC, a member of the Southern League Division One Central division (Step 8, making them placed about 352 ((92 + 24 + 48 + 88 + (160 * (12.5 / 20))) in the pyramid given its depth and width) and one of the lowest placed teams left in the competition
    • In the league, Biggleswade's lower mid table position is possibly due to a number of games being postponed because of their cup run. One of 3 teams in Biggleswade, formed only in 2016, they play their home games 10 miles away thanks to a ground share arrangement with Bedford Town
    • Biggleswade entered the competition in early August (over a week before City's league season started) and beat Stansted (Att 434 (A), 139 (H)), London Lions (88 (H)), Basildon United (96 (A)), AFC Dunstable (163 (H)) and Canvey Islands (341 (H)) to reach this stage, those 6 games been watched by a total of 1,261 fans.
    • Speaking on Wednesday, Gary Elphick (in the absence of Adam Hinshelwood who was down with food poisoning) said John-Lewis and Fagan-Walcott were out of the game with hamstring injuries suffered in a practice game with the Hull Under 23 side on Monday although he indicated MFW would have been available for selection if fit
    • City started 442 for the first time this season with Pearce playing just behind Akinyemi. Immediately post game, Hinsh criticised Dipo's poor hold up play suggesting that was the reason that he has been played more out wide where he can get into one on one positions to use his pace and strength, he also noted the "lack of magic" and low level of performance across the team and the need for possession with substance. He was more measured when he spoke to YCTV
    • All 3 City goals came from low crosses after quick wing play
    • Not the greatest performance of the season, some likened it to the feel of pre-season friendly
    • Post match, Matt Uggla pledged to give City’s percentage of the gate receipts back to Biggleswade
    • YCFC match report
  15. 241019 Ebbsfleet (H) W 4-0: Eventually City got on top and comfortably beat a team that used spoiling tactics from the first minute to last despite an indifferent, certainly in the first half, performance
    • Despite 2 goals for Ollie Pearce, many felt Dipo Akinyemi deserved the man of the match award, for most of the game he was stationed on the right wing (rather than the left wing) where he was very influential. Hinsh named Harrison Male as his man of the match with "2 massive one on one saves"
    • Many felt the referee had a very poor game, booking 3 City players by early in the second half, Sinclair (simulation), Howe (possible retaliation after being the victim of an unpunished bad "foul") and Felix (opinion mixed on whether it was a good tackle or foul) with just one for Ebbsfleet at the time despite several questionable tackles
    • The referee appeared to order the players off the pitch following a lengthy delay to treat an Ebbsfleet player, Todd Kane, just as the player was just standing up, the players refused to leave the pitch
    • Ollie Pearce and Harrison Male in the Non League Paper's team of the day and Pearce also in the Vanarama team of the day
    • Tyler Cordner, despite being eligible to play for Ebbsfleet was, as in recent weeks, not in their match day squad
    • Post match, Ebbsfleet manager Harry Watling said he expects City to claim the Vanarama National League title
    • YCFC match report
  16. 241022 Barnet (H) W 3-1: City came from a goal behind to win a tight game
    • Athletic opposition with an energetic high press saw a disjointed first half performance from City, against possibly the best opponents that City have faced so far this season
    • Despite further chances for Barnet, City got on top after Barnet's energy levels started to drop
    • Harriott (Hinsh said he "felt a calf" minutes after a yellow card) and Akinyemi both went off injured in the first half in the 10 minutes between the first 2 goals
    • A 2 minute City brace midway through the second half put City well in control
    • Alex Hunt was included in Vanarama's team of midweek
    • YCFC match report
    • Barnet match report
  17. 241026 FC Halifax (A) W 2-1: Not City's best performance, but an away win, meaning City went top against a team who are strong play off contenders
    • With 8 injured players and 7 out on loan, City went into the game with just 19 fit professionals, including starters Marvin Armstrong and Tyrese Sinclair who were reported as having slight hamstring strains following the Barnet game. Possibly City's weakest line up of the season and given Tuesday's hard game, the most lethargic performance
    • City had the better of the first half and went in goal down, Halifax had the better of the second half and lost 2-1 after City scored twice in injury time
    • With recent criticism for the lack of quality from City's set pieces, both goals came from worked set pieces
    • Many felt Harrison Male was City's man of the match, he dealt confidently with the higher than normal number of shots that City conceded
    • Ollie Pearce was the cover star of the Non League Paper for the second successive Sunday
    • With 2,225 (56.1%) away fans, it was possibly one of, if not, the biggest ever City following for an away league game (certainly the biggest since away attendances were first reported, anecdotal evidence suggests there was a bigger away following at Rochdale in April 1993). Match attendance was 3,961. It goes without saying that City's following was the biggest away following of the day in the league, but also bigger than the away following combined at the 11 other NL games and bigger than match attendance at 6 NL games on the day. In the 3 divisions of the Football League, only Leeds, Stoke, Hull and Wrexham took more away fans to their game than City did. Match attendances - read more
    • Post match, Halifax boss Chris Millington bemoaned his team, "there's a weak underbelly, we're soft, and that's something we've not had in my time at the club. Just weak mentality. I think there's (some) players in there who clearly care and then there's some who don't mind getting beat, they're quite happy to turn up, play some nice football between the boxes, get a little bit of a ruffle of the hair, told how good they are and accept defeat". That said, they'd done their homework, with a high press they forced many mistakes out of City's players
    • Malachi Fagan-Walcott (NLP) and Dan Batty (Vanarama) were selected for the Teams of the Week
    • Later, at the half point of the season, Hinsh felt his highlight of the season to date was the Halifax game, "we kept on going, showed a good togetherness, its no coincidence it happened in front of 2,000 York fans behind the goal"
    • YCFC match report
  18. 241102 Wycombe (FAC1) (A) L 2-3: City went down to a team 47 places above them in the pyramid
    • City visited Wycombe, placed 2nd in Division 1, for Adam Hinshelwood, a return to the last club he played for
    • Wycombe made 10 changes from their last game, City named just 7 of the permitted 9 subs, with 7 out on loan, it is believed 8 other players (including Harriott and Hernandez) were injured
    • Second best for most part of the game, a Joe Felix goal 4 minutes into injury time gave City renewed hope, then a goal mouth melee failed to provide a City equaliser
    • Post match, Hinsh noted the difference in physicality between the 2 sides and indicated he may have shown Wycombe too much respect in how he set up his side. He also noted how Wycombe had run more in the game than any previous game during the season (and since their Aston Villa PSF). A couple of weeks ater, he added"Wycombe were fit, physically strong players, (we will) base recruitment on that going forward".
    • On social media, a Wycombe fan noted, "York played quite nicely from the back at times. Once or twice they got round the press and surged forward in numbers. Great finish for their first goal. Defensively they looked wide open though. Such a high line and not much pressure on the ball. It was a bit odd to watch. Their keeper also seemed remarkably small. Made one good stop. But Kodua seemed to have so much of the goal to hit due to the keeper being so short".
    • Wycombe took £45,000 in prize money and City, as losers, £15,000. A new innovation this season, sees prize money for losers extended into the competition proper and up to and including Round 3. Wycombe fight for £75,000 / £20,000 in Round 2. Full FA Cup prize money. I could imagine City's share of the gate receipts are less than our prize money.
    • 3 days later, Wycombe won 5-0 away at progressive Stockport to go top of Division 1
    • YCFC match report
  19. 241109 Hartlepool (H) W 5-3: 5 goals might have underlined City's superiority but conceding 3 was a shock as Pools threatened to come back from 2 down at half time
    • Midweek, on November 5, City were reported to have played a behind closed doors friendly game against Bradford (later on The Crux Of It, Ollie Pearce noted City lost 3-0), from Hinsh's pre-match comments, only "Crookes played about an hour (after 30 minutes at Wycombe)" appeared to be the most significant feedback
    • City faced Hartlepool, managed by 77 year old Lennie Lawrence, possibly the oldest manager City have ever faced
    • Given previous history, kick off was 12:30 and 5 days before the game, after strong ticket sales, it was made all ticket. With the early kick off, it was available live on DAZN / Nationalleaguetv (but with no enhanced coverage)
    • 3 blocks of seats (one in each of the north, west and east stands) were left empty for segregation purposes
    • Unusually for a Hinsh team this season, the subs bench included only 3 players who could be considered to be forward minded (Akinyemi, Nathaniel-George and Thomas)
    • Ahead of Remembrance Day, City wore a one off all red strip with players donning black poppy armbands, the all red kit received many plaudits
    • With Malachi Fagan-Walcott suffering a head injury during the first half, Adam Crookes came on at centre back at half time and then Ryan Fallowfield came on later to allow Joe Felix to replace Dan Batty in midfield
    • The 8 goals in the game was 2 more than seen in any previous City LNER game, 4 came in the 85th minute or later
    • Ashley Nathaniel-George's goal was named National League Goal of the Week
    • With Hartlepool's defence being cut to shreds at times, some described them as the worst team to visit the LNER this season, others, based on their spirited comeback early in the 2nd half and 2 late goals as one of the best
    • For a second successive month, Adam Hinshelwood defied the Manager of the Month curse and oversaw a City win in the week of his award
    • The crowd of 7,654 was just 3 below City's best LNER crowd 7,657 (Woking, April 2024), both short of the ground record 8,209 (Leeds v Monaco, July 2023)
    • Ollie Pearce (NLP) and Alex Hunt (Vanarama) were selected for the Teams of the Week
    • Sofascore match analysis
    • YCFC match report
  20. 241116 Forest Green Rovers (A) L 0-2: 2 second half goals saw the teams swap places at the top of the table, City now 2 points behind FGR and one point above Barnet, resurgent Oldham moved into 4th spot
    • It was a 5:30pm kick off with the game shown live on National League TV, the revised time being confirmed less than 5 weeks before kick off
    • Ollie Pearce wore slighty different red socks to the rest of the team
    • City's changed front foot 424 (442) formation edged the first half before FGR got on top after the break
    • Post match, Hinsh admitted City were "completely overrun" in the second half and his "substitutions were poor" and the "better team won"
    • For the first time this season, a mistake from Harrison Male playing the ball out from the back cost City a goal
    • In his following pre match interview, Hinsh noted in the game that Joe Felix did 3 times as many sprints as any other City player
    • City took more supporters to FGR than Barnet took across London for their game at Dagenham earlier in the day
    • YCFC match report
  21. 241123 Yeovil (H) W 4-0: An Ollie Pearce hat trick helped City to a comprehensive win. His Dad travelled up for the game, the first time he's visited LNER
