FREE-KICK ace Scott Jordan, who revealed he does not rehearse the art, declared York City areup for the challenge of beating the drop.

City's Marc Williams (right) is embraced by co-striker Rodney Rowe after putting City into the lead at Northampton last night

The elegant midfielder dipped in a delicious long-range set-piece to seal a precious point in City's relegation struggle at Northampton Town last night.

His masterful effort tied up the 2-2 draw and ensured City did not drop into the Second Division's bottom four. But more significantly for the 23-year-old midfielder it signalled City's intention to fight to the last to hang on to their status.

Said Jordan: "Everyone is up for it. We all know what job we have to do and everybody wants to succeed.

"We've got two games at home now and we have to build on what we have achieved over the last two games. It's up to us to do it and I'm sure there's a lot of teams down here who would rather be in our position than in their own."

Jordan's arrow-true strike soon after Northampton had countered from a Marc Williams' opener to lead 2-1 was the third successive free-kick he has scored in City's last six games. But in the previous two his expert efforts counted for nought, City perishing to Wigan and Chesterfield.

"At least the goal meant something this time as we managed to get a point," ventured Jordan, fast becoming City's set-piece version of David Beckham.

But the flowering of Jordan's free-kick skill was not down to specialist work. It was more due to the freedom given him by City's caretaker-manager Neil Thompson, explained the Newcastle-born midfielder.

"I have never practised set-pieces in my life apart from the odd kick-about after the end of training.

"But since the gaffer has taken over he has told me to take free-kicks from outside the box if they are on the left side. Now in training we seem to be working on set-pieces more. We all seem to be enjoying it."

Jordan certainly lapped up his sixth goal of the season. "I asked the manager if he wanted to take it. But where the kick was and with the wind behind us he told me to have a go.

"I got a good connection and the wind took it in."

City's caretaker chief Thompson was thrilled by Jordan's expertise and also the overall conviction of his men in fending off Northampton's aerial surge, which gained extra impetus driven on by a first-half gale.

"It was as I expected, a battle. It wasn't pretty," he said.

"We were under the cosh a lot but we battled well and all credit to the lads for their character. This kind of game is foreign to us, yet we are learning all along.

"We are striving to keep that elusive clean sheet. So far it's tough to get one. But probably just a little while ago we might have been beaten four or five here."

Thompson, who hailed Jordan's leveller as a 'quality strike', also saluted City's other scorer Marc Williams. His first-half opener was City's 50th goal of the season and was Williams' third in six games since arriving from Halifax Town for £30,000.

"Willo gives you that surprise of getting something from nothing."

Thompson said it was now vital for City to maximise upcoming clashes at home to Stoke City on Saturday and then against Blackpool in just under a week's time.

"We are two games unbeaten and it's a heck of a long time since we've been able to say that. Now we have got to become even more difficult to beat."

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