YORK City's appetite for maximum points from every match they participate in was never better illustrated than during the nine minutes of stoppage time at the end of last night's derby clash at Halifax Town.

Having surrendered a second-half lead and, missing their suspended 20-goal top marksman Clayton Donaldson, most City fans would have forgiven their side for running the clock down during the remainder of the game to ensure a share of the spoils against a home team buoyed by their equaliser.

Those tactics would have been even more understandable at the Shay, where City have failed to score a goal let alone win a point since their relegation from the Football League in 2004.

Many would have also perceived Billy McEwan's decision to play a 4-5-1 formation as negative but with inspirational captain Emmanuel Panther leading the charge from midfield to support lone striker Craig Farrell the Minstermen were almost as dangerous on the counter-attack as they are when Donaldson is among their ranks.

Goalscorer Martyn Woolford on the right wing and Steve Bowey also provided energy on the flanks while the probing Lewis McMahon and industrious Neal Bishop anchored in the middle, leaving Panther to drive forward to great effect.

The City skipper would have capped an excellent display with a goal in the final minute of injury time had it not been for a goal-saving tackle from Halifax's on-loan Oldham defender Neal Trotman.

Seconds later, Farrell was upended by Trotman as he bore down on goal but, with the whole stadium expecting referee Karl Evans to brandish a red card as he reached into his pocket, he instead cautioned the incredulous City forward for diving.

It was, nevertheless a barnstorming end to a game that had begun with a first half of few chances.

A searching ball from McMahon on 15 minutes found Panther surging through on goal but his lob clipped covering defender Matt Doughty and bounced narrowly wide with Shaymen keeper Craig Mawson beaten.

At the other end, on-loan Derby County striker Lionel Ainsworth cut inside Danny Parslow shortly afterwards but dragged a good chance wide and Ryan Toulson then warmed Tom Evans' hands with a firm long-range drive.

Another strong Panther run, followed by a well-weighted pass, created a 25th-minute opportunity for Farrell but his low shot was blocked by Doughty.

Halifax midfielder Tom Kearney was then literally skating on thin ice, picking up a 34th-minute caution on the rapidly freezing pitch before clattering into McMahon shortly afterwards and escaping an early shower.

The Minstermen went ahead on 57 minutes with their first on-target attempt of the night when another through ball from McMahon released Woolford down the right channel.

Mawson got a hand to Woolford's low 12-yard drive but could not prevent the ball nestling in his bottom corner.

The former Frickley winger was then ridiculously booked for celebrating with his own supporters.

Halifax response to falling behind was spirited and, after Evans had bravely blocked at Smeltz's feet in his six-yard box following a miscued Lewis Killeen shot, the Shaymen drew level on 69 minutes.

Killeen was the architect spotting an Ainsworth run behind McGurk and the Pride Park teenager produced a composed finish to find Evans' bottom right-hand corner.

Moments later, Smeltz sidefooted narrowly wide after a raid down the right by the impressive Toulson and Parslow was required to clear off the line from Danny Forrest in the first minute of injury time.

The added-on time was necessary after the game had been stopped to allow City physio Jeff Miller to attend to Evans' heavily-bloodied nose and it looked like it might cost the visitors.

But the Minstermen decided the best form of defence was attack and went close to snatching victory four times at the death.

First, Panther drove forward again before creating a chance for Farrell that he ballooned over.

Farrell fired another good chance narrowly wide seconds later before combining with McMahon to find Panther making a tremendous run beyond the home defence only for Trotman to recover.

Trotman then appeared to use illegal means to prevent Farrell from having one last crack at beating Mawson although Mr Evans mystifyingly preferred a different interpretation of the incident.

Match facts
Halifax 1 (Ainsworth 69), York City 1 (Woolford 57)

Evans 7, Craddock 7, McGurk 7, Parslow 7, Lloyd 7, McMahon 8, Bishop 8, Panther 9, Bowey 8, Woolford 8, Farrell 7.

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

Subs (not used): Reid, Greenwood, Dudgeon, Peat, Maidens Star man: Panther - inspirational skipper's performance, full of running.

Halifax Town: Craig Mawson, Ryan Toulson, Adam Quinn, Neal Trotman, Matt Doughty, Danny Forrest, Tom Kearney (Nicky Gray 90), Martin Fowler, Lewis Killeen, Shane Smeltz, Lionel Ainsworth. Subs: Jake Wright, Tyrone Thompson, Gus Uhlenbeek, Lee Butler.

Bookings: Kearney 34, Woolford 58, Farrell 90.

Sent off: None.

Referee: Karl Evans (Greater Manchester). Rating: Appalling decisions to book Woolford and Farrell. Generally iffy.

Attendance: 2,308 Weather watch: Relentless snow showers and bitterly cold.

Game breaker: Trotman's last-ditch tackle on Panther prevented City from taking maximum points.

Match rating: Poor first half but good entertainment after the break and City could have snatched it at the end.

Billy's verdict: "It was a great advert for Conference football on a difficult pitch."

Player watch: Anthony Lloyd

Goal attempts on target: 0Goal attempts off target: 0Blocked goal attempts: 0Passes to own player: 18Passess to opposition: 9Crosses to own player: 0Crosses to opposition: 2Pass success rate: 62.1 per centDribbles ball retained: 1Dribbles ball lost: 1Dribble success rate: 50 per centHeaders: 5 Tackles: 11Clearances, blocks and interceptions: 7 Free-kicks won: 1Free-kicks conceded: 1Offsides: 0Bookings: 0Final summary: Lloyd put in a typically gutsy display as is illustrated by his high tackle count. His distribution could have been better and he was beaten in the air several times in the first half before City's back four adjusted accordingly. He had little opportunity to get forward and only made two crosses.