After witnessing his Manchester United side crowned Kings of Europe on that balmy Barcelona night two years ago, Sir Alex Ferguson was just about able to mumble the memorable words "Football... bloody hell".

If someone had managed to push a microphone under the nose of a no doubt shell-shocked York City manager Terry Dolan at Saturday's final whistle would the City chief have been any more articulate or so lacking in profanity? Probably not.

To compare a Football League basement scrap with winning the continent's top prize could seem churlish but both had equally implausible endings and so in the end the emotions were exactly the same.

It may have been the Third Division but football cares not where it weaves its magic, be it the Nou Camp or Plainmoor.

For after a season of definitely more downs than ups, City's long-lingering relegation fears were finally ended when all hope had seemed lost and with pretty much the last kick of the game.

The fact it came direct from City's bete-noir of the season - a corner - and from the boot of Graham Potter - a target of the boo-boys until only recently - merely added to the fantasy.

True enough, even if City had lost against Torquay they still would have had two bites of the cherry to make amends.

But with the memories of Maine Road still painfully fresh, Tuesday night's trip to Shrewsbury would suddenly have taken on a new and frightening complexion.

Making matters worse was the fact City had let slip such a position of superiority over Torquay that the seeds of doubt would not just have been planted at Gay Meadow but positively blooming.

And so when Potter's improbable final fling of the boot finally nestled in the net the understandable mass celebrations that followed were sparked as much by relief as delight.

And yet what threatened to be a catastrophe had all the makings of a cakewalk after the first half when to say Torquay were woeful would detract from a polished, assured City performance.

After a fitful opening, Mike Basham gave City the lead with their first real sight of goal.

Nick Richardson swung a corner in from the right which caught the Gulls' defence flat-footed. An unmarked Mark Bower could only loop the ball forwards but into the path of Basham, who headed home from little more than a yard out.

The goal should have spurred a sluggish Torquay into life but instead United looked intent on surrendering their Football League status in the meekest manner possible - Alan Fettis did not have a single shot to save in the opening 45 minutes.

City, by way of contrast, looked a side confident in control of their own destiny; composed, assured, accomplished.

They won all the first balls, pretty much all the second ones too and when given the chance knocked the ball around with almost arrogance at times.

Over the tannoy at half-time came an appeal for a plumber. Perhaps it was an electrician who came forward because after the break Torquay sparked into life and finally looked interested.

City's goal had already led something of a charmed life when the Gulls finally got back on level terms as the hour mark approached.

Jimmy Aggrey centred from the right, Fettis came a long way to claim but missed the ball and Kevin Hill emerged from a crowd of players to head the ball into an empty net.

Fettis made amends just minutes later when he pawed away Ryan Green's left-foot drive then had the woodwork to thank as Tony Bedeau's header hit the inside of the post and spun out before City's luck seemingly ran out with just four minutes left on the clock.

A Jason Rees corner was met by an Aggrey flick at the near post and despite the efforts of Chris Brass on the line the ball flew into the opposite corner.

City truly looked down and out but just as fans started to scramble for their calculators to work out the mathematics of it all, it was left to Potter to deliver his most telling of telling blows with City's one and only effort on target in the second half.

Football? Bloody hell. You couldn't make it up.

Torquay United 2 York City 2

YORK CITY: Alan Fettis 6, Darren Edmondson 7 (David McNiven 87mins), Chris Brass 7, Mike Basham 7, Mark Bower 8, Graham Potter 8, Richard Cooper 8, Nick Richardson 6 (Steve Agnew 68mins, 6), Lee Bullock 7, Colin Alcide 7, Lee Nogan 7

Subs, not used: Russ Howarth, Matt Hocking, Neville Stamp Bookings: Cooper 81mins (unsporting conduct)

TORQUAY UNITED: Ryan Northmore, Ryan Green, Lee Russell, Jimmy Aggrey, Paul Holmes (Eifion Williams 81mins), Jason Rees, Richard Kell, Khalid Chalqi, Tony Bedeau, Gareth Law (John Gayle 54mins), Kevin Hill Subs, not used: Stuart Jones, Alex Watson, Ryan Ashington Bookings: Aggrey 54mins (dissent) Sent-off: None

Updated: 12:38 Monday, April 30, 2001