    • After 2 stunning free kick goals in recent LNER games, Alex Hunt reluctantly gave up free kick duties for Ollie Pearce's first goal. Midweek, Gary Elphick had highlighted how Yeovil defend free kicks by jumping high without a draught excluder, so Pearce passed the ball along the floor into the net
    • With Forest Green Rovers held to a draw at Southend, City regained top spot on goal difference
    • 2 red cards for Yeovil, one early and one late, it was a disappointing performance from a team on the edge of the play off places, possibly their league contributed to the healthy 348 away following
    • The expected Uggla / Martin Hellier / Mark Cooper was in full flow post match
    • Ollie Pearce and Alex Hunt made the Vanarama Team of the Week whilst Pearce, Joe Felix and Malachi Fagan-Walcott made the Non League Paper's Team of the Week. Read More
    • YCFC match report
  22. 241126 Altrincham (A) L 0-3: After last season's adverse result at Moss Lane, better was expected
    • City reverted to the 442 Forest Green Rovers line up with Ollie Pearce deployed slighty behind Luca Thomas. Dan Batty and Marvin Armstrong, whom many might considered to be City's midfield engine room were both confined to the bench for the full 90 minutes. Post match, Hinsh noted his "team selection was a bit bold", suggesting he was a midfield player short and he was managing the fitness of others, including Crookes, Armstrong and Sinclair. Later, at the half point of the season, Hinsh felt his lowlight of the season to date was the Altrincham game, "the team I put out, in hindsight I'd like to have that game again"
    • City wore their pink / navy blue kit in contrast to Altrincham who wore their usual red (solid red back, red / white stripes on front) / black
    • City were second best for large parts of the game losing 3 goals in 15 first half minutes
    • Despite Forest Green Rovers not playing, they regained top spot thanks to the 3 goals that City conceded
    • City's following of 716 made up over one third of the total attendance (2,006) and was well up on last season's away support of 269
    • Possibly Hinsh's worst post match press interview since Altrincham last season, he sounded blustered and was hestitant with some of his answers
    • YCFC match report
  23. 241130 Maidenhead (H) W 6-2: An easy win against limited opposition
    • Playing some sparkling football, City were 4 up within 32 minutes before some less than ideal defensive play allowed Maidenhead to pull 2 goals back
    • With Barnet drawing and FGR not playing, the win took City back to the top of the table
    • A couple of social media reports added, early on, Dan Batty was being closely man marked, so after a few minutes, either Male or Howe would instead play a short ball into Hunt who would be coming back towards them. Hunt would play a first time ball out to Fagan-Walcott, who'd have plenty of space to come forward into. After about 10 minutes, Maidenhead spotted this, and their man marker moved across to Hunt instead gaving Batty loads of room for influence. By 3-0, they'd abandoned the man marking plan entirely. After their sending off, down City's right flank, our players were noticeably playing much wider, almost on the touch line a lot, which forced Maidenhead players out wide with City able to exploit all the extra space down the middle. Credit to the coaching staff and players for spotting this and changing tactics on the fly
    • Amongst the goals, 2 stood out, Batty combining with Felix to allow Pearce to open the scoring with a header and when Nathaniel-George rocketed home from outside the area after beating his man to put City 4 up
    • Maidenhead's Alan Massey was sent off, a case of mistaken identity for a push by Will De Havilland on the edge of the penalty area. The referee missed the incident, taking advice from the linesman who gave the free kick and, as advised, sent off the (wrong) player
    • It was the first time since beating Salisbury 6-2 in the FA Trophy in January 2012 that City had scored 6 goals in a game
    • Since entry to the Football League in 1929, City's best scoring effort in 5 consecutive home games is 22 goals (the 5 games up to and including 14/12/82 and equalled today)
    • The 8 goals in the game equalled the LNER record goals in a game set earlier in the month against Hartlepool
    • It is understand that the away "attendance" of 56 included about 30 no shows, the officially published numbers are ticket sales and not turnstile clicks, typically this season, there are about 20% "no shows", down from 25% last season
    • Once again, Ollie Pearce featured in both teams of the day, alongside Alex Hunt in the Non-League Paper and alongside Adam Crookes in the Vanarama selection
    • Post Match, Hinsh noted the intensity and impact of his midfield trio. He added, "they (Matt Uggla and Tony McMahon) were out there (Dubai) speaking to people trying to develop the club"
    • YCFC match report
  24. 241207 Darlington (FAT3) (H) W 3-1: The conditions, strong winds and heavy rain, probably won the day
    • City entered this season's competition. Today's winners received £4,500 (losers £1,250) from the competition's prize fund
    • City fielded a stronger than expected side whilst Darlington, managed by Steve Watson, started 5 ex-City players, Pete Jameson, Scott Barrow, Kallum Griffiths, Cedric Main and Will Hatfield and with another, Tom Platt, on the bench
    • Left centre back Adam Crookes went off injured after about 12 minutes and with no recognised centre back on the bench, Ricky Aguiar dropped back into the position. 3 minutes later, a misplaced Male / Howe / Aguiar movement saw Darlington took the lead. Despite his involvement in that, a fine long range goal helped Aguiar to win City's Player Of The Match award and was named in the Vanarama Team Of The Week
    • For a 3rd successive home game, City kicked towards the South Stand in the first half, this time by choice after being "turned around" by the opposition in each of the previous 2 games
    • So far this season, Darlington's following of 751 has only been bettered once at the LNER
    • YCFC match report
  25. 241214 Tamworth (A) D 1-1: On top (and leading) for most of the game,Tamworth's "secret weapon", a long throw saw them equalise on 90 minutes
    • In his pre match interview, Hinsh noted that the night before (Tuesday), Gary Elphick had been to watch Doncaster v Port Vale (EFL Trophy) and Cameron Morrison had also been to watch a game (he didn't say which, but also referenced Gainsborough's NPL win at Mickleover). Hinsh himself had spent Tuesday evening watching and flicking between domestic (Leeds got a mention) and European games and would do the same on Wednesday
    • Having played most of last week's game as an emergency centre back, Ricky Aguiar again dropped back to play at left back
    • The late introduction of Ryan Fallowfield saw City change to a back 3 with Felix and Sinclair as wing backs
    • A solid and dominant performance, but with few clear cut chances, most came after Tamworth equalised
    • Barnet's win saw them regain top spot from City
    • To badly paraphrase Iain Dunn, teams who want to be competitive in the league, come to places like Tamworth and get a draw, teams who want to win the title get 3 points
    • A spot for Joe Felix in the Vanarama Team of the Week
    • City's away following of 620 was the biggest on the day in the National League and bigger than the next 4 away followings put together. It was bigger than one (Millwall) Championship away following, 5 in Division 1 and 9 in Division 2. Read More
    • On Twitter, @ShrimperStats noted "York City were the latest side to be the victim of a Tom Tonks long-throw as they drew 1-1 at Tamworth on Saturday. Despite the result, manager Adam Hinshelwood’s tactics were good and on another day they would have won the match. York built play in a 3-2-5 shape, and Hinshelwood yet again showed his tactical flexibility. Aguiar, a midfielder, was used at LB and tucked into the back-three. Felix, the RB, then pushed high & wide into the last line; with Nathaniel-George inverting into the half-space. Aguiar being used at LB had two main benefits. It allowed Aguiar and one of the midfielders to rotate positions, which was difficult for Tamworth to track, and it meant Aguiar could use his passing range, right-footedness, and subsequent body positioning to switch the play. Tamworth didn’t apply pressure to York’s goal-kicks and let them ‘play out’, instead. Then, in open-play, they gave York overloads in the build-up. Although the midfielders man-marked York’s double-pivot, Williams, the left-winger, didn’t help to apply pressure to the back-three because he was occupied by what was going on behind him. With Felix pushed high and wide, Tamworth could have been overloaded 5v4 in the last line. Williams was left with an important role. He had to pick up Nathaniel-George when he dropped into the midfield, rather than Tamworth pushing a CB forward; and he had to work hard to track back into the last line to help form a back-five to prevent his side being overloaded. However, this meant that York had constant overloads in the build-up and could dominate the possession, with over 67% of the share. In fact, York’s goal came from a move down Tamworth’s left-side. Howe switched the play to Felix, who was in space. He combined with Nathaniel-George, and Williams didn’t track Felix’s forward run. He was able to receive a pass, unopposed, and crossed for Pearce – who scored. It was a very obvious tactic from Hinshelwood to pack the build-up with players who could switch the play in order to stretch Tamworth's defensive line. They managed to score as a direct result of this, and exploited Tamworth's left-side - by both scoring and exerting control. However, for all of their possession, York only scored once and accumulated 1.33 xG. They didn't make more of their opportunities, and it meant Tamworth were still in the match right up until the end. All it took was one chance for Tamworth to get a result, and that came in the 90th minute through their famous long-throw. In truth, Tamworth created other chances towards the end, too. This wouldn't have mattered if York had made more of their control, though"
    • YCFC match report
  26. 241221 Southend (H) W 3-0: A comfortable win against limited opposition once City found their scoring boots in the second half
    • The won took City back to the top of the table. City lead from Barnet on goal difference with Forest Green Rovers 2 points behind (but with a game in hand)
    • Tyrese Sinclair had 2 good chances in the first 15 minutes as City struggled to turn their dominance into a lead. Unlike some games, his head didn't drop after he missed the chances
    • Having scored at Roots Hall with a corner played directly into the box, all 3 City goals were from successive Dan Batty right wing corners in a 12 minute golden spell just as the game entered its final quarter. Before then, despite being 0-0, there was no panic from Hinsh or the players
    • A stronger (and fitter) bench than recent games (last week, sub Ajiboye hadn't trained all week before Tamworth due to illness) saw Akinyemi and Ajiboye both score within 4 minutes of their introduction
    • On the eve of the game, Ollie Pearce was named in Vanarama's Team Of The Half Season, 11 clubs each supplied one representative
    • Callum Howe was nominated for both the Vanarama and Non League Paper's Teams Of The Day
    • YCFC match report
  27. 241226 Oldham (A) WDL 0-0: x
    • On November 19, rumours of a 5:30 kick off began to surface, they were confirmed a day later with the game selected for DAZN "enhanced coverage"
    • Training on Christmas Eve morning, again on Christmas Day and then meet up on Boxing Day
    • x xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
    • TP DO YCFC match report
  28. 250101 Gateshead (H) WDL 0-0: x
  29. 250104 Gainsborough Trinity (FAT4) (A) WDL 0-0: x
  30. 250111 Maidenhead (A) WDL 0-0: x
  31. 250115 Rochdale (A) WDL 0-0: x
  32. 250118 Sutton (H) WDL 0-0: x
  33. 250125 Boston (A) WDL 0-0: x
  34. 250201 Dagenham & Redbridge (H) WDL 0-0: x
  35. 250208 Woking (H) WDL 0-0: x
  36. 250215 Ebbsfleet (A) WDL 0-0: x
  37. 250218 Barnet (A) WDL 0-0: x
  38. 250222 FC Halifax (H) WDL 0-0: x
  39. 250301 Hartlepool (A) WDL 0-0: x

