FORMER York City defender Janos Kovacs will be available to face his old team in tomorrow’s FA Trophy semi-final second leg after Luton Town’s successful appeal against his midweek red card.

Kovacs was sent off for allegedly denying a goalscoring opportunity during Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw at Darlington but, after reviewing evidence, the FA accepted Doncaster referee Richard Wigglesworth failed to spot that the Hatters had a covering defender in right-back Ed Asafu-Adjaye.

The Hungarian is now free to retain his place in the Kenilworth Road clash as the 1988 League Cup winners look to extend a club record of ten consecutive clean sheets at home.

League Two promotion contenders Cheltenham were the last team to breach the Hatters’ back line in Bedfordshire when they won 4-2 in a December 3 FA Cup tie.

Kovacs’ dismissal had been Luton’s fourth in three games and midfielder Jean-Paul Kissock will watch from the stands tomorrow as he sits out the final match of his three-game suspension.

Midfielder Keith Keane and left-winger Jake Howells, however, are both available having completed one-match bans after receiving their marching orders at Bootham Crescent last weekend.

Cup-tied trio Andre Boucaud, Craig McAllister and Godfrey Poku, meanwhile, remain ineligible.

Former City midfielder Boucaud was left on the bench at Darlington, where former on-loan Southport midfielder Poku was named man-of-the-match despite conceding two penalties.

Hatters manager Gary Brabin will continue to be without the injured Amari Morgan-Smith, Dan Gleeson and James Dance, while Aaron O’Connor is doubtful after missing the last two games.

But 11-goal top scorer Stuart Fleetwood could return to the starting line-up after earning Luton a point from the penalty spot at Darlington, where he replaced Danny Crow at half-time.

The draw with Darlington means Luton could endure their longest run without a win since last April tomorrow, having failed to claim victory in any of their last three fixtures, including defeats against the Minstermen (1-0) and Wrexham (2-0).

Luton (probable): Tyler, Asafu-Adjaye, Pilkington, Kovacs, Taylor, Keane, Lawless, Watkins, Willmott, Fleetwood, Howells.

Match facts

THIS is City’s first visit to Kenilworth Road in cup football.

It happened on March 17

1956: A 3-1 win at Division Three North leaders Accrington Stanley with goals from Clive Colbridge (2) and Arthur Bottom in front of 9,095 at Peel Park. City were 12th in the table.

1973: City beat Scunthorpe United 3-1 at Bootham Crescent with Brian Pollard, Pat Lally and Richard Taylor on the scoresheet. The attendance was 2,848 and City were mid-table in Division Three (League One).

1985: A home crowd of 10,442 – the last time Bootham Crescent boasted a five-figure attendance for a league fixture – saw City lose 2-1 to leaders Bradford City. Martin Butler was the marksman and City were eighth in the Third Division.

2001: A 0-0 draw at home to Lincoln City watched by 3,506. It was the seventh game without defeat and City were 19th in Division Three (League Two).

2007: City were held to a goalless draw at Bootham Crescent by St Albans and remained third in the Conference. The crowd was 2,927.

Compiled by David Batters

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