Luckless York City's FA Cup fury runneth over as they left Wrexham seething.

Wrexham and York City players clash on the halfway line at the Racecourse Ground as Martin Reed and Neil Roberts lie on the ground.

City's knockout campaign ended when they perished 2-1 in their second round tie in north Wales, where they finished the game with nine men.

Defenders Mark Tinkler and Martin Reed were both sent off by Nottingham referee Frazer Stretton.

But the City ranks were incensed by the dismissal of Tinkler with just over a third of the tie still to be played. To a man they raged that the red card was the critical point that switched the game out of their reach.

The controversial incident flared soon after City had taken the lead through midfielder Scott Jordan.

In a goalmouth scramble as shots rained in Tinkler blocked a goal-bound effort from Wrexham striker Neil Roberts, the drive hitting the City man's elbow.

Referee Stretton awarded a penalty and then brandished the red card at the City defender, who maintained he just could not get out of the way with Roberts merely a yard away when he let fly.

The decision left City manager Alan Little furious, his wrath increased by the claim that Wrexham's eventual winner scored in the second-half was from an offside position.

Railed Little: "That decision was out of touch with the game. No way could it have been a penalty there for intentional handball from four or five feet away.

"If that's a handball and a sending-off then we have got to look again."

"The team have battled their hearts out for 45, 65, 75 minutes yet two decisions have cost York City the chance to bring Wrexham back to our ground. We at least deserved a second crack at them."

The City manager said the tactics employed to get something out of the tie for the injury-ravaged Minstermen, missing eight seniors from their starting line-up, were rendered redundant as soon as Tinkler received his marching orders.

"It's not about systems then. It's about trying to hang on to what you have got.

"Before the penalty the shape of the side was right. But then it went all up in the air. I could not have asked more of the players."

A distraught Tinkler could not believe his ill-fortune.

"The lad was no more than two yards away from me when he shot. I've gone in to block the ball and it's hit me on the elbow. I just could not get out of the way of it at all," said Tinkler.

"The referee said he was sending me of for intentionally handling the ball, but there was no time to think about anything. The ball just hit me. It wasn't deliberate in any way.

"Up to then we were playing well and starting to control the game. The lads just had to battle on as best they could, but then they all swear that their striker who scored the winner was offside.

"Surely our luck's got to change sometime."

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