YORK City followed up one of their best performances of the season with arguably their worst in last night's 2-0 defeat at the hands of Swansea City.

From the sublime to the ridiculous, a more stunning fall from grace is hard to imagine.

City were so far removed from the team that outplayed Second Division Colchester United for long spells in Saturday's FA Cup first round scoreless stalemate that you were left wondering whether they had been infiltrated by doppelgangers.

At least they have managed to encapsulate their season in their last two performances alone - consistently inconsistent - but it is difficult to recall one redeeming feature from last night's showing.

Perhaps the only crumb of comfort was that it was played before City's lowest league crowd of the season, so saving those who chose to stay at home from having to suffer the spectacle.

Much of the post-match analysis will no doubt centre around City's tactics and formation.

But it was the same 5-3-2 formation that worked so well on Saturday at Layer Road and nor did it hinder Swansea, who also adopted the same formation.

And you can talk about tactics and formations until you are blue in the face.

Football is a simple game - pass and move - and last night City, playing like a side with their boots caked in concrete, their feet covered in blisters, did neither.

The passing was poverty-stricken and, with too many players choosing to hide, the movement was non-existent.

Just to rub salt into the wounds, one-time City striker John Williams confirmed football's unwritten rule that ex-players must come back to haunt their former clubs by wreaking havoc.

Throughout his hour-long return, Williams, who only ever sparkled sporadically in a City shirt, proved a handful at either end of the pitch.

Gigantic clearing headers at corners at one minute, rakish runs and teasing crosses the next.

Swansea's opening goal just about summed up City's performance and turnaround in fortunes from the weekend.

Matt Hocking, so accomplished against Colchester, tried to usher the ball out for a goal-kick only for Williams to snatch possession and centre for Damien Lacey, who picked his spot and from 20 yards passed the ball past Alan Fettis.

Ten minutes later it could have been worse. Williams shrugged off Chris Smith with disdain and galloped away down the left.

Fettis could only parry his cross-cum-shot but was alert enough to scramble the loose ball away as Mamady Sidibe moved in for the kill.

City created very little in front of goal during the 90 minutes.

The only time they came close in the first half came in the seventh minute when Lee Nogan and Michael Proctor combined on the edge of the Swans' area and Nogan's angled shot just whispered past the post.

At least the second half offered City the chance to start afresh and when Graham Potter had Roger Freestone at full stretch to turn away his 30-yard free-kick it looked like the Minstermen were ready to shake off their first-half sluggishness.

And for a time they did start to pass the ball better.

But just as they started to build up a head of steam Swansea killed the game off on 73 minutes with a goal of unerring simplicity.

Freestone's long punt was nodded on by ex-Scarborough striker Steve Brodie and Sidibe all-too easily outstripped the City defence to poke the ball home.

With minutes to go City's best chance of a consolation fell to the feet of the normally deadly Proctor.

Some nifty footwork by Lee Bullock played in the striker but just to underline how bad a night this was, Proctor, with just Freestone to beat, screwed his effort into the side-netting.

Two minutes before full-time, Swansea goalscorer Lacey was dismissed for violent conduct after pushing Chris Brass in the face while the City skipper lay on the floor.

The fact the red card, followed not long after by the final whistle, secured the biggest cheers of the night just about summed it up.

Fact file:

City: Fettis 6, Cooper 6, Smith 4 (Darlow 69, 5), Hobson 5 (Maley 79) , Hocking 4, Potter 4, Richardson 4 (Edmond-son 56, 5) Brass 6, Bullock 5, Nogan 6, Proctor 5.

Subs, not used: Wood, Collinson.

Booked: Bullock 90 (foul)

Sent off: None

Swansea: Freestone, S Evans, Sharp (Todd 79), Smith, Bound, T Evans, Coates (Phillips 63), Cusack, Lacey, Williams (Brodie 63), Sidibe.

Subs, not used: Jones, Watkin.

Booked: Todd 90 (foul)

Sent off: Lacey 88 (violent conduct)

Scorers: Lacey 26, Sidibe 73

Attendance: 1,840

Referee: Tony Leake (Darwen)