By Roger Baxter
The Football 1sts overcame the physical challenge of an Army side well versed in the darker arts of the beautiful game, using superior skills to triump over height and strength.
York took the lead just two minutes into the match, with a too-hurried clearance from a shaky-looking Army goalkeeper falling to Mark McCloud, who produced an exquisite 25-yard lob to open the scoring.
From then on, however, the game developed into an even battle between York’s technique and the brawn of the military men. Jack Beadle was exemplary in orchestrating the attack down the right in the first period, while the Army’s Neil Lennon-a-like centre forward came close.
More startling was the overall theme of York being constantly subjected to foul play from their oft-indisciplined side, with the referee stating at half-time that “in an ordinary match, I’d have had two of those players be off”.
Dan Atherton’s simple finish after being put one-on-one with the opposition goalkeeper was soon cancelled out by a very dubious goal from the same gingery striker; very dubious in terms of its being offside by at least three yards.
Yet as the game wore on it was York who were ultimately in more control of the flow of the game, and saw to it that they came out the victors in a difficult and often fraught encounter.