Football: New year... but same old story

FOX HUNT: Young midfielder Christian Fox zips past Mansfield's John Andrews (No 19) to set up another City raid

The Minstermen kick-started the 21st century with a third successive defeat and their horrid home form continues.

Just three wins at Bootham Crescent this season, only two more throughout the whole of 1999 and to add insult to injury another blank return means it is just ten goals in 15 home encounters.

City's plight makes sorry reading and is all the more frustrating because in the first-half on Saturday they perhaps played some of the best football of the current campaign.

It was refreshing, heartening stuff as City sparkled in the bright sunshine to dull the senses of a resurgent Mansfield Town.

But when your down on your luck tragedy is often just around the corner and the manner in which City fell behind was just that - tragic.

The clock was ticking down for the half-time teas when Marc Williams ghosted in at the far post and latched on to John Williams' curling, teasing cross.

Straight out of the coaching manual, the diminutive dynamo rose to head the ball back from where it came but missed the target by the narrowest of margins. It looked a costly miss and so it proved almost immediately.

City seemed to have rode their luck when Bobby Mimms dived smartly to grab Micky Boulding's snap shot at the near post and the ball was cleared up field.

But back it came, straight into the path of midfielder Michael Sisson who shirked of the challenge of Mark Sertori before racing clear to rifle home past Mimms for the softest of goals.

It was hammer hard blow - City had been much the better team for those opening 45 minutes.

As early as the eighth minute Steve Agnew was just inches away from scoring.

Player-manager Neil Thompson, making his first appearance since the beginning of September, flung in a dangerous ball into the Mansfield penalty area where Colin Alcide made himself a nuisance.

The ball spilled to Agnew on the edge of the area who let fly with a rising drive that had Ian Bowling in the Stags' goal beat but not the crossbar.

With the setting sun casting long shadows across Bootham Crescent and posing an obvious problem for Bowling, City's tactic was equally apparent - to get the ball into the box at the earliest opportunity.

Thompson, doing his utmost to stifle the boo-boys jeering his every touch, won the ball on the half-way line and laid the ball out wide to Matt Hocking.

The full-back linked-up smartly with John Williams and sent in a low cross that was met by the advancing Agnew at the near post.

His effort was parried by Bowling, the ball eventually rolling to Alcide, who was also left cursing his luck when his goal-bound shot was blocked by the chest of Mark Blake.

On 25 minutes, Scott Jordan split Mansfield's three-pronged defence and Marc Williams, always looking to pierce the gaps between the Stags' rearguard, burst clear.

Williams and the ball evaded the challenge of the advancing Bowling but the striker ran out of pitch before he had chance to fire in a shot.

Ten minutes later and Alcide flicked a delightful ball out wide to Christian Fox. The youngster rolled it into the path of Thomspon who unleashed his i left foot and fizzed a 35-yard effort into the side netting.

Marc Williams' glaring miss followed shortly, Sisson's decisive strike just moments after that and the referee's whistle for half-time less than a minute later.

City fans were no doubt still scratching their heads as to how the Minstermen were suddenly a goal down when the sides retook the field for the second-half.

So too, it seemed, were City, who struggled to take their first-half authority into the second. They had the lions' share of possession but it was Mansfield who carried the more genuine threat.

A free-kick lobbed into the City box by Richardson had farcical outcome. Mimms called for the ball but, flustered by the presence of Chris Greenacre, missed it completely and could only watch as it trickled just inches wide of the City upright.

Greenacre should have doubled Mansfield's advantage midway through the half when Lee Williams jinked past Lee Bullock and planted a cross on the striker's head just six yards out, but he could only nod the ball straight into the arms of Mimms.

Ten minutes later and Greenacre was denied again when he forced a brilliant save from the veteran 'keeper with a first-time effort on the turn that somehow Mimms clawed out from under the bar.

And his hat-trick of misses was complete with another snap-shot that this time forced Mimms down low and to his right to save.

City were being pegged back deeper and deeper but continued to create the odd chance.

Marc Williams failed to strike the ball cleanly and Bowling saved comfortably, then Agnew and Thompson tried their luck from distance at free-kicks before Marc Williams, in a carbon-copy of his effort just moments earlier, this time forced a good save from the Mansfield shot-stopper.

In the final minute Agnew hit a crisp volley from 20 yards that seemed destined for the bottom corner until Bowling outstretched a hand to deny City a last-gasp equaliser.

Happy New Year?

There's nothing new about it.

Nationwide Division Three: Saturday, January 8, 2000

York City 0 Mansfield 1

YORK CITY: Bobby Mimms 8, Matt Hocking 8, Neil Thompson 7, Mark Sertori 6, Barry Jones 6, Christian Fox 6, Scott Jordan 6 (Lee Bullock 46mins, 6) Steve Agnew 6, Colin Alcide 6 (Barry Conlon 46mins, 6) Marc Williams 7, John Williams 7.

Subs unused: Russ Howarth, Martin Reed, Andrew Dawson

Goal: none

Bookings: none

MATT HOCKING: Probably his best game yet in a City shirt. Didn't put a foot wrong. Solid defensively, good distribution and always looking to get forward.

Mansfield Town: Ian Bowling, John Andrews, Neil Richardson, Leigh Bromby, Lee Williams, Darrell Clarke, Mark Blake, Michael Sisson, Tony Lormor, Micky Boulding (David Kerr 76mins) Chris Greenacre.

Subs unused: Kevin Tye, Lee Cowling, Andy Roscoe, Gary Tallon.

Goal: Sisson 44mins

Bookings: none

Referee: Richard Beeby (Northampton)

Crowd: 2,458

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.