York City (Community Stadium)

The LNER Community Stadium, the new home of York City based in North Yorkshire and play their trade in the National League North. Nicknamed the “Minstermen” after the City’s famous York Minster landmark. It’s finally the day I visit this new ground!! On what I am hoping will be a good Friday for me!!! Pun intended!! York face Spennymoor Town who I visited in the reverse fixture earlier on in the season!! Let’s hope it’s as good as the last one!!

Today is the day I will finally meet Gary who featured on the FANA Fan Podcast on Season 2 at long last!! Let’s get to York! Sadly I will not be joined by the 2 fans that me and Jack met at Spennymoor today but I’m sure we will cross paths again soon! To the train station I go!

A cross country service with 4 carriages… Should I have driven…? After boarding the train… I can confirm… Yes! I should’ve driven today… It’s really funny how the train services have been poor ever since I have purchased a car! A terrible shame… Here we are at Leeds station! One stop to go and…… “If you are leaving at York, Darlington or Durham can you please get off the train and board another as there are far too many people on and we won’t be moving until that happens…” I can confirm… I definitely DEFINITELY should have driven here today… But it’s only a 25 minute swing so it’s not all bad! Poor from the train services today though…!

• Trains: 1/10 – RUBBISH!!!!!! I’m getting in my car next time…

11am and I am here in York at last!!! Gary is on his way for a meet at Monk Bar. Off I go!! The walk through the City Centre and you have to admire the views here at York!! An absolutely beautiful City!! A City that never lost it’s tradition! One of Europe’s finest Cities in my opinion!! How has this place not got a Football League side!!??

Here I am at Monk Bar… And here comes Gary!! It’s been a long time coming!!! We’ve got an hour to kill… Let’s check out old Bootham Crescent!! A trip down Memory Lane for Gary and he is certainly giving me a guided tour of it all! The Punch Bowl! The place where York fans drank on a matchday before the game! Where the York Knights Rugby Club used to play! How to get a car parking spot at York Hospital on a matchday… Say the magic word is a phrase we use a lot in society… But saying “I’m a football fan was never one of them…” But it certainly was for York fans!! That’s one way of getting a parking spot!!

A walk down the lane from the Hospital over the bridge and here we are at Bootham Crescent! Boy it has changed since I last visited back in 2019! The memories of Grosvenor Road live on! Heavily protected now the ground is sold but we can just get a slight glimpse! The grass certainly is overgrown… What a ground it was! I certainly was harsh in the ratings…

• Bootham Crescent: 9/10 – Very harsh last time but it is a ground with bags of character!! I wish I’d have seen more of it!! An old fashioned hidden gem of a ground!! A dying breed sadly…

Off we go back to the City Centre!! A little pit stop at a cafe outside York Minster later and we are en route to Monks Cross!! 2 hours and 15 minutes before kick off and we are parked up! Time rolls on and it’s great to meet Gary’s guests in the Hospitality area today!! In they all go and now I wait for the Turnstiles to open…

1:30pm and it’s time!! In I go! £20 to watch this National League North tie!! Really!? Time goes by as I watch Luton Town vs Nottingham Forest and here comes Gary once again! And now for the guided tour of the new ground!! Certainly getting my money’s worth today!!! The wall of fame, the few seats taken from Bootham Crescent and a chat with the groundsman later as kick off draws closer…

It sure is a cracking view from Hospitality!!! But I am with the fans behind the goal today and it’s time for me to go! The atmosphere is building up as kick off draws nearer!! Out come the players!! A wall of noise awaits them!! A big game as both teams go on in search of the play offs but who will triumph!? Let’s find out!

Kick Off! “We are York! We are York! We are York!” The atmosphere is still going strong!! 10 minutes in and Spennymoor have a free kick in the York half, it’s lumped into the box towards Glen Taylor in space… He plays it across to Rob Ramshaw who plays it back to Taylor and he shoots first time… Side netting! A big let off for York there! Should be hitting the target at least there!! The York fans loved that one!!

16 minutes now and Spennymoor have a corner, in it comes… It’s Glen Taylor with the looping header… Over the keeper… It’s headed off the line and out for another corner! So close! In it comes again… Glen Taylor at the back stick… Blocked! Corner again… In it comes… It’s headed out for another corner… How many are we getting here…? In comes the next corner… All the way out for a York throw in… Thankfully!

York are looking quite slow in the game so far with no movement going forward which is seeing Spennymoor looking really comfortable at the back. 24 minutes gone and Spennymoor play forward down the right, it’s crossed in, Glen Taylor brings it down and shoots on the turn… Just wide! York are going to concede if they carry on playing like this!

33 minutes on the clock and Spennymoor play forward down the left flank, it’s played into the middle, it comes for Rob Ramshaw about 16 yards out to shoot… He’s clipped the top of the bar!! So close again!! A poor game so far finishes 0-0 at half time…

Second half, 2 minutes into the second half and York play forward down the right, it’s crossed in, it’s John-Lewis with the header… It’s wide! Better from York though! “Oh when the Reds go marching in! I wanna be in that number!!”

Still a poor game sadly with little chances to shout about… 65 minutes now and York have a free kick in the Spennymoor half, it’s played down the left, it’s crossed in, the header back across goal from Kouogun towards Matty Brown and he goes down… The Referee has given a free kick to Spennymoor… Poor decision there! I thought that was a Penalty!

4 minutes later and York come forward, Spennymoor dispossess them and hit it forward, Jude Oyibo gets onto it and he goes for goal on the volley from the edge of the box… It’s wide! Close!

82 minutes now and York have a free kick in the Spennymoor half, it’s lumped into the box, it falls to Ollie Dyson who goes for the overhead kick… It goes across goal towards Maziar Kouhyar… AND IT’S THERE!!!!!!!! YORK CITY HAVE THE LEAD!!!!! He heads home at the back post and the keeper can’t keep it out!! 1-0!!!

“We’re on our way! We’re on our way! To the National League we’re on our way!” York fans are happy once more!! 89th minute and York have a corner, in it comes… Headed away but York retrieve it, it’s played to Ollie Dyson who glides past the Spennymoor defenders, he gets to the edge of the box and he goes for the near post… Side netting! Close!

Into stoppage time now and Spennymoor have a throw in on the right, it’s a long one! It comes to Jordan Thewlis who chests it down from close range… It must be!! He’s missed!!! Somehow he’s blazed it over!! That must be the game for York now! Sitter! Play goes on… The Referee blows for full time! A massive win for York City!!!!

FT: York City 1-0 Spennymoor Town

Ratings

• Atmosphere: 8/10 – Fantastic support again from York today!! The drum kept on going! If the game was better then this score would’ve been higher I think! The biggest sleeping giant in English football in my opinion!!
• The Ground: 9/10 – I came here thinking that it wouldn’t have a patch on Bootham Crescent but I was wrong! I was surprised how nice this ground is!!! Definitely fit for League One!!! A glorious ground!! Dare I say it is as good as Bootham Crescent in it’s own way…!
• Expense: 9/10 – Not a fan of £20 at this level! But I certainly got my own guided tour today from Gary so I can’t moan at that!! If only the game was that bit better…
• Overall Experience: 10/10 – Treated like royalty today by Gary!! A big thank you to him and I am sure we will meet again very soon!! Great to see York win the game as well!!

36/40