THE early exit of Michael Proctor against Scunthorpe on Saturday may have been bad news for York City, but for 'Super' Alan Fettis it is the best thing that could have happened.

The Evening Press player of the year award was set to go to the wire with Proctor trailing Fettis by three points.

And with the Northern Ireland international ruled out through injury, Proctor needed another one of his all-action match-winning displays to pull level and force the competition into 'extra time'.

However, a damaged hamstring put pay to Proctor's hopes after just eight minutes, leaving the top shot-stopper to retain his crown.

Fettis, who received his trophy from Evening Press sports editor Martin Jarred this week, had been vying for the title all season with the on-loan Sunderland striker before finally snatching it at the death.

Saturday's acting skipper Lee Nogan finished 12 points adrift in third.

The points scoring from the Iron clash did not really effect the final standings.

Darren Edmondson picked up the maximum points haul to finish the season with 19 points, while Russ Howarth climbed up a couple of places to make it five points from two starts.

The last point went to 18-year-old midfield sensation Leigh Wood, who makes it into double figures from just 12 starts.

Final standings: Fettis 45pts, Proctor 42, Nogan 33, Bullock 32, Brass 28, Basham 20, Edmondson 19, Hocking 16, Parkin 16, Fielding 12, Wood 10, Potter 8, Duffield 7, Smith 7, Cooper 6, Howarth 5, Brackstone 4, Hobson 4, Richardson 4, Jones 3, Wise 3, Fox 1.

Updated: 11:45 Friday, April 26, 2002