CASH-STRAPPED York City are to play their biggest FA Cup game in 16 years against moneybags Fulham.

City - valued in total at £4.5 million - will run out on January 26 against a club which recently bought a single player, French international striker Steve Marlet, for £11.5 million.

The all-ticket tie against billionaire Mohammed Al Fayed's Premiership club was City's reward for beating First Division club Grimsby Town 1-0 in a stunning performance last night at Bootham Crescent, watched by more than 6,500 fans - York's biggest crowd in a competitive match since playing Manchester City in 1998.

The club also netted a £50,000 prize for winning the Third Round tie.

York City, facing extinction unless it is bought, were watched by a number of unidentified potential buyers last night.

But chairman Douglas Craig complained before the game that one who visited the club on Saturday may already have been deterred by the "frenzied campaign" by fans to save the club.

In a heated response to questioning by Harry Gration on BBC TV's Look North, he said the words of the potential buyer after seeing the fans' behaviour were: "It doesn't fill you with confidence."

When Mr Craig was asked if he could cash in on the sale of the ground to developers, he agreed, saying: "That's absolutely true - if nobody wants the thing we will cash in."

But he added: "I know other chairmen who've regularly been taking £100,000, £200,000, £300,000 in payments for their services. None of the directors, including myself, have taken a penny for donkeys' years.

"We've never had any dividends, we are simply now getting some benefit from the possible increase in capital."

Meanwhile, supporters campaigning to save the club have launched a petition calling on City of York Council to refuse any application to build on the Bootham Crescent ground.

The supporters hope to collect several thousand signatures before presenting the petition to councillors at a planning meeting on January 31.

The petition quotes the council's draft local plan, under which a change of use resulting in the loss of a local leisure facility should only be granted planning permission if either a local need for the leisure facility no longer exists, or appropriate alternative facilities exist in the local area.

Copies of the petition are available by email from frank.ormston@btinternet.com

Mr Ormston can be contacted on 07956 237 270.

Save York City campaigner Ian Savage, who was collecting cash with his son James before last night's game, said support was coming from all quarters.

"Grimsby supporters were very generous. There were lots of notes going into the bucket and comments like: 'It could be us,' or 'If one team goes we all go'."

Up to 20 police officers were called to Bootham at about 10pm following reports that a large number of fans were fighting.

But police said the trouble broke up quickly after officers saturated the area. No property was damaged and no arrests were made.

A spokesman said: "We certainly haven't had any damage caused to any residential properties or business properties - it was more like handbags at five paces."

See our Sports section for ticket information.

Updated: 11:48 Wednesday, January 16, 2002