THE cries of derision and howls of protest from the Home Park faithful said it all.

The fourth official had raised his electronic board at the end of the 90 minutes to show six minutes of added time.

Plymouth Argyle were hanging on to their 1-0 lead by a thread and the vast majority of the 10,801 crowd were baying for the full-time whistle.

When it came, the sigh of relief emanating from the revamped home of the Pilgrims was as loud as the cheers of joy.

The fact Argyle had been pushed so close to no avail was of course scant consolation to City and the small band of supporters who had made the long haul south.

But in the cold light of day it must surely be some cause for comfort that Argyle, runaway leaders at the top of Division Three and in the midst of a six-match unbeaten run that included five successive wins, had been forced to draw on all their would-be champions' credentials.

Fortune had certainly played a part in Plymouth's winning goal, coming right on the stroke of half-time.

And it would be fair to say the Pilgrims' goal had led something of a charmed life in the second-half when City threw everything - including the kitchen sink - forward.

Talk about backs to the wall defending. It would have been no surprise to have seen Plymouth shirts coated in brick dust as they left the field.

True enough, City shots and genuine sights of the Plymouth goal were few and far between.

But the ball spent enough time in the Plymouth box to have made a difference if only a favourable bobble or bounce - indeed any slice of luck - had managed to go City's way.

No doubt too had the suspended Michael Proctor, or the luckless Peter Duffield, been available it could also have been a very different story.

Once again, the commitment and work-rate of the City players on display could not be faulted.

But had Proctor, with his quicksilver pace and trickery on the edge of the area, or Duffield, with his unerring ability to grab half-chances, been on duty then City would have scored at least one goal to claim at the very least a point.

Granted, City's second-half siege had been aided by the fact Plymouth had been reduced to ten men following the sending off of David Worrell for two bookings.

But it should not be overlooked that for a good part of the first-half City had played the more considered football against their high-flying hosts.

Neat and purposeful in possession, a calm and composed City knocked the ball around well if once again the final pass into the box proved their undoing.

In contrast, Argyle favoured the more direct approach; a couple of passes before launching the ball in behind the City defence.

It was a tactic that caused more than a few moments of concern but on the whole City remained relatively unruffled.

A flurry of corners that came to nought, a hat-trick of efforts from distance from Jon Beswetherick and a wasteful blaze over the bar from Martin Phillips were about as much as Argyle could muster.

The manner and timing then as Argyle broke the deadlock was particularly galling for City, who had seemingly weathered the storm.

Just as the half-time brews were poised to pour, Jon Parkin was harshly adjudged to have fouled Marino Keith out wide on the left.

The sense of injustice was multiplied ten-fold when Paul Wotton's resultant free-kick seemed to be drifting harmlessly wide only for Graham Potter to stick out his head and watch in horror as the ball nestled in the corner of the goal.

City got the lift they needed at the start of the second when Worrell, booked for encroachment on 46 minutes, received his marching orders some seven minutes later for a display of dissent.

It was one of only a handful of correct decisions made by the woeful man in the middle, Phil Prosser, all night.

As Prosser started to brandish cards as if they were going out of fashion, City were forced to throw caution to the wind and set up camp on the edge of the Pilgrims' penalty area.

As they pressed forward gaps were inevitably left at the back and it took a fine save from Alan Fettis to deny David Friio a goal on a rare Argyle foray into the City half.

Parkin was pushed forward to make City's extra man count where it mattered most and it took a Beswetherick goal-line clearance to deny Lee Nogan a headed equaliser.

But City just couldn't make their numerical advantage and possession count. Time and again a Plymouth limb would get the telling touch to avert the danger.

Had it been 60, not six minutes, indicated by the fourth official it probably wouldn't have made any difference.

It just wasn't York City's night.

Plymouth:

Scorer: Potter own goal

Larrieu, Worrell, Coughlan, Wotton, Beswetherick, Phillips (Sturrock 65m), Adams, Friio, Hodges, Keith (Taylor 58m), Stonebridge

Subs not used: McCormick, Wills, Heaney

Bookings: Phillips (dissent) 29m

Sent-off: Worrell 53m (two bookable offences)

City: Fettis 7, Hocking 7, Parkin 7, Basham 7, Hobson 6 (Wise 73m), Potter 6, Brass 7, Richardson 6, Bullock 7, Nogan 7, Mathie 6

Subs not used: Howarth, Wood, Smith, O'Kane

Bookings: Parkin 50m (foul), Brass 55m (dissent), Bullock 58m (foul), Hobson 60m (foul)

Attendance: 10,801

Referee: Phil Prosser

(Tewkesbury)

Updated: 10:44 Wednesday, March 06, 2002