This Saturday, York City will embark upon their 2012-2013 FA Cup campaign, fresh from yet another clean sheet in the Football League Two. The Minstermen host an AFC Wimbledon side struggling at the foot of the table, and will welcome them again in the league seven days later – with Northampton at Bootham Crescent sandwiched in between.
It means three home matches in a week for City, who will look to build on some terrific success last season, when they secured promotion after beating Luton in the playoff final and also won the FA Trophy at Wembley. And it looks as if another great campaign could be on the cards this time round – but if that is the case a positive result is required this weekend.
York had started the season rather inconsistently but recent success has seen them lose just once in their last eight games, winning three and keeping five clean sheets in the process. This sudden rise in form means York have climbed to 10th in the League Two table, a mere two points off the playoff places.
But it’s not all good news as forward Michael Coulson has been ruled out for the rest of the season after scans showed he will need surgery on a cruciate ligament injury. The 24-year-old, who joined the Minstermen from Grimsby in the summer, had scored four goals in 14 league appearances so far this campaign, including one 300 miles south at Exeter City last month.
And midfielder Matty Blair is also on the mend after being hurt in a clash with a training ground dummy. The 22-year-old will be fit for the clash with AFC Wimbledon, but not after getting his fair share of banter from his teammates. Manager Gary Mills told BBC Radio York: “Matty Blair had a bit of a bump with a mannequin and cut his knee, we thought he might need stitches. He’s been getting a bit of stick about it because we think he might be the first player to be tackled by a mannequin.”
With a few unfortunate injuries persisting, then, the next week will certainly be a stern test. But the large majority of performances this season have been very impressive; losing only three league games in 15 so far and in the cup just losing out on penalties at local side Doncaster Rovers.
That, along with a 3-0 triumph over Sunderland in a pre-season friendly – and of course the great success at the end of last season – means York are well and truly on the up. The side seem to be coping admirably with their first Football League campaign since 2004, and although it is too early to predict the final standings come April, it is fair to say if York keep going the way they are then nothing seems impossible this year.