Image by Matthew Appleby
The Minstermen won 2-0 against Gateshead in the Vanarama National League at the LNER Community Stadium on New Year’s Day.
Goals from Will Davies and the returning Dipo Akinyemi marked a successful start to 2024 for the Minstermen on home turf.
Neal Ardley made two changes to his side which took a point in the reverse fixture seven days before as Olly Dyson and Maziar Kouhyar dropped out for the returning Dipo Akingemi and Thierry Latty-Fairweather.
Visitors Gateshead wasted no time in getting the first shot off, with Billy Chadwick poking an effort from the left-hand flank just past the far post inside 30 seconds.
City converted their first shot of the game through Will Davies shortly after. The forward picked up on the loose ball by Paddy McLaughlin, who went inside from the left-hand side, before arrowing a near-side finish past Archie Mair’s right-hand post.
Some sustained Heed pressure followed, with George Sykes-Kenworthy down to keep hold of a dangerous scuffed goal-bound ball in the 21st minute.
McLaughlin had a point-blank range effort to nearly double up the advantage just a minute later, but the 32-year-old was stretching onto the connection and could only drill into the palms of Mair.
Thierry Latty-Fairweather aimed one up on the 40th minute, impressively gliding his way through three different challenges from the left-hand flank to punch a right-footed effort into the fingertips of Mair.
Heed continued to apply pressure in spells towards the City backline, with Kyran Lofthouse and Luke Hannant sending efforts wide from just outside the area respectively.
Sykes-Kenworthy kept City’s lead heading into the break as Marcus Dinanga’s penalty down the middle was pushed away by the feet of the shot-stopper, after Scott Burgess was penalised in the 45+2nd minute.
City found themselves penned in, resisting the Gateshead possession for the opening exchanges of the second half, until a flash counter-attack in the 58th minute saw captain Ryan Fallowfield unleash the returning Dipo Akinyemi.
The striker raced through Gateshead’s half before cutting inwards and hitting a sweetly struck shot into the bottom corner with his left foot.
Akinyemi was again at the races looking to tee up Davies in the 63rd minute, squaring for the striker who curled his effort high but just shy of Mair’s net.
Callum Whelan had Rob Elliott’s side’s closest opportunity of the second half in the 69th minute, when neat work on the edge of the box saw the ball fall yards out, but he rolled the chance wide.
York saw the game out with relative ease as the Minstermen’s backline put the effort in to restrict the visitors sight of goal.
YORK CITY: Sykes-Kenworthy, Fallowfield ©, Crookes, McLaughlin, Davies (75’ John-Lewis), Akinyemi (68’ Dyson), Howe, Burgess, Woodyard, Latty-Fairweather, Smith.
UNUSED SUBS: Stockdale, Cordner, Kennedy.
GATESHEAD: Mair, Booty, Whelan, Richardson, Storey, Francis © (39’ Hunter), Dinanga, Hannant, Chadwick, Lofthouse, Jobe.
UNUSED SUBS: Bond, Lowery, Sharp.
ATTENDANCE: 5,094 (315 Gateshead supporters)
WAITROSE MAN OF THE MATCH, CHOSEN BY RYEDALE JOINERY: George Sykes-Kenworthy