IN a game that pitted two former Blades against each other it was fitting that the outcome was decided by which man's side carried the greater cutting edge.

Had on-loan York City striker Ben Jackson displayed sharper instincts when presented with an open goal just four minutes after Halifax Town broke the deadlock then the visitors would have netted a swift equaliser in the televised Sky match.

Instead, a game that might have been on a knife edge going into the closing stages was killed off as a contest when substitute Alex Meechan headed in six minutes from time with virtually his first touch of the match.

Having carved out careers together at Sheffield United, last night therefore represented a victory for Halifax boss Chris Wilder over his former mentor Billy McEwan.

Wilder was given his playing debut by City chief McEwan, who was then cutting his managerial teeth at Bramall Lane.

McEwan's protg has since moulded the Shaymen into strong play-off contenders with another three points moving the home team back to second place in the Conference table.

City, meanwhile, missed out on a chance to climb three positions at the opposite end and will now hope to bounce back against struggling Tamworth, having faced promotion contenders in each of their last five outings.

The Minstermen matched Halifax in the early stages of last night's match with Dave Merris' second-minute shot bouncing wide from six yards after a Graeme Law cross.

Dean Howell's inswinging corner then rattled the City crossbar before Andy Bishop's downward header from another Law cross lacked the power to beat on-loan Wigan goalkeeper James Salisbury.

Halifax finished the half stronger, however, with Chris Porter unconvincingly pushing Craig Midgley's low shot behind for a corner, which then saw Greg Young go close with a diving header.

The home team went ahead on 56 minutes when Paul Groves, under pressure from defender Adam Quinn, met Midgley's corner with a powerful header that crossed the line after hitting the underside of Porter's bar.

Jackson then squandered an opportunity to score his first senior goal when on-loan Wigan keeper Salisbury's mistake on the edge of the area left the Doncaster Rovers forward with an inviting net in front of him.

He elected to shoot early when he could have taken a few more strides forward and his weak effort was slowed down by one of the several puddles that had developed at that end of the ground and even appeared to be going wide before Young recovered to clear the ball.

The Minstermen would not get a better opportunity although Merris did test Salisbury from 25 yards on 71 minutes.

Meechan put the game beyond doubt, however, sending a diving header past Porter at his near post after Howell's left-wing cross deflected off Law's boot.

City had earlier thrown on Paul D Robinson and Lev Yalcin to increase their attacking options and club captain Steve Davis was given his first outing in six months on 80 minutes as McEwan reverted to a three-man defence.

Robinson's lob from 20 yards was tipped over the bar by Salisbury on 85 minutes but Bishop skyed City's last chance of a consolation from a stoppage-time free kick.

Match facts:

Nationwide Conference

Saturday, March 14, 2005

at The Shay

Halifax Town 2, (Groves 57 og Meechan 84)

York City 0

City ratings:

Key: 10 - Faultless; 9 - Outstanding; 8 - Excellent; 7 - Good; 6 - Average; 5 - Below par; 4 - Poor; 3 - Dud; 2 - Hopeless; 1 - Retire

Porter 6

Law 7

Maloney 7

Groves 7

Smith 7 (Davis 80)

Donovan 7

Dunning 6 (Yalcin 70, 6)

Webster 6

Merris 7

Bishop 6 (Jackson 53, 6)

Jackson 6 (Paul D Robinson 67, 7)

Subs not used: Stockdale, Grant

Star man: Smith - best game in a City shirt. Good distribution, well-timed tackles and more of a willingnes to go forward.

Halifax Town: Salisbury, Haslam, Ingram, Quinn, Young, Midgeley (Chin 70), Bushell, Foster, Howell, Killeen (Meechan 80), Sugden. Subs (not used): Stoneman, Ross, Blunt.

Yellow cards: Young 58

Red cards: None.

Referee: Colin Harwood (Greater Manchester). Rating: Strong performance

Attendance: 2,165

Weather watch: Constant drizzle

Game breaker: Jackson's open goal miss with Halifax leading 1-0.

Match rating: Not a classic for the Sky television cameras. Marginally better team won.

Player watch: Ben Jackson

Shots on target: 0

Shots off target: 1

Blocked shots: 0

Passes to own player: 6

Passes to opposition: 3

Crosses to own player: 0

Crosses to opposition: 0

Pass success rate: 66.7 per cent

Dribbles ball retained: 0 Dribbles ball lost: 5

Dribble success rate: 0 per cent

Headers: 5 Tackles: 0 Offsides: 1

Clearances, blocks and interceptions: 0

Free kicks won: 3 Free-kicks conceded: 0 Bookings: 0

Final summary: Jackson worked hard on his full debut mostly on the right side of midfield but very little he tried worked. He failed to beat his marker and could not equalise when presented with an open goal. Substitued on 67 minutes.

Updated: 09:56 Tuesday, March 15, 2005