Thrills and spills in cup drama

For York City and second-division high-fliers Reading provided a fitting testament to the grand old competition; an enthralling game, packed-full of incidents and accidents, grit and determination, a stirring fight-back, quality goals and, just for good measure, a controversial ending.

It was certainly value for money and a game that reaffirmed the so-called magic of the Cup is no myth.

To their credit, it was City who provided nearly all the thrills and spills while Reading, despite letting slip a two-goal lead, will count themselves fortunate to still be in the competition.

And that must be the only complaint of a Minstermen side that produced one of their best performances of the season.

For while they live to fight another day, the nagging doubt is that Saturday provided City's best chance of progress. Their performance certainly merited it.

But after showing such resolve to force a replay then few would begrudge them the chance to dethrone the Royals in their impressive Madjeski Stadium.

And if they show the same courage in the face of adversity as they did at Bootham Crescent on Saturday then City have every chance of causing an upset.

Reading arrived with glowing references but for the most part Alan Pardew's Royals were unconvincing.

After a shaky opening the much-maligned City defence, with striker Colin Alcide installed alongside Mark Sertori and Mark Bower, warmed to the task and but for the eight minutes at the start of the second-half that saw Reading go 2-0 up, were rock-solid in their resolution.

Indeed, considering they were up against two of the Second division's deadliest and costliest poachers in Martin Butler and Jamie Cureton they looked remarkably comfortable.

And while the first-half was notable for a lack of clear-cut chances, City, benefitting from such a solid platform, were by far the more convincing in attack too.

In what would have been a near carbon copy of his wonderful strike against Torquay the week before, David McNiven just failed to get a clean connection to another Darren Edmondson cross while Chris Iwelumo, in his best performance since arriving from Stoke, went closer still to breaking his duck with a couple of headers.

McNiven lashed another volley straight at Phil Whitehead in the Reading goal while Alex Mathie flashed a header across the face of the goal and as the half wore on it was fair to say there was only one team in it.

Butler and Cureton were largely anonymous while City's three-pronged attack of McNiven, Iwelumo and the increasingly influential Mathie were causing the Reading defence all sorts of problems with their movement.

In midfield too City had the edge as Steve Agnew and Kevin Hulme harried, chased and tackled for every lost cause amd ensured this was no easy ride for Reading.

As half-time approached, Reading at last provided a reality check when Adi Viveash brought the best out of Alan Fettis with a low shot at the far post that the City keeper did well to push out before Cureton wriggled free of Bower's shackles to force Fettis into another fine fingertip save.

But it was still fair to say the whiff of a cup upset was growing ever more pungent after a first-half that had done much to restore faith in this York City team.

That renewed faith was quickly abandoned less than ten minutes into the second-half as Reading ruthlessly spiked all City's good work of the first.

Sertori committed an unnecessary foul on Butler some 25-yards out and from the resultant, well-worked free-kick Ricky Newman fired home with unerring accuracy.

The disappointment was doubled five minutes later when Robinson strode clear down the left before pulling the ball back for Butler, who slotted it past Fettis after a fortunate deflection off an outstretched Bower leg.

It seemed City had little left to play for but pride yet within three minutes the Minstermen had hauled themselves back in with a shout.

Mathie instigated the red revival when after a neat turn on the by-line he pulled the ball back for striker partner McNiven, who finished clinically for his ninth goal of a productive season.

But the best was still to come from the former Ipswich goal ace when five minutes later he picked the ball up just inside the City half and unleashed an unstoppable rocket from 35 yards that cannoned off the underside of the Reading bar, bounced down on the goal line and back up into the roof of the net.

It was a goal of which Roy Race would have been proud and was worthy of winning the FA Cup on its own.

City, their tails-up, sensed victory while a shell-shocked and stumbling Reading retreated into their shells of the first half.

City could have clinched it when Whitehead, under pressure from Iwelumo, spilled Graham Potter's up and under but Edmondson miscued what should have been a simple tap-in.

Clearly rattled, the Royals sought to time waste at every opportunity and it was not before time when referee Peter Walton finally brandished a yellow card at the Reading 'keeper as he dallied over a goal kick.

With Reading looking spent it was such a shame for City then that an enthralling game was marred by the controversial dismissal of Hulme just eight minutes from time.

The fearsome midfielder could have had little complaint for picking up a yellow card for a rash tackle on Newman on 65 minutes.

But he could count himself unlucky for picking up a second 17 minutes later after challenging Viveash.

Hulme's foot was certainly high as he went to block Viveash's clearance but contact with the Reading centre-half, who crumpled to the floor, seemed minimal to say the least.

Hulme's dismissal looked especially galling when, after lengthy treatment, Viveash strode back purposefully onto the field.

Down to ten men, City needed more defiance to see out the closing minutes but if nothing else City have shown themselves, particularly in recent weeks, they are a team who fight to the bitter end.

If they can show the same defiance, determination and application on December 19 then the FA Cup will still be in City's sights come 2001.