York City 1, Yeovil 2

Having worked so valiantly to ensure the club survived to celebrate 75 years of League football in the famous old city, it now looks extremely likely that Minstermen fans will be marking that proud anniversary with relegation to the Nationwide Conference.

Last night's 2-1 home defeat was an improvement on previously dismal home performances but the Minstermen should never have reached a position where results were required against play-off contenders Yeovil and at title-chasing Doncaster to preserve their Football League status.

The stark truth of the matter is that until two matches ago, City have had their fate in their own hands but a run of four points from a possible 51 would relegate most clubs in any season.

Defeat to Yeovil was the 17th match the Bootham Crescent club have played without a win, which equals a club record. Few will be betting against that sorry sequence being extended at a buoyant Belle Vue on Saturday.

If straws are to be clutched, Yeovil's equaliser might not have stood on another occasion because of Richard Cooper's head injury but, as manager Chris Brass pointed out afterwards, you cannot rely on referees and if the Minstermen are relegated it will not be because of an extraordinary vendetta wagered against the club by irrational match officials.

Last night's referee Graham Laws, of Whitley Bay, even admitted to having a soft spot for York after being forced to postpone the original fixture last month.

Results since then meant that the re-arranged match was billed as "the biggest in the club's history", but while player-boss Brass, goalscorer Darren Dunning, defenders Stuart Wise and Richard Hope and substitute Cooper, in particular, all epitomised the grit necessary for such an occasion, there was again a sparseness of quality in City's play.

Dunning's deflected eighth-minute deadlock breaker from a 22-yard free-kick proved the home side's only shot on target of the night.

Brass also fired another free-kick over the bar and the Minstermen created just one other opportunity - their single effort from open play - when Lee Nogan brushed the side-netting with a volley seconds after Dunning's goal.

Player-coach Nogan then departed with a cheekbone injury on 23 minutes and his withdrawal blunted City's attacking ambitions and, although Cooper's introduction stiffened midfield resolve, a massive gap opened up between the centre of the park and isolated forwards Liam George and Jon Newby.

It also heaped pressure on City's recently creaking defence to keep its first clean sheet in six matches, illustrating what a price the Minstermen could pay for the decision, taken out of financial necessity, to loan Lee Bullock out to Cardiff City.

There is a justifiable argument that his removal as the link man between midfield and attack - in the absence of an adequate replacement - has coincided with the staggering decline in City's season.

Yeovil had few problems supporting their front players and City survived an early scare on six minutes when Kevin Gall cut through the home defence to race on to Dani Rodrigues' through ball only for his shot to hit the inside of a post and rebound into the arms of a relieved Mark Ovendale.

Shortly afterwards, Dunning fired City in front for the first time since their last victory - the 2-0 defeat of Carlisle on January 10.

George was hacked to the ground with his back to goal by Colin Pluck and Dunning's low left-footed strike caught a Yeovil leg on its way into goalkeeper Steve Collis' left-hand bottom corner.

Nogan missed an excellent chance to double the lead when he volleyed narrowly wide from Newby's cross while George was denied a clear shot on goal by an excellent recovery tackle by Andy Lindegaard, who then forced Ovendale into his first save of the evening on 37 minutes - a comfortable stop at shoulder height.

But Yeovil were back on level terms just 50 seconds after the break when Mr Laws chose not to stop play despite Cooper falling to the floor clutching his head.

The ball was subsequently swept out to the right and, when Hope failed to clear Gall's cross, Terry turned and hooked the ball past Ovendale from ten yards.

Gavin Williams and Lindegaard then both volleyed over after two more successful raids down the right before a hopeful ball into the box skimmed off Chris Smith's head into the path of Lindegaard, who found the bottom corner from eight yards.

City finished the match with a three-pronged strike-force after Andy Bell's 74th-minute arrival but Glovers' keeper Collis left Bootham Crescent without making a save.

Home fans left Bootham Crescent without much hope.

Bigger miracles have been achieved there in recent times but, sadly, the powers of the club's exhausted supporters are limited in securing the necessary results from the remaining three matches.

Match Facts:

Nationwide League

Division 3

Tuesday, April 20, 2004

at Bootham Crescent

York City 1

(Dunning 8min)

Yeovil 2

(Terry 46, Lindegaard 70)

City ratings:

Ovendale 6

Wise 7

Smith 6

Hope 7

Edmondson 5

Brass 7 (Merris 83)

Wood 5 (Bell 74)

Dunning 7

Nogan 6 (Cooper 23, 8)

Newby 5

George 5

Star Man: Cooper - battled for every ball in tandem with the brave Brass, who he nursed through the game.

Key: 10 Faultless, 9 Outstanding, 8 Excellent, 7 Eye-catching, 6 Good, 5 Average, 4 Below-par, 3 Dud, 2 Hopeless, 1 Retire

Yeovil: Steve Collis, Andy Lindegaard, Terry Skiverton (Hugo Rodrigues, 64), Colin Pluck, Adam Lockwood, Kevin Gall, Paul Terry, Lee Johnson, Gavin Williams, Jake Edwards (Kirk Jackson, 46), Dani Rodrigues (Nick Crittenden, 90). Subs not used: Nathan Talbot, Ryan Northmore.

Yellow cards: Lindegaard 32, Edmondson 39, Skiverton 39, Cooper 76.

Red cards: None.

Referee: Graham Laws (Tyne & Wear) Rating: Could have stopped play because of Cooper head injury but appeared to decide it was not serious enough. Otherwise, not too many faults.

Attendance: 2,802.

Weather watch: Calm, but drizzle in second half.

Game breaker: Nogan's missed chance to double City's advantage.

Match rating: City were a match for play-off chasing Yeovil before the break but could not raise their game to score again after the visitors netted twice.

Player watch: Darren Dunning

Shots on target: 1

Shots off target: 0

Passes to own player: 12

Passes to opposition: 6

Crosses to own player: 0

Crosses to opposition: 8

Pass success rate: 46.2 per cent

Dribbles ball retained: 3

Dribbles ball lost: 1

Dribble success rate: 75 per cent

Free kicks won: 1

Free kicks conceded: 0

Offsides: 0 Headers: 16 Tackles: 7

Clearances, blocks, interceptions: 11

Yellow cards: 0 Red cards: 0

Final summary: Darren Dunning put in a typically committed performance, as is illustrated by the seven tackles he made, the 11 clearances, blocks and interceptions he contributed and the 16 headers he won considering his height. His passing, though, was not always reliable and, although he managed eight crosses from left wing-back most were from set-pieces and not one failed to find a team-mate. He did have City's only on-target effort of the season, scoring his third goal of the season from a free-kick - the other two were penalties.

Updated: 11:57 Wednesday, April 21, 2004