YORK City have been relegated to the National League North following a 2-2 home draw with play-off qualifiers Forest Green.

Two Jon Parkin equalisers earned the Minstermen a share of the spoils after Omar Bugiel had twice given the visitors a lead.

But it proved insufficient as a heart-breaking stoppage-time equaliser from Danny Lowe saw Guiseley stay up at the expense of the Minstermen following their 1-1 draw with Solihull. The game kicked off after an emotional minute’s applause in the memory of former Press journalist Malcolm Huntington, with City applying the early pressure.

In the second minute, Parkin’s 15-yard half-volley forced a flying save from Sam Russell after Sean Newton’s forward pass through the left channel.

Long-throw specialist Sam Muggleton, given his first Minstermen start, then hurled two balls against the crossbar in quick succession with Vadaine Oliver shooting over amid the chaos after the rebound from the second.

But it was the visitors who forged in front from their first attack of the match.

Dan Wishart brushed past Asa Hall through the left channel and then squared for Bugiel to sidefoot high to Scott Loach’s left from ten yards.

The hosts squandered an excellent opportunity to level on the quarter-hour mark when Parkin drilled across the face of goal and a sliding Oliver somehow lifted the ball over an open net from three yards.

Forest Green countered immediately as Keanu Marsh-Brown fired over with an angled drive but City saw Parkin have a free kick deflected away from goal by the visitors’ wall and Newton sliced an ambitious 35-yard attempt wide before Gary Mills’ men got back on terms in the 33rd minute.

Skipper Simon Heslop seized on a loose ball in the away half and, down the middle of the pitch, played in Parkin, who kept his cool to fire past Russell from 15 yards with a first-time, left-footed finish.

But, almost straight from the kick off, the Gloucestershire team were ahead again as Bugiel strode through a parting home defence and prodded past an exposed Loach from eight yards.

Next, for City, Muggleton’s curling 20-yard shot was held by a diving Russell, while Shamir Mullings drove wide of the near post at the other end.

As the half drew to a close, Newton also volleyed against the roof of the LonOlghurst from the edge of the box and Bugiel curled into Loach’s hands from 15 yards after Mullings had unsettled Hamza Bencherif.

Mills made a tactical switch at the break, switching to a flat back four with Newton pushed into midfield.

Within seconds of the restart, Hall’s 20-yard drive deflected off team-mate Parkin and called Russell into action and, on 48 minutes, it was 2-2 when Muggleton’s throw from the left saw Amari Morgan-Smith pick up the pieces at the far post.

His goalbound shot then struck Parkin’s heel and spun past Russell.

Parkin went on to go close with a 25 yard free kick and Russell brilliantly kept out Hall’s close-range downward header with his legs following an Oliver cross from the right.

At the other end, Marsh-Brown lifted over from 15 yards, before Oliver charged on to a long ball through the left channel from Muggleton but curled weakly straight at Russell.

A couple of Oliver headers then lacked the power and direction to beat Russell, while Manny Monthe and Wishart attempts finished wide of Loach’s goal.

On 84 minutes, Heslop curled over from the edge if the box after winning the ball and, moments later, news filtered through of Guiseley’s stoppage-time equaliser against Solihull.

The goal was initially greeted with a deathly silences before chants around the ground of “Attack, Attack, Attack!”

After the fourth official signalled four minutes of added-on time, City went on to call keeper Loach forward for a corner and throw-win with the latter providing the best chance of a lifeline when the ball dropped to Newton’s feet, but he flashed a ten-yard half-volley wide.