AS the genial Jimmy Greaves so succinctly once said: "Football? It's a funny old game." Confirmation, if it were ever needed, came at Bootham Crescent yesterday.

On the very day City would have surrendered their membership of the Football League had no new owner been found, by strange coincidence the Minstermen safeguarded their Football League status for another season.

Strangely enough too it was left to Graham Potter, who scored the last-gasp goal at Torquay that ensured City avoided the drop last season, to do it again.

Of course, results elsewhere meant City were in any case safe but Potter's late fling of the boot at least spared calculations.

But coincidences aside, it was an odd afternoon all round for the Minstermen and their fans.

A win, a clean sheet, Alan Fettis not having one shot to save and the fact the woodwork was struck no less than four times would suggest this was a stroll for the hosts.

But City being City it was never quite that simple and but for a truly bizarre miss from Jamie Brooks late on, which merely added to the sense of the peculiar, the Minstermen would have been left with no more than a point for their efforts.

And effort they showed in abundance, but the fact the sighs of relief at the final whistle were almost as palpable as the cries of exasperation that had gone before perhaps said it all.

City had coughed and spluttered at home without ever really rising above the ordinary, without ever being convincing, without ever finding top gear.

Oxford merely added to the afternoon's long list of oddities - for a side that never had a shot on target they could and should have been 2-0 up within the first three minutes.

Twice Chris Hackett found space down the right and twice flashed the ball across the face of the City goal. But with no white shirt on hand to prod home City escaped.

For a time thereafter, Oxford continued to ask all the questions while City just couldn't get their ball rolling and left the United midfield to run riot.

More than 20 minutes had passed when City finally made a move forward of note, Lee Nogan dummying the ball for Jon Parkin, who turned and shot well wide from the edge of the area.

Minutes later Parkin, who showed some promising touches up front, latched on to Potter's intelligent through ball and burst beyond the Oxford defence but drove his shot against a post.

At least City were creeping steadily into the game and it took the intervention of the woodwork again to prevent the Minstermen taking the lead on 39 minutes.

Darren Edmondson's deep cross was nodded back across goal by Potter. Nogan could only hit the ball upwards but panic in the Oxford defence allowed the City striker a second bite at the cherry only for his low shot to hit the inside of a post and rebound out.

The start of the second half mirrored the first with Oxford going close on more than one occasion.

Andy Scott flashed a header over the bar and it took a couple of superb tackles from first Chris Brass and then substitute Stuart Wise to deny Brooks a free run on goal.

City were stuttering again but just as a Bank Holiday traffic jam was looking more appealing up popped Potter for his now traditional safety seal.

Edmondson's deep cross from the right again panicked the Oxford defence. Nogan missed his header but the ball squirmed to Potter he rifled the ball home with undue fuss.

Not surprisingly, the goal worked wonders for the Minstermen, who started to lay siege to the Oxford goal.

The miss of the Millennium from Brooks - less than six yards out and with the goal gaping - forced a sharp intake of breath.

But City had at last asserted some control on the proceedings and but for more telling interventions from the woodwork to deny a Lee Bullock header and then another Parkin thunderbolt in the closing minutes City could have cruised home.

The icing on this funny-tasting cake came in the final minutes when City chose to keep the ball in the corners and play out time.

The home fans vented their anger at such a lack of adventure - though the tactic was as understandable as it was unpalatable.

Whatever the merits or otherwise, it all conspired to leave a sour taste on what should have been a celebration.

Football? Not so much funny as plain old weird.

York City:

Scorers: Potter 73min

Fettis 6, Edmondson 6, Brass 8, Hocking 7 (Wise 46m, 7), Jones 7, Potter 7, Brackstone 6 (Fox 57, 6), Bullock 7, Wood 7, Parkin 7, Nogan 7.

Subs, not used: Howarth, Mathie, Law.

Bookings: Edmondson 19m, Jones 45, Brass 50 (all fouls).

Sent-off: None.

Oxford: McCaldon, Stockley, Patterson, Bound, Maddison (Crosby 46m), Tait (Powell 76), Waterman, Savage, Gray (Scott 76), Brooks, Hackett.

Subs, not used: Morely, Omoyinmi.

Bookings: None.

Sent-off: None.

Attendance: 3,290

Referee: Peter Jones (Loughborough

Updated: 16:12 Tuesday, April 02, 2002