2024/5 Lineups (last updated 09/Dec/2024).

Watch all season's highlights.

Awards and cards

  • x

2024/5 - The Players (Mid Season Report (To Complete At End Season))

  1. Ricky Aguiar One of several similar midfield players, showed some good touches, but not enough of them
  2. Dipo Akinyemi Hinsh isn’t the first manager to prefer him in a wide role where his pace and power can mask any first touch deficiencies, probably needs a run of games and through balls to run onto to show his best
  3. Levi Andoh Returning from injury with 2 loan spells at NLN / NLS clubs
  4. Marvin Armstrong Excellent for turning over possession and with high energy levels, he is the ideal box to box midfield player, has recently struggled with a serious of niggling little injuries
  5. Dan Batty Steady in the defensive midfield role, got found out in August against Boston but other teams haven't been able to exploit City in the same way
  6. Adam Crookes Once again he has struggled with injuries when he has played, he has not let the side down, although nowadays probably best suited to a back 3 rather than a Hinsh style left back
  7. Mo Fadera Might be considered to be a "project" player
  8. Ryan Fallowfield Steady at both centre back and right back, maybe now Hinsh is looking for more in both positions
  9. Joe Felix Excellent signing, more impactful at right back (than left back) and has performed well in brief defensive midfield roles
  10. Alex Hernandez Same age as Gibson-Booth and Marshall, but again his season has been badly injury blighted, made a brief debut as a substitute at Biggleswade
  11. Callum Howe Excellent defender and leader
  12. Alex Hunt A couple of excellent free kicks has seen his stock rise and would be first pick in midfield for many supporters
  13. Cameron John Steady at left back before a hamstring injury at FGR which will keep him out until early 2025
  14. Lenell John-Lewis Top scorer before being stricken down with a hamstring injury in October
  15. Jeff King First signing after Hinsh noted Wycombe's physicality in the FA Cup tie, Hinsh felt he added “a bit of know how, nous“ and had been promoted from the National League (with Chesterfield) last season, potential for a number of positions, which might also allow other players to move position
  16. Harrison Male For all the concern over Harrison Male’s lack of height, there is no doubt that he is a commanding presence in the box and his good footwork and excellent distribution makes him an ideal candidate for a Hinsh team, the low number of goals that he has conceded isn't too shabby and in November, Hinsh noted ”how we like to play suits Harrison at the moment”
  17. Paddy McLaughlin A good influence
  18. Ashley Nathaniel-George Again shows pace and a eye for goal, needs more end product from the wing, perform well in a central role, comments that apply to most of City's wide men
  19. Darragh O'Connor Steady at centre back before his injury in early September, due back after Christmas
  20. Ollie Pearce Has found his scoring boots after a slightly slow start in terms of goals, below par a couple of time when deployed more in an advanced midfield role
  21. Tyrese Sinclair Again shows pace and a eye for goal, needs more end product, a tight hamstring has seen his game time managed
  22. George Sykes-Kenworthy Long term injury, not expected back until after Christmas
  23. Rory Watson Changes the way City play and causes some City supporters heart in mouth moments when he has the ball at his feet
  24. Zanda Siziba Was away on loan, returned injured
  25. David Ajiboye Explosive winger but all round game isn't what might be expected from an experienced Division 1 loanee
  26. Malachi Fagan-Walcott Excellent loanee, has made us look solid and assured at the back, would love to see him join permanently
  27. Luca Thomas Showed some nice glimpses suggesting he could be an assured striker, however, whenever he started, he struggled to make an impact
  28. Billy Chadwick One of many similar midfield players, a loan spell at Boston suggests he might be down the pecking order
  29. Leone Gravata Might be considered to be a "project" player, but has turned in some good performances at Chippenham (NLS)
  30. Leon Gibson-Booth First year pro, 2 excellent development loan spells at Ossett United (Step 8) and Morpeth Town (Step 7)
  31. Bill Marshall First year pro, 2 excellent development loan spells at Ossett United (Step 8) and Morpeth Town (Step 7)
  32. Thierry Latty-Fairweather Away on loan
  33. Tyler Cordner Away on loan
  34. Olly Dyson Away on loan
  35. Maziar Kouhyar Away on loan
  36. Callum Harriott Again suffered from various injuries, but when he played he was looking to be potentially the most potent of City's wide men, just getting established when family circumstances saw his contract mutually terminated in late November
  37. Sam Taylor 3rd / 4th choice keeper, quietly released in September

Away On Loan (wip)

  • Tyler Cordner Ebbsfleet (National League (Step 5) (Season Loan)). x.
  • Maz Kouhyar Kidderminster Harriers (National League North (Step 6) (Season Loan)). x.
  • Olly Dyson Spennymoor Town (National League North (Step 6) (29/07/24 - 01/01/25)). x.
  • Zanda Siziba Spennymoor Town (National League North (Step 6) (15/08/24 - One month)). Returned with a very perfunctory acknowledgement from Spennymoor. Read More.
  • Levi Andoh Darlington (National League North (Step 6) (19/08/24 - One month)) and Truro (National League South (Step 6) (15/11/24 - 02/01/25)). x.
  • Thierry Latty-Fairweather Maidenhead (National League (Step 5) (20/08/24 - One month and 07/10/2024 - January)). Played all 7 game during his first spell, returned to City injured but signed a new 3 month loan deal on recovery with City allowing him to be named on the Maidenhead bench when they entered the FA Cup.
  • Leon Gibson-Booth Ossett United (NPL One East (Step 8) (31/08/24 - One month)) and Morpeth Town (NPL PL (Step 7) (12/10/24 - One month, 15/11/2024 - 07/12/2024)). Both he and Bill Marshall went straight into the first team, but neither played next game (7/Sept, FA Trophy, possibly at City's request) but were league regulars. Both returned after one month with Hinsh indicating a desire to arrange new loan deals higher up the pyramid. Both joined Morpeth Town (NPL Premier (T7)) on one month youth loan deals on October 12. Both got plenty of game time, including playing in back to back away wins against higher placed league opposition, the second a 2-0 win at Worksop Town thanks to a Bill Marshall back post header and Leon Gibson-Booth shot from the edge of the area. At the end of their loan, on social media, one Morpeth Town supporter posted "they've been brilliant".
  • Billy Chadwick Boston (National League (Step 5) (08/11/24 - 04/12/2024)). He immediately hit the ground running when he setup Jai Rowe for an equalising goal against Dagenham & Redbridge on his Boston debut. In total, he made 2 starts, prior to the manager's sacking and then 2 substitute appearances across Vanarama National League and NL Cup action.
  • Bill Marshall Ossett United (NPL One East (Step 8) (31/08/24 - One month)) and Morpeth Town (NPL PL (Step 7) (12/10/24 - One month, 15/11/2024 - 07/12/2024)). See Leon Gibson-Booth
  • Leone Gravata Chippenham Town (NLS (Step 6) (22/09/24 - 01/01/25)). x. A month into his Chippenham loan, the NL Full Time Podcast described him as "possibly the signing of the season"
  • Benji Tate Bishop Auckland (NPL D1E (Step 8) (14/10/24 - 30/11/24). Joined on dual registration, regularly named as substitute with only very limited game time
  • Mo Fadera Farsley Celtic (NLN (Step 6) (24/12/24 - 1 month). x

    YCFC Loan Watch:

    MAZ KOUHYAR is continuing to light up the Vanarama National League North in his loan spell away from York City. The winger, representing Kidderminster Harriers, registered another goal and assist in a 4-0 victory over Oxford City on Bank Holiday Monday. It now takes his tally for Kidderminster up to three goals and two assists in his five matches for the Harriers, averaging a goal contribution a game. Levi Andoh, playing for Darlington in a one-month loan deal, fulfilled a first 90 minutes in over a year in his recovery from a fractured spine injury. The defender started under Steve Watson for the second time, alongside former City representatives Scott Barrow and Cedric Main, in a 0-0 draw with Curzon Ashton. Thierry Latty-Fairweather started a second straight match for Maidenhead United, featuring twice over the weekend, and played a key role in the Magpies’ impressive 3-1 victory over Barnet. Tyler Cordner continued his season-long loan spell with Ebbsfleet United, who remain the only side in the National League without a victory. The Fleet did claim an important point and clean sheet, their first of the season with Cordner, in a goalless draw with Braintree Town, as well as a damaging 3-0 loss to Woking on Saturday. Both Olly Dyson and Zanda Siziba started on Bank Holiday Monday for Spennymoor Town, who battled to a 2-2 draw with Brackley Town. Siziba featured for 79 minutes before being substituted, with both also gaining minutes in Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Rushall Olympic. Read YP (28/08/24) account.

Retained List (wip)

Tyler Cordner Season long loan at Ebbsfleet (NL). On his return at the end of the 2024/5 season, he will still be contracted to City for another full season

Maz Kouhyar Joined Kidderminster Harriers (NLN, Step 6) in July 2024/5. On his return at the end of the 2024/5 season, he will contracted to City for a few more weeks until June 2025

Agents' Fees (TO DO)

February (and the closure of the transfer window) has traditionally seen clubs' spending on agents' fees over the past 12 months published. In 2024, they were published in April. See The FA website for full details, including total spend by every club and players involved (although not fees by individual player).

Published later than usual, the FA's annual report on agents' fees showed that City spent £128,902 (£27,937 a year earlier), the most of any non league club. In total, non league clubs (33) spent £751,701 on agent’s fees.

City’s spend was by far the biggest in non league, it was only exceeded by 6 Division 2 sides and it was bigger than 8 Division 1 sides.

The report covers the 12 months to the end of the January 2024 transfer window.

City’s fees covered 20 players, including 2 from the 2022/3 season (Ellis and Rowe) and 2 contract renewals / extensions (Dyson and Sanders).

In full, the players were Ellis, Rowe, Main, Joshua, TLF, Siziba, Castro, Andoh, Cordner, Howe, Akinyemi, Dyson, Harriott, Woodyard, Sanders, Kennedy, Batty, GSK, Davies and Chadwick. Of the 20 transactions:

  • Eyeconic Sport Management were involved in 4 registrations (Joshua, Latty - Fairweather, Siziba, and Castro)
  • Lee Philpott in 3 (Rowe, Howe and Chadwick)
  • Jack Wilson in 2 (Cordner and Harriott)
  • Mark Obern in 2 (Batty and Kennedy)
  • 9 other agents were each involved in one registration.

