Goals at the beginning and end of the match secured an excellent victory for Harrogate over League Two,York City and left City’s manager, Russ Wilcox,apologising to the visiting supporters.
It took only four minutes for Town to take the lead when Dom Knowles picked up a flick on,raced through the pedestrian defence and slotted home past Scott Flinders.
Joe Colbeck was tormenting City’s left flank and he left Dave Winfield for dead before unleashing a tremendous drive which just skimmed the far post.
Russ Penn relieved the pressure for York with a shot past the post,but it was Colbeck who almost made it two when he turned, John McCombe and hit a rising drive over the angle.
York began to edge into the game with a series off accurate centres,from one of which, Tom Platt, headed narrowly wide.The impressive Luke Summerfield pushed forward to shoot over Town’s bar,but at the other end a brilliant dribble by Knowles, ended with him shooting against Flinders’ legs.
City finished the half in the ascendancy with Anthony Straker forcing, Peter Crook into a diving save, before picking up Paul Clayton’s misplaced pass,only to shoot into the side netting.
The action came thick and fast after the break and Summerfield saved the Minstermen when he scrambled a Clayton effort off the line, then almost immediately James Cadman tested Flinders with a curling drive.
Flinders was the busier keeper and he pulled out a top drawer save to turn Clayton’s goal bound shot for a corner, which Danny Ellis headed into the side netting.
York,however, were looking dangerous on the break and Straker lashed a thunderbolt just wide of the upright and from a throw in the unmarked Penn fired at Crook from twentyfive yards.
Town’s, new signing from Barrow, Andy McWilliams, was making an impressive debut, producing a string of passes to set up several attacks which kept York on the back foot.
With only two minutes left, Lloyd Kerry made the game safe for Town when his speculative centre from the left crept past the unsighted Flinders into the far corner.
In the dying seconds York almost pulled one back through Vadaine Oliver,when his looping header from a free kick came back off the crossbar.
By John Harrison.
