York City Ladies have had to put on hold hopes of revisiting KitKat Crescent - but another cup conquest tomorrow could quicken their return.

Joey MacGregor's team fly the flag for the city in the second qualifying round of the women's FA Cup against Denton, with the game to be played on Little Knavesmire (2pm) and not York City's ground as planned.

They stormed through the first round for the first time in the cub's history after an 11-0 romp at the Crescent and they had been hoping to return to their occasional base for the second outing against Denton this Sunday.

But Minstermen boss Billy McEwan and groundsman Jez Milner have barred them from using those facilities to preserve the pitch, leaving the team out on Knavesmire.

Ladies first team manager MacGregor said: "It's a bit disappointing because we felt that having the Crescent made it a special occasion for both sets of players and it was nice for the supporters to sit in a nice stadium, but sometimes these things can't be helped."

City club secretary Nigel Pleasants explained that the match would not be staged at KitKat Crescent because the pitch has recently been subjected to two Conference matches in four days, but he added the club were still committed to encouraging and promoting ladies' football and would not rule out hosting another game.

He said: "The decision has been taken because of the two games that have been played on the pitch this week and, taking into consideration the big match against Exeter coming up, it was felt the pitch might be taking a bit too much wear and tear.

"However, if the ladies' team continue to progress in the competition we will help if we can."

The ladies are now hopeful they may yet return to KitKat Crescent if they make it through to the next round, with FA rules dictating a fully enclosed pitch from round four onwards.

Little is known about North West opponents Denton except that they won promotion last year and beat a team from the division above in the first round.

MacGregor said: "I'm hoping for a good game that promotes women's football and raises the profile in the area."

Two of the five players that missed last week's 2-1 league win, which came after trailing 1-0 with goals from player-of-the-match Emma Fawcett and Lou Ross, over Republica are back in action this weekend and MacGregor is quietly confident of a good performance.

York City Ladies Reserves also got off to a winning start with a 3-0 victory over local rivals Sheriff Hutton, Jenna Strain scoring two goals either side of a Justine Blackburn strike.

Updated: 09:02 Saturday, September 24, 2005