About City’s only signings that didn’t attract any agent fees were Stockdale, Watson, Barnes and Ardley’s plethora of loan signings.

UNUSED

x

YCFC Academy (WIP)

Once again, for the 2024/5 season, City competed in the National League Football Alliance North Division (Under 19) alongside other National League and National League North teams (AFC Fylde, Altrincham, Blyth Spartans, Boston United, Chester, FC Halifax Town, Farsley Celtic, Gateshead, Guiseley, Oldham, Solihull Moors and South Shields). Oldham (after 2 seasons in NL football) replaced promoted Chesterfield.

13 sides competed in the southern equivalent (Aldershot Town, Boreham Wood, Dartford, Dorking, Dover, Eastleigh, Maidenhead, Maidstone, Oxford City, Slough, Southend, Welling and Woking). Slough were newcomers whilst Bromley and Hampton & Richmond Borough dropped out.

City's National League status means that the Under 18 side are exempt from 2 rounds (Preliminary and 1st Qualifying) of the FA Youth Cup. They'll join the competition in early October.

City's 2024/5 academy players' profiles.

In terms of performance, overall 2023/4 was possibly less successful when compared to the previous season's successes. In both the FA Youth Cup and National League Youth Alliance Cup, City failed by one game to go as far as last season. The team exited the FA Youth Cup in the final qualifying round (at South Shields) and once again, City reached the Alliance League Cup Final, but couldn't retain the trophy, losing to a late Maidstone winner. In the league, City's 4th place finish was 2 places below last season’s runners up spot. City’s side was generally strong defensively but struggled to score freely. However, the perennial problem remains, bar a few games for Ryan Whitley, none of the former academy players saw any first team action. That said, Bill Marshall and Leon Gibson-Booth both won first professional contracts.

Beyond the Under 19 / 18 side, City run a whole series of age group teams.

Home league fixtures were played at City's Wiggington Road training ground (YO32 2RB), usually on a Wednesday afternoon with an early kick off (usually 1pm)) to finish in daylight. Home FA Youth Cup and National League Alliance Cup games are due to be played at the LNER Community Stadium (or another designated home ground). In practice, the home FA Youth Cup tie was played at Selby and home Alliance Cup games at the training ground.

Further Reading: National League Under-19 Alliance website.

Watch all the season's highlights.

2024/5 National League Youth Alliance

Date

Opponents

Competition

Venue

Result

Scorers (and notes)

Wed 28/08/24

FC HALIFAX TOWN

NLFAU19N

H (Training Ground)

W 4-1

Day, Douglas, Farrar, Marshall

Wed 11/09/24

AFC FYLDE

NLFAU19N

H (Training Ground)

L 1-2

Grumley

Wed 18/09/24

Solihull Moors

NLFAU19N

A (Studley Sports Centre)

D 1-1

Grumley (p)

Wed 25/09/24

FARSLEY CELTIC

NLFAU19N

H (Training Ground)

D 3-3

Farrar 2, Roberts

Wed 02/10/24

Guiseley

FAYC Q2

A (Nethermoor Park)

L 1-2

Day

Wed 09/10/24

BOSTON UNITED

NLFAU19N

H (Training Ground)

D 2-2

Mortimer, Crooks

Wed 30/10/24

FC Halifax Town

NLFAU19N

A (Wyke Community Sports Village)

W 3-1

Farrar 2, Newall

Wed 06/11/24

SOUTH SHIELDS

NLFAU19N

H (Training Ground)

L 3-4

Hope, Farrar, Day

Wed 13/11/24

GATESHEAD

NLFAU19N

H (Training Ground)

W 3-2

Roberts 2, Farrar

Wed 04/12/24

Oldham Athletic

NLFAU19N

A (Boundary Park Academy Pitch)

W 7-4

Farrar 4, Day, Mortimer, Hope

Wed 11/12/24

GATESHEAD

NLFALNC1

H (Training Ground)

W 7-0

Day 3, Gibson-Booth 2, Farrar, Wilson

Wed 18/12/24

Altrincham

NLFAU19N

A (Egerton YC, Mereheath Lane, Knutsford, WA16 6SL)

W 3-2

Marshall, Day, Hope

Wed 08/01/25

Guiseley

NLFAU19N

A (Nethermoor)

WDL n-n

-

Fri 17/01/25

CHESTER

NLFAU19N

H (Training Ground)

WDL n-n

Originally scheduled for 16/10/24. Postponed (possibly waterlogged or moved by agreement)

Wed 22/01/25

Guiseley

NLFALNC2

A (Nethermoor)

WDL n-n

-

Wed 22/01/25

Chester

NLFAU19N

A (Ground TBC)

WDL n-n

Postponed (Alliance Youth Cup R2)

Wed 29/01/25

South Shields

NLFAU19N

A (Ground TBC)

WDL n-n

-

Wed 31/01/25

GUISELEY

NLFAU19N

H (Training Ground)

WDL n-n

New date TBC. Not played (04/09/2024), re-arranged for 30/10 and postponed (in favour of FC Halifax (a))

Wed 05/02/25

Gateshead

NLFAU19N

A (Ground TBC)

WDL n-n

-

Wed 12/02/25

BLYTH SPARTANS

NLFAU19N

H (Training Ground)

WDL n-n

-

Wed 12/03/25

OLDHAM ATHLETIC

NLFAU19N

H (Training Ground)

WDL n-n

-

Wed 19/03/25

AFC Fylde

NLFAU19N

A (Ground TBC)

WDL n-n

-

Wed 26/03/25

Hartlepool United

NLFAU19N

A (Ground TBC)

WDL n-n

-

Wed 02/04/25

Farsley Celtic

NLFAU19N

A (Ground TBC)

WDL n-n

-

Wed 09/04/25

ALTRINCHAM

NLFAU19N

H (Training Ground)

WDL n-n

-

Wed 23/04/25

Blyth Spartans

NLFAU19N

A (Ground TBC)

WDL n-n

The game was originally scheduled for November 20

Wed 30/04/25

Boston United

NLFAU19N

A (Ground TBC)

