MICHAEL Ingham will be given the chance to keep suspended keeper Bobby Olejnik out of the York City goal should he impress on Good Friday against Cheltenham.

The long-serving Ingham reclaimed his place between the City sticks for the first time since November when Olejnik was sent off for handling outside his area in the 31st minute of a sensational 4-1 win at Mansfield.

City were 2-0 up, thanks to Keith Lowe and Shaq Coulthirst goals, when the on-loan Peterborough net-minder saw red after rushing out of his penalty box and then getting his fingertips to Rakish Bingham’s attempted lob.

But City went on to extend their lead early in the second half following Jake Hyde’s tenth goal of the season and, even though Ingham was beaten by a Matt Rhead shot for the hosts, Coulthirst’s second goal on 89 minutes completed a resounding triumph for the visitors’ ten men.

Ingham, who turns 35 this summer, has made 320 appearances for City having rejoined the club in 2008 following a loan spell from Sunderland five years earlier.

The former Northern Ireland international only lies behind 1955 FA Cup semi-final hero Tommy Forgan in the club’s all-time clean sheet list with 113 to his name.

He has played second fiddle to Olejnik and previous loan signing Alex Cisak, though, this season, having suffered the same fate when Nick Pope and Aaron McCarey were brought to the club on the same basis last term.

Ingham is out of contract at the end of the campaign but could now win a chance to prove his worth with seven games remaining to help preserve the club’s Football League status.

On the opportunity for Ingham to replace Olejnik for more than the one-match suspension the ex-Austrian under-21 international has incurred, City boss Russ Wilcox said: “If he goes in and performs well against Cheltenham, then it’s his shirt to lose.

“It was a crazy decision from Bobby (at Mansfield). He did not need to come that far out of his goal.

“The centre halves would have dealt with it comfortably and he’s got to stay at home in those situations. The ball was then going into the net, so he made a save, but that cost us a man and I felt sorry for Russell Penn when I had to take him off.”

Penn made way for Ingham as Wilcox opted against withdrawing one of his frontmen – a choice vindicated when both Hyde and Coulthirst added further goals.

“It was a brave decision to take the captain off and leave the front two on but I wanted them up there because they caused Mansfield major problems all afternoon,” the City chief explained. “I thought we needed to try and get the next goal and that was why I didn’t want to sacrifice a striker.”

Coulthirst terrorised Mansfield throughout with his pace and Wilcox believes the on-loan Tottenham attacker’s double-strike will fill him with belief for the rest of the campaign.

“Shaq was terrific and that’s what he can do,” Wilcox enthused. “I’ve been after him a long time and have finally got him at York City.

“He’s a Tottenham player but he’s come here with the right approach. He still wants to learn and he’s come into a League Two battle and shown he’s up for the fight.

“It’s great when strikers score and it’s important for Shaq to get off the mark with a brace because that breeds confidence. We spoke to him at half-time about not trying to over-complicate things on the ball and he took that on board perfectly for his second goal.”

Wilcox also hailed the efforts of defensive trio Lowe, Dave Winfield and John McCombe, who stood tall to resist any semblance of a home riposte.

“To lose Bobby and play with ten men for an hour at an intimidating place like Mansfield and then score two more goals was a tremendous away performance,” the City manager declared. “There were a few nervous moments at 3-1 because it’s York City and we never do things the easy way but we were solid and the three experienced centre halves were absolutely immense.

“They were our base and platform to go on and do what we did. They made the first contact on most things into our box and their organisation and commitment was terrific.

“Inghy did not have a lot to do after he came on. They chucked balls in from different areas but the three centre halves dealt with that comfortably.”

The Minstermen moved three points clear of the drop zone following their emphatic triumph and climbed above Carlisle into 20th place.

Wilcox welcomed a “great day” for the club but also reminded the players that they are nowhere near out of the woods with bottom-of-the-table Cheltenham, who are four points behind City, bidding to claw back some ground on their hosts in the team’s next test.

He said: “It was a great day for York City and I am proud of the group so we will enjoy the victory. We’ve got a huge weekend at Easter coming up with back-to-back games but, if we can perform like that, we will pick up results to move us further away from trouble.

“That result has been coming too. I’ve been touching on how good our performances have been and received criticism but I will stand by that and, if you keep performing well, you will win games. We’ve just needed a little bit of game management, nous and luck, which hasn’t been with us in recent weeks.

“We’ve conceded late goals that have cost us dearly and some have been deflected but we have stuck together, kept our belief and stayed calm. Nothing has been achieved yet though.

“There are still seven games left to play and 21 points to go for.” Wilcox was pleased, meanwhile, that two of his side’s goals against the Stags came from inswinging flag kicks.

“To score twice from corners against a big, strong and powerful team like Mansfield was great,” he pointed out. “They were both fantastic deliveries from Josh (Carson) and it showed that, if you make first contact in the box, you have an opportunity to score.

“Keith got across his man for the first goal and Jake showed great movement to make a terrific run for the third. That was important because, if they had made it 2-1, the stadium would have been uproarious and we would have been on the back foot.”

On-loan teenage Bournemouth forward Josh O’Hanlon was given his professional debut as a 73rd-minute replacement for Hyde and went on almost score before setting up Coulthirst’s second goal.

Describing his impact, the City boss said: “He did well. He was very brave when he won the header for Shaq’s second goal and took a fair whack.

“I thought it was always going to be a game for him rather than (fellow new loan signing) Shaun Miller. I wanted his pace and power at the end and he acquitted himself well on his debut, especially for a 19-year-old.”