National League North
York City 1-1 Chorley
1en-man York City picked up a valuable point against Chorley, watched by a record attendance at their new stadium of an incredible 4,512.
Following a win at Guiseley and defeat at Gateshead, York City were back in action against high flyers Chorley, who were looking to edge into the top two. The Minstermen on the other hand, were struggling under new interim boss John Askey, and trying to burst into the playoffs.
During the course of the week, supporters were left with high hopes after a dramatic finish versus Guiseley, however 180 travelling fans were made disappointed at the Gateshead International Stadium where City were beaten 2-0 on Tuesday night.
This home league fixture had a record attendance anticipated thanks to the ‘Football For A Fiver’ campaign which invited as many people as possible to visit the LNER Community Stadium.
After the departure of both Adam Senior and Jason Gilchrist, Josh King and Sam Fielding returned to the bench with Michael Duckworth and Clayton Donaldson making their way back into the starting eleven. For Chorley, Connor Hall dropped out of their squad with an injury.
With not much happening in the game, the 10th minute sparked a protest amongst the York fans with multiple tennis balls being thrown onto the pitch, and the referee pausing the game for a couple of minutes.
However, less than two minutes after play resumed, Clayton Donaldson swung a dangerous looking cross into the box which was flicked on and went all the way to the back post for Akil Wright to head home and put The Minstermen 1-0 up, the stadium erupting on cue.
Some nice attacking play from York City resulted in the ball falling to the feet of goalscorer Wright, but in a good goal scoring position, he smashed his shot just over the crossbar.
With 29 minutes gone, Chorley almost found the equaliser through Millenic Alli. His goalbound save took a deflection, forcing Pete Jameson to make a quick reaction and palm it wide.
It wasn’t much long after until Chorley were given an advantage. With Billy Whitehouse unable to clear the ball in his own half, York’s experienced defender Matty Brown came in with a sliding challenge that literally took him off his feet.
Following the nasty challenge from Brown, referee Peter Shacklady showed him red.
The side with the extra man were quick to make that benefit count when they were awarded a free kick just outside the City box. Harry Cardwell was the man who beautifully hit it into the back of the net, to make the scores level at half time.
A good chance for City to take the lead on 55 minutes when Mitch Hancox crossed the ball in from the left and Mark Beck got his head to it but Chorley ‘keeper Matt Urwin managed to save it from close range.
From a Magpies free kick in the 65th minute, Will Tomlinson’s effort nearly went all the way in, although Jameson saw it late and parried it out for a corner.
Another chance to score came for the visiting side about three minutes later. Lewis Baines picked up the ball outside the area and tried his luck with an almost spectacular strike, but he couldn’t keep it down and sent it blazing over the target.
The game ended with 10-man York picking up a well earned point against now 5th placed Chorley.
After this 1-1 draw, The Minstermen’s next game is next Saturday (18th December) away at lower league opposition Matlock Town in the Buildbase FA Trophy Third Round. Also, Matty Brown will be suspended for that game following his red card.
The Teams
York City: Jameson, Duckworth, Brown, Newton (captain), Barrow, Wallace, Wright, Donaldson (King HT), Willoughby, Hancox, Beck. Subs unused: Campbell, Fielding, Hopper, Heaney.
Chorley: Urwin, Henley, Leather (captain) (Smith 48), Baines, Whitehouse (Shenton 61), Calveley (Blyth 83), Cardwell, Tomlinson, Ustabasi, Blakeman, Alli. Subs unused: Halls, Goodridge.
Who Was In Charge
Peter Shacklady
How Many Were There
4512 (156 away)
Man of the Match
Kurt Willoughby