WDL n-n

-

  1. FC HALIFAX (H) (28/Aug/24) (National League Youth Alliance League (North)) W 4-1
    Goals from debutants Day and Douglas gave City a 2-0 half time lead and second half goals from Farrar and Marshall saw City victorious.
    Goals from Donny Day and Harry Douglas, plus Bill Marshall and Ben Farrar, equally either side of the break, secured an excellent matchday one victory for the Young Minstermen. Tim Ryan handed Harry Douglas, Donny Day, and Oz Shaw their first league starts for the U19s, with familiar faces making up the remainder of the starting eleven. The visitors almost made a fast start with a counter attack down the right hand side, inside two minutes, but the number three could only force a corner with his deflected shot from just outside the area. City soon had their first chance after Ben Tate slid a dangerous ball into the path of Ben Farrar, who could not find a connection to prevent the Town defender from clearing off the line. York continued to look for an early breakthrough, but Tate's tame cross was easily held by the Town stopper. Shortly after the 15 minute mark, Halifax were gifted with the best chance of the match so far, the keeper picked out a forward man with an excellent long ball to put the number ten through on goal, who took one touch then failed to find the target with a prod wide of Harry Carr’s left stick. From the succeeding goal kick, the Minstermen played a carbon copy of the previous move, with Carr finding Alex Glynn in behind the opposition defence, however, Glynn was only able to poke the ball straight into the chest of the oncoming goalkeeper who cleared. Harry Douglas was close to notching his first goal for the U19s after receiving a simple pass inside the penalty box from Donny Day, the debutant set himself then drove one from close range which was superbly denied by a strong hand from Town’s number one. The first goal came twenty minutes in, captain Bill Marshall played a perfectly timed ball through to Day in the area, who coolly put the Minstermen ahead with a first time right footed finish past the keeper. It was no more than eight minutes before the lead was doubled from a well-worked corner. Marshall claimed another assist, playing a smart downward header to Douglas on the edge of the box who took the chance first time, sweetly striking the ball into the top right corner. Halifax looked to battle back into the game, but the best they could do before the break was a shot off the post which would not have counted anyway due to offside in the buildup, and a curling shot from distance which was an easy take for Carr. It was probably City who came closest to grabbing a third in the final minutes of the first half, Marshall and Day both saw their efforts fly wide.
    A third did come for the Young Minstermen, five minutes after returning from the interval. Marshall's was yet again targeted from Leon Gibson-Booth's corner, and it was a simple glance into the back of the net that put Ryan's side virtually out of sight. By 57 minutes, it was 4-0, Ben Farrar was on the scoresheet this time, latching onto a Douglas through ball, and tucking between the keeper's legs to complete the scoring for York. It was essentially game over, but Halifax weren't giving up, a good attacking move saw a blue man receive the ball 10 yards out with his back to goal, and his eventual scuffed effort on the turn was a simple claim for the shot stopper. The next opportunity was a more testing one, winning the ball back, Town's captain unleashed a goalbound rocket from distance, which was well parried behind for a corner. In the 69th minute, a clean sheet for Carr was written off. The Shaymen's number eight whipped a free kick around the wall and through the legs of the goalkeeper. That final goal would turn out to be just a consolation, with neither team able to add to their tally for the day, resulting in opening day delight for the Minstermen.
    CITY: Carr, Tate, Grumley, Gibson-Booth (59’ Shirley), Crooks, Marshall ( c ) (59’ Newall), Douglas, Glynn (70’ Mortimer), Shaw (70’ Nganga), Day, Farrar (62’ Hope). Subs (Unused): -.
  2. AFC FYLDE (H) (11/Sep/24) (National League Youth Alliance League (North)) L 1-2
  3. SOLIHULL MOORS (A) (18/Sep/24) (National League Youth Alliance League (North)) D 1-1
    A goal from George Grumley gave the U19 side a point on the road against a side that had won two of their first three games.
    A good run from Ben Farrar into the box resulted in a penalty being awarded to York after 35 minutes – captain George Grumley stepped up and dispatched from the spot, marking a second goal in as many games for the centre-back. It wasn't long before the hosts levelled the scoring though, sending the teams into the break equal.
    The second half was crammed with opportunities for both sides, but neither managed to edge ahead. City struck the woodwork on multiple occasions, however that was the closest they came to scoring in the 45, with the game finishing all square, despite a lively half.
    Head of Youth Dan Wilson offered his thoughts on the draw: “It was a really interesting game. From minute one, it was clear that Solihull had worked really hard out of possession, and when we spoke to their manager, that was the case – they tried to combat how we play, which we take as a compliment now. Teams are having to actively think about how to play against York City, which is great. We had a lot of chances, and I think, similar to the game against Fylde the week before where we lost, if we take some of those chances, we are out of sight before the game even gets competitive and before they start scoring. I think it was probably a fair result. In the first half, we probably edged it and were probably unlucky to get pegged back just before half time. The second half turned into a bit of a basketball game – we’ve hit the woodwork three times and missed a couple of really good chances. We have also probably got Harry Carr in goal to thank for not losing the game at the same time, he made four or five excellent saves. The reality for us is that we are focusing on processes and styles of play, not results. I think if we were trying to focus on styles of play at U19 level, the style of play would change massively. We are not, we are trying to get players in the first team, and we have got to play a certain way and match what the first team are doing.”
    CITY: Carr, Tweed (75 Baker), Shirley, Grumley ( C ), Crooks, Tate (56 Roberts), Shaw (60 Mortimer), Day, Douglas (84 Newall), Glynn, Farrar (68 Hope). Subs (Unused): -.
  4. FARSLEY CELTIC (H) (25/Sep/24) (National League Youth Alliance League (North)) D 3-3
    A Ben Farrar first half brace gave City a 2-1 half time lead, but despite a Jake Roberts goal after the break, City were held to a 3-3 draw.
    The Under 19 side continued their start to the 2024/25 season with a second successive draw, against league leaders Farsley Celtic.
    City started the game in the best possible way, taking the lead after 135 seconds through Ben Farrar when an excellent first time cross from MacKenzie Crooks on the left was picked out Ben Tate at the back post, he nodded it back across goal to set up Farrar with a header he couldn't possibly miss. Just a minute later, the City forward burst forward down the right hand side and came close to doubling his tallying, but a tame close range effort wasn't enough to trouble the keeper. The entertaining start to this game continued, with an immediate chance down the other end resulting in the leveller. In similar fashion to City's goal, a looping ball into the box found Farsley's towering number nine, who leapt high enough to divert the ball over Harry Carr and into the back of the net. Chances kept on coming for both sides, Crooks sailing a free kick over the bar for the hosts, while Carr dealt with two simple saves between the City sticks. On the half hour, City edged back in front when Farrar was again the player on the scoresheet, latching onto a perfect lobbed through ball from Alex Glynn, and firing home at the second attempt, having had his initial shot stopped by the Farsley 'keeper.
    The Celts looked to get back on terms pretty quickly in the second half, but a sliced effort from the left-back on the edge of the box drifted wide of the woodwork. Another attempt to square the contest failed with Carr taking a low shot quite easily, while Farsley's distinct penalty shouts for a foul in the build up were waved away by the referee. However, in the 53rd minute, the visitors got their goal, which had been coming for some time. Carr’s short pass to Tate was intercepted by a man in green, who knocked the ball forward to the number seven, and from there, it was just a simple case of dummying a couple of defenders before coolly dispatching. It was City's turn to threaten again shortly after that, Oz Shaw's fierce drive at goal was blocked by a defender before Adam Tweed just couldn't get enough force behind his follow up, which rolled straight to the keeper. The visitors took the lead for the first time in the game just before the hour mark. A corner into the box bounced off a couple of players on its way into the goal, City unable to clear the ball in time. The next moment of action came around a minute later, Farsley's number four put in a dangerous tackle on Farrar, and there was no alternative other than an early shower for the defender. Now with the extra man on the field, more chances began to fall to City. Skipper George Grumley couldn't get his free kick on target, and then a header from Donny Day also failed to test the stopper. York were awarded with a 2 man advantage heading into the final five minutes, as the Celts saw another player leave the field after a second yellow card. Eventually, substitute Jake Roberts spared City their blushes with a 90th minute strike to make it 3-3. An excellent ball in towards the back post from Day found Roberts unmarked, who sent a lovely volley home to level the proceedings in injury time. Either side could have gone on to win it in the end, with a header frustrating clipping the Farsley bar, prior to a good attacking move from the visitors which saw their attacker go clean through, but hit the side netting with the final kick.
    CITY: Carr, Tate, Crooks, Shaw, Shirley (70' Baker), Grumley ( c ), Mortimer (60' Roberts), Douglas (65' Wilson), Farrar, Tweed, Glynn. Subs (Unused): Newall, Wilson.
  5. GUISELEY (A) (02/Oct/24) (FA Youth Cup, 2nd Qualifying Round) L 1-2
    City's Under 18 academy side lost 2-1 against Guiseley FC at Nethermoor Park in the FA Youth Cup Second Qualifying Round. A first half double for the hosts was held out in the end despite a response from York, seeing the young Minstermen fall to a Second Qualifying Round exit (where they entered).
    Guiseley ran the show in the opening exchanges of the game. George Sebine steered a second minute header down the throat of Harry Carr's goal before hammering over a bobbled shot three minutes later. Jack Lorriman broke the deadlock after seven minutes, latching onto a header from a crossed set piece. Carr denied Sebine moments later in a one on one scenario. York did work a half chance at goal eventually in the 13th minute, Roan Shirley stuck a leg on a deep free kick which was easily saved by Harry Churnin-Ritchie. Sebine was again denied by Carr inside the opening exchanges, parrying a save to Zac Rushworth who couldn't follow up inside the area either. A bulleted free kick from just inside York's half was rocketed in by Rushworth, brushing the crossbar in the 18th minute to double Guiseley’s advantage. Crossbar strikes were in abundance minutes later, firstly from Sabine one-on-one at close range before Rushworth did similar on the follow up. Lucas Alexander then guided a header onto Carr's crossbar in the 26th minute as the young Minstermen lived on the edge. Donny Day struck one back before half time, sliding in Ben Farrar's well hit cross.
    Guiseley got off a further two chances immediately in the second half. Rushworth dragged wide of goal from distance before a quick turn from Sebine saw the forward strike at goal, with the parried ball sent over by Rushworth. Carr prevented Sebine again from getting his name on the scoresheet, getting down low and to his right to prevent on the one on one. Alexander's 60th minute strike called Carr into another routine save. An equaliser was nearly spilled into the net by Churnin-Ritchie when Farrar's left footed strike found its way onto the post and out for a corner. Further chances for both sides continued to be created as the half went on, with both Roan Shirley and Rushworth going close for their respective sides. Shirley was on hand to charge back and superbly intercept Sebine, who was about to shoot one on one at Carr's left hand near post. Substitute Adam Nganga fizzed a curling shot centrally, forcing Churning-Ritchie into a save late on. York’s biggest chance arguably arrived in the 89th minute after Farrar's strong work from the left flank saw the ball flash across the area, yet not tapped in from close range.
    Speaking after the game, Dan Wilson noted it was as poor a first half as he had seen from a City youth side and that they didn't stick to the game plan, giving away too many free kicks in dangerous positions (2 of which resulted in goals). He noted the fine form of keeper Harry Carr, the only player he name checked.
    GUISELEY FC: Churnin-Ritchie, Ford, Murray, Spence, Westfall (C), Taylor, Lorriman, Dickinson, Sebine (88' Stokoe), Rushworth (83' Donaldson), Alexander. Subs (Unused): Berriman, Jacques, Aylward, Dyer.
    CITY: Carr, Tate, Crooks, Glynn, Shirley, Grumley, Day, Douglas (82' Nganga), Farrar, Wilson (67' Baker), Roberts (52' Hope). Subs (Unused): Mortimer, Newall, Shaw, Tweed.
    ATTENDANCE: 272
  6. BOSTON (H) (09/Oct/24) (National League Youth Alliance League (North)) D 2-2
    The game ended 2-2, goals from Noah Mortimer and Mackenzie Crooks saw City come from 2 down to turn around 2-2 at the break in a game between 2 mid table sides.
    Coming off the back of last week's disappointing FA Youth Cup exit, City made 6 changes against unbeaten (W1, D3, L0) Boston United.
    Just like a week earlier, City fell behind early, this time within 3 minutes, as a block by Alex Glynn fell only as far as Zac Hardy on the edge of the box, who curled an exquisite low shot into the bottom corner with his first touch. 2 minutes later, Boston doubled their advantage, winning the ball back within their own half, and bursting forward. An accurate lob was played through to Hardy, who coolly chipped the oncoming Harry Carr, creating an unwanted situation for the Minstermen very early doors.
    City looked to get back in the game and succeeded in doing so, through Noah Mortimer, just ten minutes after the Pilgrims had grabbed their second. A clever bit of play saw Glynn reverse it to MacKenzie Crooks, who fired across from the left for Mortimer to slide in at the back post. Crooks not only bagged an assist, but went on to score a goal of his own to continue the entertainment at Wiggington Road. A poor kick from the Boston keeper allowed the him to intercept just inside the opposition half, and within a matter of seconds, a couple of passes allowed Crooks to regain the ball inside the box, and dispatch low and hard past Austin Barker from an angle. City could even have gone on to complete the most unlikely turnaround after just 23 minutes played, Crooks lifting one into the danger zone, only to see Hope go inches away from getting that all important finishing touch. City's number three notched another effort on goal with a free kick from a decent position, but it was struck straight into the arms of Barker. The game continued to transform into the MacKenzie Crooks show, the 17 year old did not shy away from shooting, releasing a rocket from range which narrowly evaded the crossbar. Crooks was on the ball again before the break, as he whipped a troubling ball into the penalty area, finding Donny Day, whose initial blocked effort sparked handball shouts which were quickly waved away. Day's second bite at the cherry came a little closer, placing one the wrong side of the post, but only by a small margin. The final action of a frantic first half involved substitute Roberts, who claimed to have been hacked down by the Boston defender within the area, however, referee Craig Atkin denied the penalty appeals once again.
    City came close again early on in the second half, Crooks' free kick managed to find Greg Baker at point-blank range, but his flick towards goal was excellently turned wide by Barker. Crooks fired low and off target again from inside the 'D', as City looked by far the most likely team to edge ahead in this contest. In the 84th minute, Day had his goalbound effort deflected away, which was ultimately the last real chance of the match, with all the goals occurring in the first 21 minutes.
    CITY: Carr, Tweed, Shaw (78 Wilson), Baker, Dijikingue, Crooks, Mortimer (65 Nganga), Glynn, Day, Hope (60 Douglas), Farrar (40 Roberts). Subs (Unused): Newall.
    OPPONENTS: Barker, Hipkin (85 Bridges), Houlston, Tomlinson, Brooks, Snikeris, Fogg (60 Bray-Smith), Thompson, Pettitt, Hardy (70 Makings), Smaller (46 Greenfield). Subs (Unused): Marsh.
    Goals: Mortimer (15), Crooks (21). Opponents: Hardy (3, 5).
  7. FC HALIFAX (A) (30/Oct/24) (National League Youth Alliance League (North)) W 3-1
    A brace for Ben Farrar and a first City goal from Lincoln Newall wrapped up a 3-1 away win for the Under 19s in a game that had originally been scheduled for January 19.
    CITY: Carr; Tate, Crooks, Grumley, Shirley, Baker, Mortimer, Newall, Hope, Glynn, Nganga. Subs (Usage Unknown): Roberts, Farrar, Wilson, Shaw, Kettlewell.
  8. SOUTH SHIELDS (H) (06/Nov/24) (National League Youth Alliance League (North)) L 3-4
    With near identical league records, City went into the game in 3rd place, narrowly ahead of South Shields on goal difference in the table.
    A young City side went down to a 3-4 defeat despite goals from Harvey Hope, Ben Farrar and Donny Day.
    CITY: Carr; Dijikingue, Roberts, Newall, Shirley, Baker, Mortimer, Shaw, Farrar, Wilson, Hope. Subs (Usage Unknown): Nganga, Day, Kettlewell, Tweed, Warne (G).
  9. SOUTH SHIELDS (H) (13/Nov/24) (National League Youth Alliance League (North)) W 3-2
    2 Jake Roberts' goals saw City level at half time and a Ben Farrar second half goal clinched all 3 points for City.
    CITY: Carr, Tweed, Crooks, Glynn, Baker, Grumley, Mortimer, Newall, Farrar, Day, Roberts. Subs (Usage Unknown): Dijikingue, Kettlewell, Hope, Shaw, Wilson.
  10. OLDHAM (A) (04/Dec/24) (National League Youth Alliance League (North)) W 7(Seven)-4
    City won 7-4 at Boundary Park. Ben Farrar (4) and Donny Day, Noah Mortimer and Harvey Hope scored after goals from Farrar (2), Day and Mortimer had given City a 4-2 half time lead. The win left City 3rd in the table.
    CITY: Warne; Tweed, Tate, Newall, Shirley, Baker, Mortimer, Grumley, Farrar, Day, Kettlewell. Subs (Usage Unknown): Roberts, Glynn, Shaw, Hope, Carr (G).
  11. GATESHEAD (H) (11/Dec/24) (National League Football Alliance League Cup (North Round 1))) W 7-0
    3rd placed City beat 8th placed Gateshead by 7-0 in Round 1 of the National League Alliance Cup which cumulates in a national final at Burton at the end of the season. A hat-trick from Donny Day and goals from Leon Gibson-Booth (2), Ben Farrar and Bailey Wilson sealed the win after City lead 3-0 at half time.
    CITY: TBC.
  12. ALTRINCHAM (A) (18/Dec/24) (National League Football Alliance League Cup (North Round 1))) W 3-2
    City came back from 1-0 down at half time with goals from Bill Marshall, Donny Day and Harvey Hope to win 3-2 to secure a 4th straight win.
    The game was originally scheduled for 02/10/24 but postponed due to FA Youth Cup commitments.
    x
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    x
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    x
    Incidentally, Altrincham run 2 "Under 19" sides, the other plays in North West Division 1 (the top division) of the National Football Youth League and their other side play Tranmere today. Before today's games, they sit 2nd in the table, behind Steven Gerrard Academy Kirkby and above 9 other teams (Morecambe FC Development/CIS, FC Halifax Town, Tranmere Rovers FC U19 NWC, Everton FC NWC, Steven Gerrard Academy NWC, Bolton Wanderers EDS NWC, Liverpool FEFA NWC, Burnley FC SYT NWC and Yorkshire Amateur FC U19). The north east equivalent is a 12 team legue (again, in league position as of today, i2i International U19 Newcastle, UFCA U19 NEC, Middlesbrough FC/T6 NEC, Durham Men SFA U19, 4G1 U19 Football Academy, Rotherham Utd SYT U19, Farsley Celtic FC U19 NEC, Barnsley FC SYT NEC, Sunderland AFC FOL NEC, Newcastle United U19, Scarborough FS U19 and Morpeth Town FC U19 NEC)
    CITY: x.
    CITY (indicative formation): Carr; Tate, Shirley, Gibson-Booth, Crooks; Marshall, Grumley; Mortimer, Day, Kettlewell; Farrar. Subs (Usage Unknown): Wilson, Tweed, Shaw, Roberts, Hope.
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  31. BOSTON (H) (dd/Dec/24) (National League Youth Alliance League (North)) D 2-2
    Cxx.
    City xx.
    Within xxx.
    CITY: Taylor ( c ); Tate, Shirley, Dijikinque, Crookes; Marshall; Glynn (Wilson 45+3), Dawson, Payne, Edenene (Mortimer 68, Hope 86); Hernandez. Unused Subs: Nganga, Grumley.
    OPPONENTS: TBC
    Goals: Glynn (15), Wilson (55). Opponents: TBC.
    Bookings: City: Mortimer (80). Opponents: TBC (35), TBC (45).
    Sent Off: City: -. Opponents: -.
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2022/3 FOLLOWS - UPDATE TO 2023/4

