It has been a rollercoaster of a year for York City, and we’ve taken a look back at it all, from start to finish.
The year began with a 2-0 home win over high-flying Gateshead, as Will Davies and Dipo Akinyemi secured a superb victory.
This was followed by a draw at Boreham Wood on a rare Sunday match. A couple of postponed games then made us wait 16 days for our next fixture, away at Oxford City, where Akinyemi and Davies struck again to clinch a win in injury-time.
Our good streak ended at Hartlepool, but we bounced back with four points from our next two games, including another late, late show at Southend.
However, City struggled to capitalise on the momentum, taking just a point each against Dagenham and Oldham before suffering defeats to Dorking and Barnet.
The loss at the Hive Stadium marked Neal Ardley’s final game in charge. Adam Hinshelwood took the helm, ushering in a new era for the Minstermen.
The former Worthing gaffer’s first two games ended in defeat at home to fellow relegation candidates Wealdstone and AFC Fylde.
He picked up his first point away at Kidderminster Harriers, but the midweek action that followed was a night to forget for everyone associated with the club.
Often used as a reflection point nowadays, we travelled across the Pennines to face Altrincham, lingering dangerously above the drop zone. The Robins put six past us, making a return to the sixth tier looking ever more likely.
What came after was the capture of midfielder Marvin Armstrong, a desperate roll of the dice ahead of a massive home game against playoff-fighting Aldershot Town.
Fired up after that heavy defeat, it was The Shop to the rescue yet again, heading home in injury time to throw the Minstermen a lifeline with three important points.
The team’s resilience shone through with triumphs against Bromley and Chesterfield and a hard-fought point at Halifax.
We were afforded the luxury of a narrow defeat to Eastleigh, before an incredible 7,600+ crowd then witnessed a vital 2-0 win over Woking.
York-born Ryan Fallowfield was named the 2023/24 Clubman of the Year prior to kick off at our final home game of the campaign.
A sold-out away end backed City at Solihull Moors for the season finale. Despite a narrow 1-0 loss, spirits were high as survival was secured by a single point.
Planning for the next season began immediately, with contract extensions for Paddy McLaughlin, Rory Watson, and Lenell John-Lewis.
The squad was strengthened with several new signings, including Harrison Male, Joe Felix, Ashley Nathaniel-George, and Ollie Pearce, while Tyrese Sinclair and Alex Hunt joined shortly after.
We opened our pre-season schedule at home to Championship outfit Sheffield United on 13th July, with debuts handed to our newest recruit, Ricky Aguiar, and also our brand new cotton candy third strip.
Sinclair scored in a narrow 2-1 defeat before we were on the correct end of the same scoreline away at Whitby Town and then at home to Grimsby Town.
Three of our last four pre-season games resulted in draws, gearing us up for the start of a new National League season on the 10th August.
It all began with a testing trip to Southend United, screened by DAZN. City fell behind in the first half, but just like last term, it was that man John-Lewis again, scoring in the final minutes to claim a point.
Our first home game equalled our first three points of the campaign. Second-half goals from Ollie Pearce and Billy Chadwick in quick succession wrapped it up for the Minstermen.
We were straight back in action three days later, locking horns with Rochdale and needing a solitary goal to take the win.
A busy bank holiday weekend started in Sutton, where we grabbed a point before falling to our first defeat of the season on Monday against Boston United.
The Minstermen couldn’t have bounced back much better, though, denying Dagenham with a 2-0 away win and a clean sheet.
Malachi Fagan-Walcott made the loan move from Cardiff City to strengthen the backline and was handed his debut in red and blue off the bench at Wealdstone in a game that City also won by two goals.
Back on home turf, Ricky Aguiar chipped in with a goal, while Ashley Nathaniel-George made it two in two games, completing the comeback against Braintree.
Fast forward a few days, and York City climbed to the summit of the National League after a sensational 3-0 win over AFC Fylde.
Back-to-back away games followed; four points from a possible six were taken, most notably a demolition job of the previous season’s playoff final runners-up, Solihull Moors.
We played out a second stalemate in just seven days but couldn’t find the winning goal at Woking either.
A break from league action meant it was time to begin our Emirates FA Cup road to Wembley for 2024/25. It started away at Biggleswade FC, where we comfortably advanced to the First Round.
Focus was switched back as we put four past a struggling Ebbsfleet side, after Adam Hinshelwood was named Manager of the Month for September.
A top-of-the-table heavyweight clash was next at the LNER – Barnet visited, and took the lead, but Marvin Armstrong, Alex Hunt, and Ollie Pearce fired the Minstermen to victory.
Three straight wins would set up a feisty Yorkshire Derby away at The Shay. By far not our best performance of the season, we headed into second-half injury time a goal down. Fagan-Walcott hammered home in the 91st minute to spark scenes in an away end housing more than 2,000 City fans, before Pearce headed into the back of the net four minutes later to send everyone at that end of the pitch into absolute pandemonium.
A week on from that unbelievable result, our FA Cup run came to an end at Wycombe Wanderers, but we bowed out with our heads held high, coming just inches away from taking the League One high-flyers to extra time.
For the second month running, the gaffer was awarded the league’s Manager of the Month award in the build-up to our next fixture, a lunchtime kick-off at home to Hartlepool. For the second time in a matter of weeks, Hunt perfectly dispatched a free kick, and Pearce grabbed a brace in a crazy 5-3 win.
Recently relegated Forest Green Rovers proved to be a tricky opponent for York City, as we left Gloucestershire with no points in the bag, but were back to winning ways in our next game.
Pearce notched his first Minstermen hat trick during a 4-0 thumping of Yeovil Town, and Sinclair also got in on the act.
The momentum couldn’t be continued, with a 3-0 defeat at Altrincham in midweek.
But once more, Hinshelwood’s side didn’t let it trouble them, coming back to YO32 and putting on a display with six goals scored past Maidenhead to boost City back to the top.
A third consecutive Saturday on home soil saw us enter Isuzu FA Trophy action against a Darlington team packed with former York players, and captained by Scott Barrow.
We progressed via a 3-1 win, and will now travel to Gainsborough Trinity on Saturday to continue the journey.
Back to league action, and we made the trip to the midlands for a clash with Tamworth, which ended 1-1.
In what was our final match of 2024, we hosted Southend United four days before Christmas, and emerged 3-0 winners, with the goals scored by Dipo Akinyemi, Callum Howe, and David Ajiboye all coming from second-half corners.
The fans were delivered with an early present on Christmas Eve, as Fagan-Walcott was announced to make the move from Cardiff on a permanent deal.
It has been a year full of lows and highs, but we head into 2025 in an excellent position and at the right end of the table.
Thank you for your support throughout the year, and have no doubt that it will continue into the next.
