Scarborough 2-2 York City (2/1/06)

[Match Reports]

Relegation strugglers Scarborough somehow scraped an undeserved point thanks to an appalling refereeing decision. City had dominated the majority of the game, and should have been out of sight when Darren Dunning decided to run down the clock by putting his foot on the ball near the corner flag. Referee S Procter - Green however felt sorry for the struggling opposition and let them put together their only real attack in the final quarter of the game, by awarding a free kick, allegedly for "shirt pulling" (despite absolutely none of the City faithful seeing such an incident). Boro sent in a low cross from the right wing, and their left winger Hughes thumped the ball into the back of the net. This sent the 2,500 home support wild, as if they had won the league.

Early on, Boro looked terrified of their opponents and City could well have gone ahead with James Dudgeon somehow failing to score from close range. After that City had the best of things, and occasionally got into good positions but didn't take advantage of them. Boro did have a great chance to score from one of their few attacks, a header going straight into City's keeper's hands.

Just over 5 minutes before half time the Minstermen took a deserved lead. Convery found himself with acres of space on the left side of the penalty area and sent in a low cross which caused mayhem. The ball ended up at the feet of bishop, who scored from close range inside the six yard box.

A silly piece of defending however let Boro back into it. Clayton Donaldson decided to show off his skills in the wrong half of the pitch and after giving the ball away stupidly fouled the Boro winger. This gave them a good chance to put the ball into the area, and after a inswinging kick that porter could have tried to have caught, one of the Scarborough centre backs (Weaver?) headed against the bar, and luckily for them the ball landed just in the right place for a tap in. 1-1, somehow City went in at half time level.

The second half became a very scrappy affair as City's midfield didn't get the control of the game they had before the interval.

Clayton Donaldson was beginning to get the upper hand against inexperienced left back Cook, who was booked early on, and 20 minutes into the second half Cook was dismissed for a badly timed lunge which left Donaldson requiring treatment.

City then had an excellent shout for a penalty with Scarborough keeper Walker bringing down Donaldson on the right side of the area. It looked a 50/50 decision, but again, as has so often been the case this season, the ref didn't give City the spot kick.

But this needn't have mattered when a good move led to a deep cross from the right wing, from which City's leading scorer bishop looped a header past walker despite the best effort of Weaver. The Boro centre back's desperate attempts to keep the ball out were in vain as the linesman declared it was a goal.

From then on City had chance after chance to seal the win. Joe O'Neill got clean through but wasn't quick enough to have the time he would have liked, and in the end his effort trickled into the hands of Walker. Also, bishop couldn't get his hat trick, as he sent the ball over from a good position inside the penalty area.

A win still looked a certainty until the referee intervened, leaving the 1,600 travelling support wondering just how they had failed to win.

Player Ratings

porter 5 - Could and maybe should have done better with the header from the free kick which led to the first Boro goal. For the second goal, the cross appeared to somehow evade him although the view from the opposite end wasn't that good.

andrews 6 1/2 - Improving vastly, his distribution especially which was wayward a week ago in the first ghame between the two sides. Still, where was he for the second equaliser?

merris 7 1/2 - Man of the Match - Recalled to the starting line up and got forward very well in both halfs.

hotte 6 1/2 - Wasn't really put under much pressure by either of the Scarborough strikers.

dudgeon 6 1/2 - Dodgy first half, seemed very nervous but made some very important blocks after half time.

convery 5 1/2 - Poor second half despite a good showing before half time. Unlike many City fans, I felt he merited being subsitututed but disagreed that Yalcin was the right man to replace him.

panther 6 1/2 - Ran the midfield for much of the first 70 minutes apart from the 15 minutes after half time. Tired though by the end.

dunning 6 1/2 - Solid and battled well. His type of game.

donaldson 6 - Perhaps not quite at his best on a damp pitch but Cook couldn't cope with his pace.

o'neill 7 - Held the ball up really well, and beginning to show more consistant form at long last with three consecutive good games. Really needs a goal though.

bishop 7 - Two good finishes and a constant thorn in the Boro side.

Substitutes:

bertos n/a - Didn't get involved much for the last 5 minutes following O'Neill's substitution.

yalcin n/a - As above.

Match Analysis

It was interesting to hear the verdict of the two managers after the game. Scarborough's boss, Neil "Relegation" Redfearn, confirmed to the City fans that he is blind as well as a bit of a tosser, by saying that Boro would have won had Cook not have been sent off, suggesting City are in a false position in the league, before criticising City's leading scorer bishop. I think Redfearn should worry about his own frontmen, one of which is a player who has scored once this season, before commenting about a player who is amongst the Division's leading scorers.

As for his other comments, what game was the man watching? City were completely in control in midfield for so much of the game it was like they were the home side, even before the sending off. Boro rarely looked like scoring. And as for a false position, the table doesn't lie - City have matched and bettered teams like Exeter and Grays this season and sit where they are fully on merit. As do his Scarborough team - they look toothless going forward and unless their squad is revamped they could well stay involved in the relegation battle.

Two points dropped, but a good chance against Crawley on Saturday to get back to winning ways.