York City 0, Macclesfield 2

But the unlikely appearance of both City old boys Jon Parkin and Graham Potter on the scoresheet was assisted by more comic defending from the home team.

There may have been a touch of inevitability about Parkin's first goal in Macclesfield colours but for Potter to also find the net added a painful irony to City's fall into the Division Three relegation zone.

Potter managed just three goals at Bootham Crescent in three seasons as a City player but the unpopular left-back shot past Chris Porter on 27 minutes after the home side failed to clear a Paul Harsley corner.

His strike ultimately secured victory and lifted the Macc lads above their hosts in the fight for survival.

With City having failed to score more than two goals in a single match all season and not more than once during a sorry 13-game run since their last victory, another game appeared over as a contest before the break and the home side managed to force just three saves from Macclesfield goalkeeper Steve Wilson all afternoon.

In fact, if it had not been for a terrible miss by Parkin and an equally wasteful effort by Harsley, a Minstermen team that were in disarray would have been trailing by four goals after only half-an-hour.

Parkin opened the scoring on 19 minutes after a cagey start to the game by both sides.

The Barnsley-born striker used his weight to muscle aside Richard Hope and win a header and, when fellow forward Matthew Tipton guided the ball back into his path, Parkin sent a low volley past Porter and into the bottom corner.

He celebrated by turning his back on the David Longhurst Stand and pointing at the name on his shirt.

His actions were, without doubt, based more on adrenaline and hurt feelings after he was booed by home fans rather than any malice towards his old club and a truer indication of his sentiments was provided when he applauded both sets of supporters as he was substituted in the last minute.

Andy Bell then spurned City's best chance of the afternoon on 22 minutes, overrunning the ball and shooting too close to Steve Wilson after his alertness had seen him steal the ball off the toes of Macclesfield defender Michael Welch and charge into the penalty box from the left wing.

Four minutes later, a confident Parkin, who had failed to find the net in his first seven games for Macclesfield, rattled Porter's crossbar from the edge of the box with a powerful deflected drive and, from the subsequent corner, Potter doubled the advantage.

The former West Brom defender first saw his header poorly cleared by Stuart Wise and then appeared to handle the ball before firing a low drive through a crowded box and into the goal.

Player-boss Chris Brass, playing at right back in a 4-4-2 formation, screamed at the referee's assistant to no avail, while player-coach Lee Nogan bawled just as furiously in the earhole of Wise.

A shell-shocked City then fell to pieces as Macclesfield looked certain to score with every attack.

First, Parkin inexplicably rolled his shot wide from five yards with only Porter to beat and then an unmarked Harsley also failed to hit the target from 12 yards out.

Porter saved Parkin's long-range shot on the turn on 32 minutes and the 6ft 4in tall striker's right boot was only inches away from turning in Tipton's low cross in first half injury time.

Sandwiched in between those efforts, Richard Cooper had seen a wild volley threaten the floodlights more than Wilson's goal and also had a bobbling 20-yard shot comfortably saved by the Macclesfield goalkeeper.

Fans who had turned up with the firm intention of getting behind their team booed them off at the interval with cries of "what a load of rubbish", expecting the same level of commitment from the players in the fight to save the club's 75-year-old Football League status as they showed last season in ensuring the club's existence.

Brass responded by giving teenage right-back Graeme Law his City debut and moving himself into midfield to put the shackles on Harsley, who had enjoyed the freedom of the park during the first half.

Law provided a steady flow of cross in a promising first match but City failed to turn their superior second half possession into good goalscoring opportunities.

Cooper lifted another shot over the David Longhurst Stand, Nogan had a header plucked comfortably from under the crossbar by Wilson and Brass fired wide from 30 yards but that was as much as City could muster despite ending the game with four centre-forwards.

The simple fact is the team must now do considerably better in their last seven games if City are to avoid relegation from the Football League for the first time in the club's history.

Brass must now be tempted to revert back to the defensive axis of himself, Chris Smith and Richard Hope that served him so well earlier in the season and may also be considering recalls for experienced pair Mark Ovendale and, if fit, Darren Edmondson.

Whatever he decides, the City manager must somehow rediscover the form and confidence that would have made his team no less fancied for relegation at the turn of the year than a 100-1 outsider was to win Saturday's Grand National.

After beating Carlisle in their first game of 2004, City appeared to only require three victories from their remaining 20 fixtures to guarantee safety but the fact that they are still waiting for that trio of successes with just seven matches left means the team must act with urgency to beat the drop.

Match facts:

Nationwide League Division 3

Sunday, April 4, 2004

at Bootham Crescent

York City 0

Macclesfield 2

(Parkin 19min, Potter 27)

City ratings:

Porter 6

Brass 6

Wise 5

Hope 6

Davies 5

Newby 6

Cooper 5 (Yalcin 90min)

Dunning 6

Merris 5 (Law 46, 6)

Bell 5 (Offiong 53, 5)

Nogan 5

Subs not used: Ovendale, Coad

Star Man: Brass - tried in vain to lift players around him, especially as a second half midfielder.

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

Macclesfield: Steve Wilson, George Abbey, Michael Welch, Steve Payne, Matt Carragher, Graham Potter, Paul Harsley, Chris Priest, Tommy Widdrington, Jon Parkin, Matthew Tipton (Martin Carruthers, 90). Subs not used: Karl Munroe, John Miles, James Olsen, Kristian Rodgers.

Yellow cards: Nogan

Red cards: None

Referee: Alan Butler (Nottingham)

Rating: Patchy performance.

Attendance: 3,855.

Weather watch: Blustery in first half and rainy spells.

Game breaker: Graham Potter's goal saw City's heads drop.

Match rating: City crumbled again at home in the first half and lacked a creative spark to get back into the game after the interval.

Player watch - Jon Newby:

Shots on target: 0

Shots off target: 1

Fouls won: 0

Fouls conceded: 1

Dribbles ball lost: 2

Dribbles ball retained:1

Dribble success rate: 33.3 per cent

Passes to own player: 16

Passes to opposition: 2

Crosses to own player: 1

Crosses to opposition: 9

Pass success rate: 60.7 per cent

Offsides: 1 Headers: 6 Tackles: 1

Clearances, blocks and interceptions: 2

Yellow cards: 0 Red cards: 0

Final summary: Striker Jon Newby played on the right side of midfield for City and, at times, looked a lively outlet. His passing was generally accurate although he will be disappointed with only one of his ten crosses finding a team-mate. He also managed just one shot which was deflected before being comfortably saved wide of his goal by Macclesfield goalkeeper Steve Wilson.

Text verdict:

Going down quicker than Titanic. Burton, Boro, Tamworth here we come. Brass this is first class rubbish, enough is enough.

Tim Walker, Selby.

Start drawing up your travel plans to get to a lot of new grounds next season. Do these players really want to stay up?

Dave Barker, Tang Hall, York.

In a match of such importance where was the spirit, fight and pride?

Peter Barker, Westfield Place, York.

Updated: 10:05 Monday, April 05, 2004