YORK City boss Billy McEwan declared his players a match for any team in the Conference after watching Saturday's excellent 2-1 win at play-off rivals Burton Albion.

Second-half goals from Martyn Woolford and Craig Farrell earned the Minstermen a vital victory at the Pirelli Stadium with Andy Corbett's injury-time reply only proving a consolation.

It was a result that meant City stayed in the play-off frame and opened up a gap of four points on Saturday's hosts, who travel to Southport today.

A satisfied McEwan said afterwards: "We've also won at Stevenage and Morecambe this season and got a draw with ten men at Exeter so we know when our guys are tuned in, as they were at Burton, they are as good as anything in this league.

"Some of our movement and football was excellent and I thought the game was a great advert for football.

"Burton are a good strong team and anybody at the match would have been surprised by the quality for a Conference league game.

"The result makes up for the disappointment of our last two games when we didn't play too badly but didn't get the breaks. I said before the match that we had played 40 games and that would be a long way to come not to have anything to show for it at the end.

"I said Let's go for it' and they responded brilliantly. Now we've got four massive, massive games to go."

McEwan reserved specific praise for young rookies Woolford, Ben Purkiss and Danny Parslow.

The trio did not boast a senior professional appearance between them before their arrivals at KitKat Crescent this season but all three played key roles in Saturday's triumph.

Ex-Frickley Athletic winger Woolford scored City's first goal and created the second for Farrell during a devastating second-half display.

Part-timer Purkiss also added to his growing band of impressive performances at right-back since his deadline day loan move from Conference North outfit Gainsborough Trinity and Parslow, plucked from Cardiff reserves, made a solid return to the side following Hungarian centre-back Janos Kovacs' return to Chesterfield.

McEwan said: "All the players did well but those three take special praise because they are young players in their first season and that's a big thing.

"It's all new to them but they all did ever so well and I want to single them out."

About match-winner Woolford, who has now netted eight times in 22 league starts, McEwan added: "He's only a baby but he's got lots of potential.

"He will only get better as he learns the other things to his game which he knows because he's a clever boy and not naive."

McEwan also pointed out that the backing of City's 726-strong travelling army helped inspire the team's second-half efforts.

He said: "I'm pleased for the fans who travelled down. The noise they made was fantastic.

"It was a good following. They were very vocal, loyal and supportive and got behind us.

"At half-time, I told the lads We're kicking towards our fans and if that does not give you energy nothing will' and they responded brilliantly."

* Today's important matches: Altrincham v Gravesend, Forest Green v Stevenage, Morecambe v Halifax, Oxford v Weymouth, Southport v Burton.