Maximum home joy for City tomorrow, Saturday May 1, will see off fellow relegation rivals Northampton Town after they were held to a 3-3 draw by play-off hunting Wigan Athletic last night.

ON THE MARK: Mark Tinkler (right) is aiming to make it count against Bournemouth tomorrow

The Cobblers trailed 1-0 and 2-1 before rallying in front of a 5,400-plus crowd to go 3-2 up against the Latics, who had skipper Paul Rogers sent off shortly before half-time. But ten-man Latics, threatening City's visitors Bournemouth for the final play-off position, countered with a 78th-minute leveller from Stuart Balmer.

If York can prevail in their final home game of the season then the Cobblers will be unable to overhaul them and will be detached from the Minstermen at the foot of the table along with Macclesfield and Lincoln City.

Should City not win their anguish will be prolonged, having to sweat on the rest of tomorrow's results and also the May Day Monday visit of Northampton to Chesterfield.

Tinkler has old score to settle

Forceful midfielder Mark Tinkler is keen to right a wrong in York City's nerve-tingling battle against relegation.

The penultimate game of the season tomorrow offers the Minstermen a clear chance to virtually banish their fears of the Division Two drop if they vanquish Bootham Crescent visitors Bournemouth.

A win for the hosts would give City 53 points. Added to their healthy goals-for account, that tally would effectively erect a protective barrier to the trapdoor.

Tinkler is determined the comfort zone is reached by picking off the Cherries after the schemer literally suffered at the hands of Bournemouth.

In December's Dean Court duel 'a goal' poached by the midfield man was bizarrely ruled out for a foul on Bournemouth goalkeeper Mark Ovendale, who spilled the ball.To this day Tinkler cannot fathom the disallowing of the strike, which would have put City 2-0 ahead rather than eventually perish 2-1.

"I just couldn't believe it. It was a perfectly good goal," recalled the schemer, whose return to the core of City's midfield has coincided with the five-game unbeaten run steering the Minstermen to the brink of survival.

"It would be good to get one back over Bournemouth."

Should City dispatch the Cherries it would represent the best run of the season. Back in September Tinkler's winner in the 3-2 triumph at Walsall set City off on a six-game undefeated streak - three wins and three draws.

Currently the run is five matches without a loss, spanning three wins and two share-alls.

The combative Tinkler was confident City could thrive in the final home appearance of the season and almost certainly guarantee a seventh successive season in Division Two.

The only flaw so far had been closing out the opposition, said Tinkler, adding: "We have had a bit of luck in the last two games. We just need to kill teams off when we create four or five good chances.

"But the lads have kept believing in their ability to put a good run together and we aim to keep that going tomorrow."

Player-boss Neil Thompson, who re-iterated his desire to transform caretaker charge to a permanent position of power at City, agreed tomorrow's tussle could be a classic.

"Bournemouth have got to go for it and we have definitely got something to play for," he said.

"It would be great to get everything sorted before the last game at Manchester City. But we are not even thinking about that. We have just one thing on our minds and that's Bournemouth.

"I told the lads after we beat Blackpool that we could cross off Macclesfield and Lincoln. If we win tomorrow we can maybe cross others off.

"We have gone five games unbeaten now and that has bred confidence. But we are not out of the woods yet."

Thompson said he would wait until a late fitness check on midfielder Scott Jordan's calf injury, which forced the creative midfielder out of the midweek win over Blackpool, before deciding on City's final home line-up of the season.

If City are one of the current form teams of the division, Bournemouth are in a slump.

The Cherries looked play-off certainties, but have not won over the last five games in which they have collected just two points.

With Wigan Athletic closing in boss Mel Machin has said the Cherries must win their last two matches and rely on other results to keep alive their play-off hope.

The visitors are likely to make one change from the side beaten 2-1 at Colchester in midweek. Feisty midfield man John Bailey is set to replace James Hayter.

City's new colours will be unveiled tomorrow.

Fans will be able to get a look at what their favourites will wear next season in the final home game of this term.The club's new home strip is to be worn by the new mascot, Yorkie, who makes its bow as departed Shippo the lion's replacement before the Bournemouth game.The new look will be officially launched at the club shop on Thursday, May 13.There will also be a string of player of the year presentations before the game.

One to watch

From take flight to make fright is a stunning transformation undergone by Bournemouth captain Ian Cox.

For the past three years since he arrived at Dean Court the Croydon-born six-footer has warded off a succession of opposing forwards as the lynchpin of the Cherries' defence.

But bizarrely Cox came to the south coast from Crystal Palace with a reputation as a tricky right-winger, his natural - and preferred - role out on the flank.

His front to back switch - one of a glum of positional changes wrung by manager Mel Machin - has however been the making of the Bournemouth skipper.

As he leads the play-off chasers into battle against York City tomorrow he is presently being tracked by Scottish Premier side Aberdeen.

The Dons' manager, former Scottish international Paul Hegarty, recently travelled virtually the length of Britain to watch Cox in action. Suitably impressed he has just tabled a bid of £400,000 for the central defender, who is equally at home in a back four, or as the central pivot of a back five. Hegarty wants to bring Cox north of the border in the summer.

Bournemouth though are not about to sell their star defensive asset on the cheap. They believe a more realistic price for the man who has been a virtual ever-present since joining the club is £1.5million.

Anything less and the Cherries' fans would feel cheated. They have taken the commanding centre-back to their hearts, voting him their player of the year in his first season three terms ago.

Cox did not make an impact in the professional ranks until he was in his early 20s after Palace took him on from southern league outfit Carshalton Athletic six years ago.

Then a winger, he spent under three years with the Eagles for whom he was restricted to just 15 first-team appearances, 11 in the exalted company of the FA Premier League.

On deadline day of 1996 Bournemouth made their move. Cox agreed to come to Dean Court in a £50,000 pay-and-play deal based more on Bournemouth's cash strictures than the potential of the player.

Cox played in the final eight games of the season, manager Machin spotting that the player's pace and ease in possession would be better accommodated in the heart of defence.

It was an eminently wise decision. Cox blossomed as a stopper, though he was more than that.

His ability to break from the back-line with the ball to set up attacks gave the Cherries' extra forward momentum. This season he has weighed in with six valuable goals.

His partnership with Eddie Howe, later to gain England Under-21 honours, has also proved one of the most attractive in the Second Division.

Now Cox arrives at Bootham Crescent with almost 150 appearances in the red and black stripes of Bournemouth. Whether those colours will be traded for the red of Aberdeen in the close season remains to be seen.

But there's no doubt that Cox is the apple of many a Cherries' fan's eye.

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