On the pitch, it was a largely successful season for City's youth team. The Under 18 side reached Round 1 of the FA Youth Cup for the first time in 6 seasons before going out on penalties at Rochdale. That competition is limited to scholars (the under 18 age group). All other games were played at Under 19 level, so City's 6 youngest professionals were eligible to play in those games.

Scorers: TBC

Contracts TBC.

Throughout the season, 3 of City's scholars were known to have managed loan spells in "mens' football":

  • George Harrison: Bridlington Town (Northern Premier League, Division 1 East, Tier 8)
  • Tom Algar: Bridlington Town (Northern Premier League, Division 1 East, Tier 8)
  • Tom Pickles: Goole (Northern Counties East League Premier, Tier 9)

All 6 of City's 19 yer olds ("first season" professionals) also enjoyed loan spells, Ben Dale (Redcar) and Jonny Shepherd (Northallerton) possibly being the ones who made the biggest impressions whilst out on loan.

The age old question remains. When will we see our youth products in our first team?

North Riding Senior Cup

TIBS FC (A) (27/Nov/2024 (19:30)) (North Riding Senior Cup, Round 2) L 2-2 (3-4 penalties)
City entered the competition in Round 2 (Last 16) in a draw that included Middlesbrough Under 21s and Scarborough. Drawn at home to TIBS FC, City ceded home advantage and the game was played at Thornaby FC’s Teesdale Park (TS17 7JU). Established in 1997, TIBS FC are a community based, not for profit, grass roots club, with a large number of boys and girls aged teams, based between Thornaby and Ingleby Barwick opposite the Teesside Industrial Estate in the south west suburbs of Middlesbrough. They play in the North Riding Football League Premier Division (Tier 11, Step 7, on a par with the York League Premier Division, 6 steps below City).
City fielded a squad made up entirely of academy players, the starting line up included 6 year one scholars and 5 from year 2. Goals from Donny Day and Ben Farrar twice gave City the lead, but both times they were pegged back. After 90 minutes, the tie went straight to penalties where TIBS won 4-3 (9 kicks required).
City started brightly, Jake Roberts calling Archie Neary into action with a close range 6th minute strike before Lincon Newall tried his luck from range. Greg Baker was next to fire goalwards for City but lashed his shot across goal after a corner had fallen to him. TIBS forced Harry Carr into his first save just after the quarter hour, but it wasn’t long until City broke the deadlock, Donny Day tapping home the rebound after an initial effort had struck the post. He continued to look lively, curling a shot narrowly wide before weaving his way through the TIBS defence. However, after drawing a save, he could not keep the rebound the right side of the post.
City came out well after the break and continued to play fluent football. Neary doing well to deny Day one on one within three minutes of the restart and more than once saved to keep TIBS in the game. The youngster again came close just after the hour, prodding just wide from close range. Against the run of play, TIBS pulled level in the 65th minute with a scrambled effort from close range. City were undeterred, retaking the lead with 12 minutes left after Ben Farrar, impressive throughout, beat Neary to a through ball before rounding the keeper and firing into an empty net. TIBS again hit back with another goalmouth melee, setting up a tense final eight minutes. City hit the woodwork late on but could not stop the tie from being settled on penalties.
Both sides converted their opening 2 kicks, but Day’s miss opened the door for the hosts to take the lead. It was home keeper Neary who proved to be the hero, calmly slotting home his own penalty home before making a smart stop to his right to send TIBS through to the third round.
For City’s youngsters there were plenty of plaudits for an impressive, often controlled and dominating performance, but also a harsh lesson at both ends of the field, especially in our own box where we overpowered by TIBS' "burly" players. On the night, the young City side were a credit to themselves, zipping the ball about, playing an attractive style of football and largely outplayed their older, larger and gutsy opponents.
Dan Wilson, City's Head Of Academy said "potentially the best team has lost, but we need to do better in both boxes". He suggested that City were the better team and missed lot and lots of chances, apparently a common theme for them this season, with keeper Harry Carr barely having the ball in his hand for the whole 90 minutes. He added that it will have been the first time many of his players will have come up against fully grown adults (most were around their mid 20s) or had had opposing supporters shouting at them from behind the goal.
CITY: Carr, Tweed, Tate, Newall, Shirley, Baker, Mortimer, Grumley ( c ), Farrar, Day, Roberts. SUBS (Usge Unknown): Glynn, Wilson, Dijikingue, Shaw, Kettlewell.
OPPONENTS: TBC.
Goals: City: Day, Farrar. Opponents: TBC, TBC.
Bookings: -
Sent Off: -
Referee: TBC
Attendance: TBC
Read the YorkPress match report and don't forget to read the comments.

