YORK City suffered the saddest and most shameful night in the club’s history after being thumped 6-1 at win-less Guiseley.

The National League basement boys dismantled the Minstermen after Matt Fry had headed the visitors in front on 11 minutes.

Guiseley and City supporters were both left gobsmacked as the hosts fired in four goals during a dozen disastrous first-half minutes when Jake Cassidy, Alex Purver, Will Hatfield and Jordan Preston all found the net.

Not even an hour-long delay following a 40th-minute floodlight delay could spare the visitors’ blushes, as the impressive Jermaine Hylton and Rob Atkinson added further strikes for the part-time Leeds outfit.

Surely, it is now a formality that the lights are turned out on manager Jackie McNamara’s troubled tenure, with the club enduring dark days indeed.

McNamara shuffled his pack, but the decision to play Clovis Kamdjo at centre back in place of Jack Higgins and Ben Clappison as a midfield anchorman backfired spectacularly.

Despite McNamara having been scouring the transfer market for weeks in his search for a new striker to run in behind defences, meanwhile, Guiseley’s on-loan Swindon debutant Jermaine Hylton tore City’s defence to shreds.

The away team had, however, made the early running with debutant Ben Barber drilling over from 35 yards and Shaun Rooney heading too high from Matty Dixon’s left-wing cross.

Fry went on to open the scoring on when he headed across goal into the top corner from 12 yards after Danny Galbraith had delivered a flag kick, won down the right by Rooney.

Moments later, Galbraith curled just wide from 25 yards, but the visitors’ calamitous collapse began on 19 minutes when Hylton spun too easily past Kamdjo down the left to collect Purver’s pass.

He then squared for fellow forward Cassidy to stab in from six yards.

Fry went on to give away the ball in the final third with Purver curling inside Kyle Letheren’s left-hand upright from the edge of the box.

Next, the lively Hylton beat Rooney three times before sending in a low cross that caused panic in the visitors’ defence before Hatfield showed the most desire to squeeze the ball over the line despite Letheren’s desperate attempt to keep it out.

Preston fired home a fourth from 12 yards in front of a packed and furious away end when he got the better of Kamdjo and Rooney through the left channel.

One supporter carried his protests on to the pitch and was escorted out of the ground past McNamara.

Shell-shocked City skipper Simon Heslop subsequently sent a couple of angry efforts off target from distance, while Rooney’s deflected drive was saved at his near post by Jonathan Maxted before the lights failed.

Following several unsuccessful attempts to turn them back on and the winning raffle numbers being announced over the tannoy, the game finally restarted after 60 minutes.

Heslop promptly booted the ball out of the ground from 15 yards, while Kamdjo was fortunate not to give away a penalty for bundling over Hylton before referee David Richardson, proving there’s no scope for common sense when it comes to football officiating, took the teams off for a regulation, 15-minute interval.

After Galbraith blasted wide from 12 yards, Hylton bagged himself a deserved goal on 55 minutes when an awful Kamdjo clearance allowed Simon Walton to send him clear on Letheren’s goal and the on-loan Swindon striker finished with immaculate composure.

Hylton went close to a sixth for the hosts when his diving header from Cassidy’s left-wing cross flashed wide and Preston also drove over from 20 yards.

Just a minute after coming off the bench, ex-City striker Adam Boyes headed down for Atkinson to sweep in a ten-yard effort into Letheren’s bottom right-hand corner to complete the rout.

STATS & RATINGS

City

Kyle Letheren: 3

Shaun Rooney: 1

Clovis Kamdjo: 1

Matt Fry: 2

Ben Barber: 2

Ben Clappison: 1

Simon Heslop: 2

Matty Dixon: 1

Danny Galbraith: 2

Scott Fenwick: 1

Justin Johnson: 1

Substitutes: Fraser Murdoch 2 (for Fenwick, 46), Yan Klukowski 2 (for Clappison, 46), Kaine Felix 2 (for Johnson, 60).

Subs not used: Luke Simpson, Franklyn Clarke.

Guiseley

Jonathan Maxted, Connor Brown (Nicky Clee, 72), Jake Lawlor, Robert Atkinson, Danny Lowe, Will Hatfield, Simon Walton, Alex Purver, Jordan Preston, Jake Cassidy (Michael Rankine, 77), Jermaine Hylton (Adam Boyes, 81). Subs not used: Dan Atkinson, Ashley Palmer.

Referee: David Richardson rating: 7/10

Booked: Preston 27.

Attendance: 1,626

Shots on target: Guiseley 7, City 2

Shots off target: Guiseley 2, City 7

Corners: Guiseley 2, City 6

Fouls conceded: Guiseley 17, City 7

Offsides: Guiseley 2, City 0