York City's goal hero Paul Aimson will be back in York next weekend for a double dose of Minstermen fun.

The centre-forward etched his name into the record books after hitting goals in seven straight matches, scoring City's fastest ever goal and fighting back from a life-threatening knee injury operation to take his all-time goal record to 113 in two spells.

Now the 62-year-old version of the goal machine - one of only six players to ever break through the 100-goal barrier for City - is returning to KitKat Crescent for the last home match of the season against Hereford United as the special guest.

And that evening, he will be at the York City Vice Presidents' end of season dinner to field questions from the floor.

There are still some tickets available for the dinner at the Beechwood Close Hotel, priced at £20 each.

For more information or to book a seat for the evening, which starts at 8pm and will include a speech by Billy McEwan, call Vice Presidents secretary David Cocker at the club on 01904 624447.

FAN power will pay for more than two-thirds of lengthy pitch repair work this summer - and the contractors have already been given a start date.

The pioneering Pitch in a Pound appeal has now gone past the £6,700 mark and is set to rise even further with two more bucket collections planned.

And with so much already in the bag, club secretary Nick Bassett has been able to book and set a date with contractors with work due to get under way the day after the North Riding Senior Cup final at KitKat Crescent on May 2.

He said: "I'm absolutely delighted. It never ceases to amaze me the capacity of the supporters to put their hands in their pockets and come up with the goods.

"All credit has to go to York Minstermen and especially Ian Tyssen for organising it - they were the catalyst for it all.

"They have eased the burden on the club significantly - they will have paid for well over two-thirds of the total cost."

Phase one of the work will see contractors stripping the affectionately termed beach corner down to drain level. The drainage will be inspected and repaired if needed before it is back-filled and re-turfed.

Then an 'Earthquake' machine will be sent over the entire pitch. It works by getting under the surface with long knife-like attachments - to get air into it, alleviate compaction and improve surface water drainage for next season.

Fans have two more chances to bump up the appeal coffers next week at the Hereford United home match and at the North Riding Senior Cup final against Northallerton.

YORK City fans hold a slender lead over their Scarborough rivals going into the second leg of the 15th David Longhurst Supporters' Challenge Sports and General Knowledge Quiz.

The Minstermen teams clinched an overall 168-163 away leg victory at the McCain Stadium although the side with the highest individual score was Scarborough's "Play-off Heartbreak", who managed 63.5 out of 80.

Scarborough's supporters will now visit KitKat Crescent Social Club for the return leg on Thursday, April 27. The evening begins at 8pm and anybody is welcome.

Level headed campaign

YORK City's game on Easter Monday against Halifax Town saw the club supporting the 'Level Playing Field', which is a campaign run by the National Association for Disabled Supporters.

The organisation is trying to gain awareness for disabled supporters and is seeking to improve facilities at football grounds. They are hoping to get every Football League and Conference club on board with this initiative.

To mark the occasion, the Minstermen invited Copmanthorpe FC Soccability Coaching Centre to the Halifax game, as they are a local disability community charter standard club and are seeking the opportunity to participate in various football leagues next season.

As part of the "Level Playing Field" initiative, the City match officials and ball boys also wore branded armbands in recognition of the club's support for the campaign.

Updated: 11:08 Saturday, April 22, 2006