Pre Season Friendlies - For The Record

  1. SHEFFIELD UNITED (H) (13/Jul/24) L 1-2
    City’s opening pre-season test for the 2024/5 season ended in a narrow 2-1 loss to Sheffield United. The Sky Bet Championship outfit visited the LNER Community Stadium for York’s first match of their pre-season schedule, with supporters hoping to see the Minstermen’s newest additions in action for the first time. City wore their pink third choice shirts for the first time.
    York had led through Tyrese Sinclair, producing a composed finish to beat Adam Davies from close-range. Sheffield United equalised via Ryan One, with the towering forward pouncing onto a parried save from Harrison Male.
    But it would be the Blades who would leave victorious, as Will Osula beat Rory Watson with an expert strike from distance.
    Excluding keepers, Dyson, Siziba, Maz and TLF, all believed fit were not involved. Hernandez, Andoh and Harriott not ready.
    The triallists were Max MacMillan (son of Andy), winger/ striker, Ben Blythe (ex Swansea youth, defender) and Terell Pennant (Jamaine Pennant's nephew, last played for Coalville Town).
    City (First Half): Male 7; Felix 8, Fallowfield 7, Howe 7, Crookes 6; Batty 7, Aguiar 7, Hunt 7; Sinclair 8, Pearce 6, Nathaniel-George 7
    City (Second Half): Watson 8; Gravata 6, O’Connor 6, Trialist B (Blythe) 6, McLaughlin 6 (Gibson-Booth, 82); Trialist A (Pennant) 6, Armstrong 7, Chadwick 6, Trialist C 6 (McMillan); John-Lewis 6 (Marshall, 82), Akinyemi 7
    Goal: Sinclair (9)
    Sheffield United (First Half): Davies, Curtis, Ahmedhodvic, Robinson, Buyabu, Brooks, Souza, Marsh, Traore, One, Peck
    Sheffield United (Secondt Half): Grbic, Bogle, Trusty, Freckleton, Sasnauskas, Hampson, Arblaster, Shackleton, Slimane, Osula, Brewster. Subs not used: Faxon, Boyes, Sachdev, Seriki
    Goals: One (27), Osula (77)
    Attendance: 4,755 (2,193 away)
    Referee: Zac Kettle
  2. WHITBY TOWN (A) (17/Jul/24) W 2-1
    City earned their first win of their 2024/5 pre-season with a 2-1 triumph over Whitby Town at the Towbar Express Stadium. Second-half strikes from Ollie Pearce and Marvin Armstrong saw York overturn Whitby’s lead from the first-half, after Jake Charles had put the hosts ahead. The game was designated a testimonial game for Whitby's keeper Shane Bland and the teams provided a guard of honour for him as he entered the pitch before kick off.
    A midweek trip to the seaside saw Adam Hinshelwood’s side field three academy players in the starting 11, which saw a complete overhaul from the 60th minute onwards. Leon Gibson-Booth (LCB), Bill Marshall (RB) and Mackenzie Crooks (LB) all started for the Minstermen, as well as trialist Max McMillan, who has since been identified by Hinshelwood.
    Whitby fielded 5 ex City players, Jaseem Sukar, Aaron Haswell, Jake Charles, Nathan Thomas and Connor Smith.
    Former City winger Nathan Thomas, who featured for York in the 2022/23 campaign, started the action for Whitby after curling a strike narrowly wide of Harrison Male’s goal. Thomas was again causing issues down the right-hand side, seeing a teasing cross miss a connection from Charles, before Male comfortably held a tame strike from the Whitby winger. McMillan, the trialist, looked to concern the hosts defence as his low cross was almost met by Pearce, but was thwarted by some strong defending. Stephen Walker produced a nice bit of trickery to evade the challenge of Callum Howe and Gibson-Booth before finding himself in behind, only to again be denied by Male. But with just over half an hour played, it was the Seasiders who took the lead. A dominant spell for Whitby saw Thomas thread a through ball past the City defence and into the path of Charles, with the former Scarborough Athletic attacker showing composure to tuck an effort past Male, despite the shot-stopper getting a touch onto it. A final opportunity of the half fell to Pearce, whose first time volley evaded the Whitby goal.
    In the second half, a stronger City side showed their quality early on with Akinyemi bullying his way through the Whitby defence, before squaring an inch-perfect pass into the path of Pearce, with the City striker bagging his first non-competitive goal at the Towbar Express Stadium. With the Minstermen now on level terms, Shane Bland was tested during his testimonial by a McMillan shot that was calmly kept out. Akinyemi was proving a real problem for the hosts defence, after meeting a Crookes pass and skipping past two Whitby men before his strike was blocked by a third. Aaron Haswell scuffed a strike wide from a Whitby corner, before a near post effort from Akinyemi was again parried away by Bland. Tyrese Sinclair would be unfortunate not to find his way onto the scoresheet, but was causing issues for Whitby after winning a free-kick in a dangerous area. Akinyemi would step up and forced a sublime save from Bland. Billy Chadwick continued to mount the pressure on the Whitby backline with a teasing pass into Sinclair, whose off-balance strike evaded the target. With City now well in control and on the front foot, it was only a matter of time until Hinshelwood’s side would take the lead. A well timed Chadwick cross saw the winger switch a pass into the area, with Armstrong turning his marker and arrowing an effort into the bottom right corner, beating Bland. Dan Batty was hopeful of adding a third, but could scuff a strike into a crowd of bodies, before Sinclair powered the rebound wide of goal. Sinclair again posed a real threat and was denied after expertly maintaining possession on the counter-attack, before Bland produced another impressive stop with his knees. An Akinyemi effort would soon be parried by Bland into the path of an unmarked Sinclair in the area, but his rebound was bravely blocked by the onrushing Whitby backline. Bland and Sinclair would test one another one final time on the evening with a routine stop from the Whitby shot-stopper on his testimonial, before the referee would call time on a battling affair at the seaside.
    City: Male (Watson, 60), Marshall (Felix, 60), Howe (Fallowfield, 60), Gibson-Booth (O’Connor, 60), Crooks (Crookes, 46), McLaughlin (Aguiar, 46), Hunt (Armstrong, 60), Trialist A (McMillan) (Batty, 60), Nathaniel-George (Chadwick, 60), John-Lewis (Akinyemi, 46), Pearce (Sinclair, 60). Sub not used: Tate
    Goals: Pearce (48), Armstrong (70)
    Whitby Town: Bland (Cranston, 87), Smith, Liddle, Sukar, Haswell, Whelan (Fergus, 67), Doherty, Griffiths, Thomas, Charles, Walker (Parkinson, 81). Subs not used: Medcalf, Trialist
    Goal: Charles (34)
    Attendance: 770
  3. GRIMSBY (H) (20/Jul/24) W 2-1
    City beat Grimsby Town 2-1 with goals from Billy Chadwick and Lenell John-Lewis.
    A bright start for the Minstermen ended with Dipo Akinyemi racing down the right hand side and earning an early corner. It was swung in towards the front of the six yard box before the ball was flicked on into the path of Billy Chadwick at the back post who tapped home to give City a lead after just two minutes. City continued to press Joe Felix’s teasing cross to the back post was seen out for a goal kick (12') and City won the ball on the halfway line by Akinyemi before being played to Marvin Armstrong, who went for goal from the edge of the box, but his low driven effort went into the side netting (17'). Grimsby levelled after 28 minutes from a freak own goal when Ricky Aguiar’s pass back to Rory Watson found it’s way into the bottom right-hand corner. City nearly found an instant response when Trialist A (Cameron John) dispossessed Kieran Green down the left hand side before flashing a cross in front of the face of goal, but Marvin Armstrong couldn’t find the connection on the ball he was looking for as his effort rolled wide of the mark.
    The Mariners registered the first chance in the second half when substitute Cameron Gardner went for goal from range, but his effort whistled wide of Watson’s right-hand post. Tyrese Sinclair was next to have a go at goal, his effort from outside the box was easily collected by Jordan Wright in the end. On the 75th minute City re-took the lead when Alex Hunt’s corner found Lenell John-Lewis on the edge of the six yard box, with his bullet header gliding its way past Jake Eastwood. Grimsby looked to respond again as Matty Carson played a cross into the six yard box looking for another man in black and white, but Harrison Male raced off his line to collect. City nearly added a third with five minutes to go, John-Lewis again with the effort but Harvey Rodgers put in a strong block to deny him from inside the box. In the dying seconds Ollie Pearce collected the ball in the Grimsby box before beating his man and landing a shot on goal, but Eastwood was equal to the effort.
    Post match, Adam Hinshelwood noted Harriott, Andoh, Crookes (hamstring), Gravata (groin) and GSK all injured. Hernandez previously stated as injured and has not yet featured this season.
    City: Watson (Male, 60), Felix (Marshall, 76), Fallowfield, O’Connor (Howe, 60), Trialist A (John) (Gibson-Booth, 65), Armstrong (Hunt, 60), Batty (McLaughlin, 60), Aguiar (Nathaniel-George, 60), Chadwick (Pearce, 60), Akinyem (John-Lewis, 60), Sinclair (Trialist B (McMillan), 72)
    Goals: Chadwick (2), John-Lewis (76)
    Grimsby Town: Wright (Eastwood, 60), Cass, McJannett (Rodgers, 60), Trialist A, Carson, McEachran (Wilson, 60), Khouri (Thompson, 60), Green (Brown, 60), Trialist B (Ainley, 60), Trialist C, Svanthorsson (Gardner, 46)
    Goal: Aguiar own goal (28)
    Attendance: 2,332 (692 away)
    Referee: Gareth Rhodes
  4. DARLINGTON (A) (23/Jul/24) D 3-3
    City played out a thrilling 3-3 pre-season friendly draw against Darlington at Blackwell Meadows with goals from Trialist B (Max McMillan), Dipo Akinyemi and Tyrese Sinclair. Adam Hinshelwood took a trimmed down squad to Darlington as we approach full 90 minute game into legs for certain players.
    At times, City were brilliant but were largely off the pace for 70 minutes and lost many battles,struggling to cope with a big, strong, physical and direct team.
    Darlington managed by Steve Watson fielded ex City players Peter Jameson, Will Hatfield, Cedric Main, Tom Platt, Jonny Haase (as a triallist) and Alex Payne (one of last season's scholars as a triallist). Scott Barrow was away on holiday. Midfelder Payne impressed when he came on as substitute after 42 minutes.
    City had an early chance when Alex Hunt’s delivery from a set-piece was put wide by Callum Howe. Billy Chadwick raced onto a direct longball in the 9th minute, striking wide in the end and Ollie Pearce had the clearest chance so far in the 16th minute when he directed a close range header wide. City broke the deadlock in the 20th minute through Trialist B (McMillan) when his right footed, curling strike bounced in off Pete Jameson’s left hand post to give York the lead. He went close again three minutes later when hitting a left footed effort high and wide. Keeper Harrison Male was called into action in the 28th minute when an acrobatic bicycle kick effort was tipped wide by the stopper. Male denied Darlington again six minutes later when they broke away through the impreesive Jack Maskell, who spotted Male off his line. The forward tried to curl an effort around City’s keeper, but Male dove to palm for a corner. Maskell rose highest to the incoming delivery, hitting his header straight at Male. Darlington levelled the game up just before half time. Howe's challenge gave Will Hatfield an attacking set piece to go at, which they did. The shot crashed off the crossbar before dropping down into Male's net.
