YORK City boss Chris Brass believes his team will stay in Division Three if they match last night's performance against Bury in the remaining five "massive" games.

Liam George's third goal of the season earned the Minstermen a 1-1 draw at Bootham Crescent which failed to lift the home side out of the relegation zone but moved Brass' men level on points with third-bottom Rochdale with a game in hand.

Rochdale now play host to Leyton Orient on Saturday when City will entertain Cheltenham, whose manager John Ward was a spectator at last night's game.

Afterwards, an upbeat Brass said: "If we can perform like that in our last five massive games we will be all right. There's a lot of plusses we can take into another home game on Saturday when we will need to show the same tempo and commitment.

"We have got a realistic opportunity of getting out of it and are still not reliant on others. I will trust the players that we had out there if they give performances like that."

City - the Nationwide League's lowest scorers - enjoyed a much-improved attacking display with Bury goalkeeper Glyn Garner facing seven shots on target.

George, making his first start since September after a lengthy lay-off because of shin splints, was partnered with on-loan Huddersfield striker Jon Newby up front with player-coach Lee Nogan filling a deeper role.

And Brass could now keep faith with the new-look strikeforce for the crucial run-in, saying: "Liam worked extremely hard and Jon Newby showed what he's capable of. I thought Liam was the perfect foil for him.

"With the work-rate those two put in, one of them deserved the winner. Unfortunately, it did not come but they will get their rewards if they keep playing like that."

Gareth Seddon opened the scoring for Bury before the Minstermen fought back to win only their third point of the season after falling behind and Brass believes the spirited performance can provide a springboard for safety.

He said: "It was another bad goal to concede but we recovered from it. When we got the goal, there was only one team in it from then on and I'm disappointed we did not get the three points we deserved but we can take a lot of confidence from that and we have shown that we are up for the fight now, which is pleasing.

"We made chances and got shots in but, all credit to Bury. Their 'keeper did well and their defence got bodies in when it mattered."

Updated: 10:14 Wednesday, April 14, 2004