It was breathtaking, heart-stopping stuff with an ending to send the York City faithful into ecstasy. It was the purest of FA Cup magic.

Thirteen heroes in red turned the tables on cocky, high-flying Division Two moneybags Reading with a remarkable display of gritty, backs-to-the-wall determination.

A stunning equaliser by Steve Agnew gave City belief going into the break and, after fending off everything the Royals could throw at them in the second half, the Minstermen scored a couple of late, late goals to make the dream of a cup shock become reality.

City had been 2-0 down in the first tie at Bootham Crescent ten days ago but pulled it back to earn this second-round replay at the impressive Madejski Stadium.

They were a goal down again last night, as Tony Rougier found space down the right to cross for former Tottenham midfielder Darren Caskey to score from ten yards with 24 minutes on the clock.

But they again proved their fighting spirit to defy all the odds and win a plum third-round tie at Premiership high-riders Leicester City.

It was probably York's best performance of the season, and definitely manager Terry Dolan's best result in his ten months in charge.

The near-miracle started just five minutes after Reading had gone ahead. The hard-working Graham Potter swung in a left-footed free-kick from the right which was half-cleared only as far as Agnew on the edge of the box. And he let fly an unstoppable volley that would still be travelling now had the net not got in the way.

Whether the former Leicester midfielder was thinking of an unlikely return to Filbert Street when he hit the ball is questionable, but it was a goal of undeniable Premiership quality.

Nearly an hour of non-stop toil later, City broke down the other end and took an amazing 88th-minute lead, albeit amid controversy.

To the hosts' horror, the offside flag stayed down as City striker Chris Iwelumo broke clear in acres of space with just 'keeper Phil Whitehead to beat.

The only man near him was City substitute Colin Alcide and, instead of going for his first goal in Minstermen colours, Iwelumo opted to knock the ball to his left for Alcide to coolly slot it home. Again the flag stayed down.

Worse luck was to follow for the Royals when, as the game entered stoppage time, Iwelumo chased an Alex Mathie pass down the inside right channel, again with no offside given. Whitehead was still favourite to reach the ball first, but the Stoke City loanee somehow found the legs to get there on time and as the pair slid in near the corner of the box, the ball ricocheted goalwards and trickled over the line.

It was a fortunate goal and maybe it was cruel on Reading, but who in North Yorkshire cares? And who can say the big striker didn't deserve it for his tireless display of running, jumping and chasing mixed with not a little skill?

He, along with Mathie, David McNiven and latterly Colin Alcide, also played his part in defending from the front.

The defending at the back, meanwhile, was resolute, tenacious and also controlled, led by new-boy Darren Patterson, whose full City debut will live long in the memory.

Although short of match fitness, the Northern Ireland international was faultless in his organisation and commanding in his all-round display. But he was by no means alone.

Mark Sertori twice got in saving tackles, once cleared the ball off the line and was a rock throughout the 90 minutes, while at one stage in open play, City had no fewer than eight men stretched across forming a red line ten yards outside their own area.

Every man harried, chased and closed down the space, and when the defence was breached, there was the one and only Alan Fettis, who denied the Royals with half a dozen tip-top saves.

He was beaten two minutes before the break, but Keith Jones' goal was ruled out presumably for handball, and other than that, the Northern Ireland custodian once again proved his international pedigree.

He firstly denied Martin Butler on 37 minutes when, one-on-one, he got a hand to the striker's shot, giving the retreating Patterson chance to clear the bobbling ball off the line.

In the second half, he instinctively palmed over a Jones piledriver, came smartly off his line to smother the ball away from Butler, stopped a 12-yard Phil Parkinson volley on the goal-line, and somehow got a hand to Ricky Newman's 25-yard blaster before fisting away the rebound from the onrushing strikers. He also stopped a Lee Hodges volley before Alcide deflected another goalbound effort for a corner.

At the other end, Whitehead was largely unemployed. Of course, Mathie could have opened the scoring for City on six minutes when he fluffed his shot from six yards, and he did get one long-range effort on target, but the Reading custodian's main job was picking the ball out of his net.

However, although the two late strikes might have been against the run of play, it's goals not chances that win matches - as City found out to their cost in the 1-0 loss at Plymouth on Saturday.

And it was City's late goals that rewarded the travelling fans - whose half-hour non-stop rendition of the Great Escape theme drowned out any noise from the home support - with a slice of tasty FA Cup cake.

Indeed, their long drive home must have been the shortest four-hour journey for many a year.

Match facts

Reading 1 York City 3

York City: Alan Fettis 9; Mark Sertori 9, Darren Patterson 9, Mark Bower 8; Mark Thompson 8, Graham Potter 9; Kevin Hulme 7 (Scott Jordan 76), Steve Agnew 8; David McNiven 8 (Colin Alcide 69mns 8), Chris Iwelumo 9, Alex Mathie 8

Subs, not used: John Collinson, James Turley, Neville Stamp

Booked: Agnew 40mins (foul),

Sent off: None

Reading: Phil Whitehead; Ricky Newman, Adi Viveash, John Mackie (Barry Hunter HT), Matt Robinson; Darren Caskey, Phil Parkinson, Keith Jones (Neil Smith 78), Lee Hodges (Jamie Cureton 89); Martin Butler, Tony Rougier

Subs, not used: Scott Howie, Andy Gurney

Booked: Viveash 49mins (foul), Rougier 73mins (kicking ball away), Whitehead 90mins (dissent)

Sent off: None

Man of the match: Darren Patterson: Any City player could have won the award but in the end Darren Patterson gets the nod for a stunning debut, just ahead of Super Alan Fettis and the tireless Chris Iwelumo

Attendance: 6,968 Referee: Peter Walton (Long Buckby)

Next match: Friday, December 22, v Blackpool, Nationwide League Div 3 at Bootham Crescent, ko 7.45pm.