The assassin from St Asaph has York City in his sights.

Ian Rush, the most prolific marksman in the history of the FA Cup, is poised like a sword of Damocles hanging over the Minstermen at the Racecourse Ground tomorrow.

And the bad news for City is that Rush has yet to get off the mark for the Welsh club whom he joined in summer as player-coach.

Now at the age of 36, Rush has not many more line-leading years left and indeed is diligently looking towards coaching to prolong his involvement in football.

While Michael Owen-mania is rife around the Premier League and Alan Shearer is still in his powerful pomp, it should not be forgotten that the mantle of marksmanship was worn with magnificent distinction by the pencil-lean Welshman.

In his heyday when Liverpool grabbed silverware by the red-clad armful his rapier pace was unsurpassed, his instinct for goal unrelenting.

It was not always so in the land of the Anfield giants. After his £300,000 arrival from Chester, where Rush scored 14 goals in 33 League games, the then teenager stuttered in the Liverpool front-line. He was so dismayed he sought the advice of then manager Bob Paisley.

But once the first goal went in - a brace against Leeds United on October 10, 1981 - the Rush legend was born. His partnership with Kenny Dalglish was one of the most potent double-acts to grace English football. Kenny would set them up, Rush would bury them. Pure and simple.

Their ace axis was at the forefront of the club's greatest years, a Liverpool rule extending beyond these shores to Europe.

Rush, too, headed to Italy and while most observers judged his £3million move to Juventus ill-starred, he was a regular scorer even in an indifferent Juve team.

One year on he returned to Anfield to continue his goal spree, landmarks and records tumbling. Rush scored in three FA Cup finals, establishing a post-war record of 42 FA Cup goals, and is presently joint League Cup top scorer with Geoff Hurst.

Some 13 years and 229 League goals for Liverpool ended when he moved to Leeds United in 1996. His gravitation towards coaching was to start under then manager Howard Wilkinson.

But the premier heights were never hit again either at Elland Road or at Newcastle, to where Dalglish took him last season.

So it was back to his homeland of Wales for whom he amassed 73 caps. It's been remarked that as he has struggled to attune to the greater biff of the Second Division and that he has made more impact in the Wrexham club shop with sales of Rush-linked memorabilia than on the pitch.

But every defence will still have to be on dread alert to ensure that famous surname does not appear on the scoring lists as it did so regularly for more than a decade at the highest level.

And his penchant for FA Cup goals - he has notched five in Wembley Cup finals alone - means City will have to be on red alert to quell another Rush hour of glory.

MATCH POINTS

Wrexham v York CityFA Cup 2nd round (at the Racecourse Ground, tomorrow 3pm)

Although Wrexham have been City's most frequently met opponents in league football, this is the club's first paring in the FA Cup.

City have made two cup visits to the Racecourse Ground. In 1990/91 they lost a first round second leg FL cup tie 2-0 and in 1995/6 and Auto Windscreen group match 1-0.

In 45 league visits they have won seven times and drawn 14.

They are unbeaten in their last five league trips winnings twice and drawing three times. And on their last visit in April 1998 won 2-1 with Neil Thompson (penalty) and Richard Creswell on the mark.

Players to have represented both clubs include Clive Colbridge, Andy Provan, Graham Cooper and Barry Jones.

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