Everyone knows that Billy McEwan is hot on discipline from the little stuff of common courtesy to the big stuff of sticking to gameplans, staying in control and not losing your temper.

Mark Hotte, however, comes from a slightly different school. He believes in giving his all and being positive but discipline is still on his to-do list on last night's evidence after giving away a second penalty in as many games that was enough to hand Halifax a gun and say 'rob us', with a 'please' as an afterthought.

It was his 61st-minute trip on John Grant near the edge of the box that finally turned referee Mo Matadar's head in a game of maybes.

And Craig Midgley delightedly stroked the ball along the ground having sent City goalkeeper Chris Porter off to the left.

The words 'this is a stick up' were on the home crowd's lips. But to be fair, it was an inside job.

The Minstermen didn't just have the chances to win this Yorkshire derby against a Halifax side with five key players out, they also had the possession, the dominance and the ideas.

What they didn't have was the discipline to close out the final ball and eradicate the stupid free-kicks that McEwan has been so keen to stamp out since the start of the season. For the record, City gave away ten fouls - four in danger areas - to Halifax's 14.

Hotte and Nathan Peat came close to offering an earlier spot-kick when they bundled Ryan Sugden over in the box seconds before half-time, although City had their own shouts too as Clayton Donaldson and Emmanuel Panther were impeded just outside the area on two occasions.

Andy Bishop, who completed his first full match since summer knee surgery, scored one of the best 'goals' of his life on 23 minutes after Darren Dunning bypassed the penalty box with a sweet chip for a perfectly-timed right-footed volley.

But a lack of control on Bishop's part meant it counted for nothing as he had strayed offside, despite having the entire line in front of him.

David McGurk missed a golden chance to break the deadlock shortly after that miss from a Mark Convery free-kick, but his header was off target.

Second half chances were also there in abundance. A great cross from Bishop ten minutes after the interval had the dazzling Donaldson and the not-so-sparkling Joe O'Neill diving in at the far post but both failed to make contact.

But even after the gut-wrenching goal, City were nurturing belief in a comeback.

Convery was sacrificed in a tactical manoeuvre to bring Bryan Stewart into the equation in a 4-2-4 formation and the fiesty teenager instantly brightened things up by turning an interception into an odds-on scoring opportunity. His low ball across the box found O'Neill, who sadly spurned the shot in favour of Bishop who was a second away from being swamped by Fax defenders and it came to nothing.

But for all the moans and the was it/wasn't it debates this was a class apart from the City that ambled to a 2-0 defeat at The Shay last season.

One American speaker says that discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment. If that's true then the Minstermen can't be too far away from some more celebrations.

Exeter's surge at the top of the Conference was stalled when they dropped their first points of the season.

The Grecians were held to a goal-less draw by visiting Forest Green in front of a bumper Bank Holiday crowd just shy of 5,000.

That share-all enabled Grays Athletic to edge to within two points of the leaders after they ousted ailing Aldershot 2-1.

Match facts

Halifax 1, Midgley pen 62

York City 0

City ratings:

Key: 10 - Faultless; 9 - Outstanding; 8 - Excellent; 7 - Good; 6 - Average; 5 - Below par; 4 - Poor; 3 - Dud; 2 - Hopeless; 1 - Retire

Porter 6

Price 7

McGurk 8

Hotte 5

Peat 7

Bishop 7

Panther 7

Convery 7 (Stewart 66, 7)

Dunning 7 (Yalcin 62, 7)

O'Neill 6

Donaldson 8

Subs (not used): Merris, Dudgeon, Afandiyev

Star man: McGurk - Solid at the back and came close to scoring at the other end in a great performance

Halifax Town: Dunbavin, Toulson, Quinn, Ingram, Doughty, Foster, Thompson, Midgley (Leister 77), Killeen, Sugden (Jacobs 87), Grant. Subs not used: Butler, Senior, Bowler.

Yellow cards: Donaldson 67.

Referee: M Matadar (Blackburn). Rating: A no-nonsense referee who kept the game flowing.

Attendance: 2,078.

Weather watch: Warm and sunny but the temperature soon dropped off into the evening.

Game breaker: On paper it was Hotte's second penalty in as many games but City's general lack of finishing was what cost them.

Match rating: A one-sided onslaught on Halifax but City gift-wrapped an against-all-odds winner for Town. City fans will have plenty to smile about.

McEwan's verdict: "I can't believe how we've lost it.

"It was suicide - we can't keep shooting ourselves in the foot all the time."

Player watch: Nathan Peat

Shots on target: 0

Shots off target: 1

Passes to own player: 11

Passes to opposition: 5

Crosses to own player: 0

Crosses to opposition: 2

Pass success rate: 61.1 per cent

Dribbles ball retained: 2 Dribbles ball lost: 2

Dribble success rate: 50 per cent

Fouls won: 0 Fouls conceded: 0 Headers: 2 Tackles: 4

Clearances, blocks and interceptions: 7

Bookings: 0

Final summary: The left-back was always going to be in the thick of the action against a 4-3-1-2, and he played his part in City's 4-3-3 with strong attacking support play down the left wing, as indicated by his high passing level. When play switched down the right through Price and Bishop, Peat's defensive game was called to the fore - but he never conceded a free-kick.

Updated: 11:40 Tuesday, August 30, 2005