Image by Tom Poole
The Minstermen drew 1-1 against Gateshead at the Gateshead International Stadium on Tuesday afternoon in the Vanarama National League.
Right back Ryan Fallowfield’s sweet opener in the first half was duly cancelled out in the second late on through another right back, Kyran Lofthouse.
Neal Ardley made three changes to the side which drew one-all against Ebbsfleet a few days prior.
Defender Adam Crookes returned from a length injury, with Paddy McLaughlin and Olly Dyson also coming into the mix.
Lenell John-Lewis, Thierry Latty-Fairweather and Olly Green dropped out respectively.
Heed set the tempo in the opening 20 minutes, as City sat in deep, with the ball being worked around the Minstermen’s half more often than not.
City did find some spaces to advance forward, involving Scott Burgess and Fallowfield, but chances were hard to come by.
The advancing Maz Kouhyar did win York a corner after 25 minutes, however the delivery was well dealt with by the Heed’s defensive unit.
City’s Fallowfield struck the opener to break the deadlock just after the half-hour mark. York moved the ball forward down the left-hand flank, with Burgess picking out the advancing right-back through a switched lofted ball, who then struck hard into the near-side of Archie Mair’s net.
The palms of George Sykes-Kenworthy were properly tested in the 37th minute by the hosts, as a distance effort by the inwards driving Kyran Lofthouse was tipped wide.
York supporters thought City had notched a second just a minute later, as McLaughlin’s effort flung into the side-netting from inside the area.
Heed’s Lofthouse began the second interval in fast fashion in the 46th minute, setting up a flick on at the near-post for Regan Booty which clipped the side netting.
Fallowfield had the ball in the net a second time after racing forward in the 50th minute, again with a ball from Burgess, but the linesman ruled the right-back to have been offside in the phase.
Rob Elliott’s side continued to try and breakdown a stubborn Minstermen backline for the majority of the second half too.
Ed Francis’ curling effort in the 69th minute drew a routine save from Sykes-Kenworthy as the shut-out continued.
The efforts from distance continued by the hosts as Kenton Richardson’s low arrowing effort was tipped wide by City’s shot-stopper in the 77th minute.
Gateshead’s patience with the ball was eventually rewarded with an equaliser in the 81st minute as the ever-dangerous Lofthouse curled an effort from inside the area into the far side of City’s net.
The Minstermen saw out the Heed’s wave of attacks to take a point from the play-off chasers, with the hosts next up at the LNER Community Stadium on January 1st.
GATESHEAD: Mair, Booty, Whelan (71’ Hunter), Richardson, Storey (59’ Hannant), Francis ©, Dinanga, Wearne, Grayson (41’ Jobe), Chadwick, Lofthouse.
UNUSED SUBS: Bond, Lowery.
YORK CITY: Sykes-Kenworthy, Fallowfield, Crookes, McLaughlin, Davies (73’ Akinyemi), Dyson, Kouhyar (66’ Duckworth), Howe, Burgess, Woodyard, Smith.
UNUSED SUBS: Stockdale, Cordner, John-Lewis.
ATTENDANCE: 1,653 (542 York City supporters)