York City 0 - Torquay Utd 0

[Tim Wills]

Arriving at the ground this afternoon I wasn't even sure I was going to bother actually watch the match as I have got to the end of my tether with Brass and his team selections. Anyhow I bump into those dodgy looking Harrogate Minstermen who inform me that Edmondson, Ward and surprisingly Ovendale are dropped so with that inducement, I part with my hard earned cash. Now I am sat comfortably, I hear the full City line-up and cannot believe the omission of Matthew Coad from the subs bench and instead we get the two old farts in Mitch Ward and new signing Kevin Donovan.

Match kicks off with City as usual attacking the away end and for long periods of the first half we are subjected to head tennis but at least we're not 2-0 down inside 20 minutes so that's an improvement. Debutant Richard Offiong looked very bright and deceptively skillfull who alongside Nogan and Bell showed what we've been missing in recent weeks.

The only incident of note in the first half was City's freekick for handball. Referee gave it a yard outside the box but from my position (at the away end of main stand) the offending player was at least a yard inside the penalty area. The official was some distance from the action so I presume took the cautious approach of just awarding a free-kick. To be fair, the ref got no help from the linesman but with the penalties given against us recently at Bootham Crescent, it would be nice to get one in our favour.

Second half starts with Torquay goalkeeper getting a warm reception from the home fans due to his short and rather chubby physique but he took it all in very good humour. Mid-way through the half he kicks the ball straight out of the play and then has a laugh with the home fans again. Top stuff mate, I pay to be entertained and it's shame we don't have a few more away keepers like you. Not to be outdone in the red corner, we have City's debutant keeper in the shape of the one and only Chris "Got my own fan club" Porter. He didn't have a lot to do but his tactic of immediately kicking the ball downfield really gave City an edge in the second half. We picked up a lot of knock downs but we let ourselves down with the final ball. Too often they were too near the keeper but at least it was vast improvement over the dross we endured on Tuesday night.

Torquay had 2-3 half chances and their manager will think they should have converted one but City probably had the best chance with a Bell header crashing against the cross bar early in the second half.

Porter 7.5 - With a hint of luck he kept a clean sheet but if you've sat patiently on the bench all season and been real team member, you deserve it. Well done Chris.
Wood 4 - Poor display at right wing back and played with no conviction. When is Brass going to give Graeme Law a chance?
Hope 8 - Impressive defensive display and brought some steel to the defence which was missing on Tuesday.
Smith 6 - Bit of mixed bag from Smithy today. Some good tackles but some woeful distribution.
Wise 6.5 - Clumsy but made a couple of reasonable tackles. His distribution was on a par with Smudger's at times and lacked composure but improvement from Tuesday.
Merris 8 - Good all round display though I would still like to see him get more of the ball.
Cooper 8 - Top fighting display in midfield. Some old twit walked passed me with 5 minutes to go when Wise was lying on his back and said "I wish that was Cooper." What a thick clot and had he not been with his wife, he would have got an earfull.
Nogan 8 - Excellent display today.
Dunning 7 - Cooper like in midfield but I think it's time to let someone else have a go with corners and freekicks.
Bell 8 - Again impressive. Didn't get many clear cut chances but worked an opening for the header.
Offiong 7 - Sometimes tried to be too clever. When he starts letting the ball do the work then he will be a good player. Got the skills, now needs the intelligence to go with it. Still he gave the Torquay defence some problems though faded a bit in the 2nd half.

Subs:
Yalcin 7 - Still without his goal though had more of a withdrawn role today but did his job well and that's all you can ask for.

Referee.
After the pathetic s***e we've had recently, Mike Warren was a refreshing change who used a great deal of commonsense. You never agree 100% with any of them but I would be happy to have him do every match at BC this season.

Man of the Match.
I am sorry but this is now turning into a joke and makes the club look stupid. The booing today and on Tuesday was not directed at the players but at both the people who choose it and those who allow this nonsense to continue. I understand that SKF (UK) Ltd were today's match sponsors and we're glad of your investment (indeed one of them is a member of this forum) but it might aswell be discontinued if it carries on like this. I wondered if it might have been morale boosting exercise but it backfires when the crowd boo the decision.
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