    The hosts came quickly out the blocks after half time, turning the game around by the 49th minute. Trialist B’s clumsy challenge allowed Cedric Main to convert from the spot. Jarrett Rivers came close to adding another onto Darlington’s lead in the 63rd minute when his shot bounced off the post from inside the area and into Male who gathered. Half time substitution Dipo Akinyemi did have a number of half chances in the second half, but striking wide on most. The attacker's goal did come, prodding in a 71st minute equaliser after receiving the ball at close range following a set piece. Tyrese Sinclair edged City into the lead shortly after. Initially chasing the ball down to the corner flag, he drove inwards before a one two with Pearce allowed him to get in front of the Darlington defence and hammer past Jameson into the far side of the net. A second penalty was conceded minutes later after the referee deemed Rory Watson’s ball winning punch to be a penalty. Main again converted for the hosts. City played out the final ten minutes with ten men after Leon Gibson-Booth left the field through injury.
    City: Male (65, Watson); Felix (46, O’Connor), Howe, Trialist A (John) (65, Fallowfield), Gibson-Booth (inj, 81); Marshall (56, Aguiar), McLaughlin (65, Sinclair), Hunt (65' Batty); Trialist B (McMillan) (56, Armstrong), Pearce, Chadwick (46, Akinyemi). Unused Subs: -
    Goals: Trialist B (McMillan) (20), Akinyemi (71), Sinclair (71)
    Darlington: Jameson, Hedley, Platt, Blythe, Hatfield (68 Haase), Maskell, Main, Rivers, Salkeld (42 Payne), Leesley, Cornish (46 Forbes). Unsed Subs: McGrath, Harker, Small, Maw.
    Goals: Hatfield (44), Main (49p, 74p)
    Attendance: 858
  5. NOTTS CO (H) (27/Jul/24) D 2-2
    City drew 2-2 with League Two side Notts County in their final LNER Community Stadium pre-season friendly fixture. Adam Hinshelwood’s squad has progressed fitness wise to see out a 90 minute pre-season friendly with 10 players playing the full game. City named 5 subs whilst County named 10.
    Notts County took the lead after 5 minutes when Jodi Jones converted by slamming the ball into the roof of the net after receiving a pass from an in direct free-kick after indecisive play by City. City sprung a strong counter in the 20th minute when Alex Hunt blocked an initial shot from Dan Crowley before York got going, Ollie Pearce took it all the way until squaring across for Marvin Armstrong, who couldn’t quite reach the ball to make a connection towards goal. Hunt sparked City into a counter again down the left-hand flank three minutes later. Joe Felix chased before switching to Billy Chadwick on the right. He hit a shot from the edge of the area which was blocked away by the Notts defender. Harrison Male denied Aaron Nemane from close-range in the 26th minute turning away his shot by a save with his foot. Notts County doubled their lead on 42 minutes when Nemane got in behind down the right hand flank, beating York’s high defensive line before squaring for Alassana Jatta to tuck home.
    The Minstermen opened the second half slowly, but soon found their place in the game. Dipo Akinyemi drew a save from Alex Bass after a speculative effort was handled by the County shot stopper before Chadwick had York back in the game in the 55th minute. Pearce’s driving run down the left hand flank concluded with a lay off to the forward who smartly curled into the far top corner. Harrison Male had to keep Notts County out seconds after, denying Cedwyn Scott’s thunderous shot at his right-hand hear post. York equalised in the 69th minute through Pearce, who setup the first. Marvin Armstrong slipped through Chadwick down the right, who travelled inwards before squaring to Pearce who swept his shot home. Akinyemi had clear sight at goal four minutes later but frustratingly hit his short wide of Bass’ left-hand post. City pressed well towards the conclusion of the game to find a winner. Armstrong did well to retain the ball in the 86th minute, but fired over after finding a sight at goal in a congested area.
    Post match, in response to a question, Adam Hinshewood indicated all the rest of his squad were unavailable, some (incuding Tyrese Sinclair with tendinitis in his knee) had niggles and could have played if required. He indicated ANG and LJL could be available in time for Southend.
    City: Male, Fallowfield, O’Connor, Howe, Hunt, Akinyemi, Pearce, Armstrong, Batty (61 Aguiar), Chadwick, Felix. Unused Subs: Watson, McLaughlin, Gravata, Marshall.
    Goals: Chadwick (55), Pearce (69)
    Notts Co: Bass, Bedeau (70 Reynolds), Crowley, Austin (70 McDonald), Jones (70 Edwards), Nemane (70 McGoldrick), Scott (70 Cundy), Robertson (31 Trialist A), Macari (70 Chicksen), Jatta (70 Gordon), Platt. Unuse Subs: Slocombe, Stone.
    Goals: Jones (55), Jatta (42)
    Attendance: 2,131 (532 Notts County supporters)
  6. GARFORTH (A) (30/Jul/24) L 0-2
  7. City fielding a largely "development" side, including Paddy McLaughlin, Levi Andoh (on his return from long term injury), 3 out of favour players (GSK, TLF and Siziba) plus 6 scholars in the starting line up went down 2-0 to Garforth Town. Arranged at short notice, the game allowed the home side some extra match practice in advance of their upcoming FA Cup campaign. Once again, City named fewer substitutes than their opponents. Before kick off, City's coaching staff used gaffa tape to cover the Dutch Barn Vodka advertising logo on the scholars' shirts.
    Garforth started the game strongly. Matt Antcliff drew a save from George Sykes-Kenworthy before the hosts won back to back corners minutes later. At the other end, Zanda Siziba showed early flashes of quality down the right flank, his turn of pace allowed the winger to cross into the path of Leone Gravata who just missed out on the ball. Then he slotted the ball through the Garforth defender’s legs before bursting into the area and hitting a shot on target at Harry Flatters. An audacious effort from inside Garforth’s own half nearly caught City out. Jason Davis hit but the shot bounced early and over the bar in the end. Young forward Harvey Hope won York an attacking free kick just outside the area in the 27th minute. Siziba’s set piece hit the target but it was routine for Flatters in the end. Antcliff went up the other end inside the same minute, slicing wide at Sykes-Kenworthy’s left-hand post after a counter attack. The hosts took the lead in the 34th minute when they worked it well inside the area before Antcliff’s left footed effort curled into the far side of the net. Bailey Wilson’s 42nd minute effort was arguably The Minstermen’s best shot of the half. A ball roll in a tight space before hammering at the near post, pulling a save, gaving City a corner.
    The second half saw a flurry of substitutions from both sides. It took the young City side until the 58th minute to really work the opposition’s keeper when Bill Marshall’s pinpoint cross picked out Wilson at the back post, with his header nearly catching out the wrong footed goalkeeper. A square ball across Garforth’s box in the 73rd minute teased the York side as no one could connect with the ball to convert. Further half chances followed minutes later for the Minstermen, with shots blocked away inside the area. Garforth doubled up their advantage in the 82nd minute. Substitute Mo Fadera cut in from the left flank before converting with a right-footed shot into the far side of the net.
    Levi Andoh made his return after nearly a year out with injury, whilst lacking match sharpness, it was an encouraging return before his planned withdrawal after nearly 30 minutes, appearing none the worse for his run out.
    City: Sykes-Kenworthy (Taylor 67); Andoh (Tate 28), Shirley, Crooks, Latty-Fairweather (Djikingue 58); McLaughlin ( c ), Marshall, Wilson; Siziba (Glynn 46), Hope, Gravata (Farrar 54). Unused Subs: -.
    Goals: -
    Garforth Town: Flatters, Zachariou (Peltier 76), Jeff, Ball, Viggars (Bauer 67), Barkway, Marshall (Fadera 67), Davis, Antcliff (Cable 67', Barker (Trialist A 88), Smith (Burgess 83). Unused Subs: Zealand, Wells.
    Goals: Antcliff (34), Fadera (82)
    Attendance: 866
  8. SPENNYMOOR (A) (03/Aug/24) D 3-3
    City drew 3-3 against Spennymoor Town in the final pre-season friendly fixture. The Minstermen had the lead in both halves, but hosts Spennymoor Town took to the task to mount comebacks in a competitive final friendly.
    Marvin Armstrong gave York an early lead in the 12th minute after good work on the right flank by Ricky Aguiar and Joe Felix concluded in a cross slipped through to Armstrong at the back post, who tapped home. Tyrese Sinclair found himself on the end of several physical challenges throughout the occasion. A 19th minute free-kick from the winger looked to test Brad James, however a routine save put an end to the set-piece shot. City doubled up on their advantage in the 22nd minute. Felix was again involved in creating the goal, which saw Lenell John-Lewis leap highest and guide it in at the far post. A superb stop by James denied John-Lewis his second not long after. The forward again connected on a Felix cross, bulleting a header into the gut of the Spennymoor keeper. The hosts had their route back in after a 32nd minute penalty decision allowed captain Glen Taylor to score from the spot. Male got a hand to it, but the power just pushed through the hand and into the net. Chances for both sides fall during the game following the goal. Sinclair had an effort beat away by James before Male tipped Rob Ramshaw’s volley wide. Just before the interval, good work down the left flank by Spennymoor resulted in Taylor opening up and firing the game level.
    Midfielder Alex Hunt clipped a free kick into the Spennymoor wall in the 55th minute, after initially winning it. Lovely work around the host’s box just needed the finishing touch in the 61st minute. Billy Chadwick squared across to Ollie Pearce, who tried to flick a shot into the far side of the net. Dipo Akinyemi picked up on the move before laying off to Felix, who couldn’t finish it off for City. Spennymoor picked up on loose play eight minutes later. Matty Dolan curled a tame effort into the path of Male after the hosts won the ball high up the pitch. Chadwick nodded Adam Hinshelwood’s side back into the lead in the 71st minute when Aguiar’s set piece was flicked up and in by Chadwick. Taylor had his hat trick in the game four minutes later. A soft penalty allowed Spennymoor’s skipper to convert again. Ramshaw clipped the crossbar in the closing minutes, nearly giving Spennymoor the victory.
  9. City's new pink shirts completed a pre-season clean sweep having been worn in every game.
    City: Watson (Male, 16), Felix (Fallowfield, 46), Howe (O’Connor, 46), Crookes, John (McLaughlin, 78), Batty (Hunt, 46), Aguiar, Armstrong, Sinclair (Gravata, 78), John-Lewis (Pearce, 46), Nathaniel-George (Chadwick, 46). Unused Subs: Gibson-Booth, Marshall.
    Goals: Armstrong (12), John-Lewis (22), Chadwick (71)
    Spennymoor Town: James, Ross, Rowe, Ledger (Beals, 57'), Staunton, Dolan (Howard, 82'), Dyson (Luck, 79'), Fletcher (Trialist, 86'), Ramshaw, Taylor (Trialist, 82'), Trialist (McKeown, 57'). Unused Subs: Johnson, Harris, Myers.
    Goals: Taylor (33p, 44, 74p)
    Attendance: 724
    Referee: Andrew Miller