HE might be a Homer by name, but a perfect away tonic was provided by Telford’s familiar match-winner at York City.

The Shropshire side only won two league games on the road last term, but former Luton and Kidderminster striker Matthew Barnes-Homer grabbed the only goal of the game on 44 minutes, condemning the hosts to a frustrating start to life in sixth-tier football.

Perhaps it was no surprise, though, with only hen and stag parties, these days, seemingly enjoying their weekend trips to the Minster city more than Saturday’s visitors to Bootham Crescent.

During their last sojurn, on an August afternoon too, Telford also claimed a single-goal triumph, which would prove the only league success during their 2011/12 travels.

City would, of course, go on to finish that campaign, under current chief Gary Mills, as double Wembley winners and back in the Football League – offering some perspective perhaps amid the disappointment of a first opening-day home defeat since 2010.

Boos were heard at half-time from certain sections of the crowd and grew a little louder at the final whistle, with 2,800 home supporters, lifted by the FA Trophy final success at Wembley, hoping to herald the start of a new era of success following back-to-back relegations.

Defeat, therefore, was all the more difficult to stomach – the latest in a seemingly never-ending series of setbacks – but Mills’ team, who displayed top-ten form in the division above during the second half of last season in a valiant fight to preserve National League status, have not become a bad side overnight.

After all, seven of Saturday’s side featured in the 3-2 victory over Macclesfield two-and-a-half months ago under the world-famous arch – the same number that also helped overcome Lincoln, the National League’s leading lights, at that competition’s semi-final stage.

The loss was, however, a gentle reminder that City must work just as hard to justify their newly-acquired favourites’ status, as they did trying to confound those writing them off as certainties for the drop during their revival under Mills.

Rob Edwards’ men won too many balls all over the pitch but, most notably, in their own penalty box, especially after City’s long-throw specialist Sam Muggleton was introduced just past the hour mark.

Many felt the hosts’ play subsequently became a little one-dimensional and predictable, but that is undermining the threat posed by Muggleton’s touchline talent and Telford deserve great credit for nullifying it.

Jasbir Singh, whilst hardly overworked in the away goal, also brilliantly denied City trio Hamza Bencherif, Amari Morgan-Smith and Josh Law, whilst his counterpart Jon Worsnop didn’t make a single save all afternoon.

The Minstermen’s best period of the game came midway through the first half when, after Jon Parkin’s tenth-minute free kick was unconvincingly gathered by Singh at the second attempt, the confident Law drove wide from 35 yards.

Moments later, Parkin headed Sean Newton’s inswinging free kick from the right against the bar and Bencherif forced a reflex stop from Singh before his follow-up attempt was blocked.

Parkin’s header from a Morgan-Smith centre then lacked the power and direction to beat the former Gloucester City net-minder, who went on to claw away a header from the latter as it dropped under his crossbar after Bencherif had rose high to meet Dan Parslow’s free kick into the box.

But, having weathered that storm, the Bucks mustered their first goal attempt just past the half-hour mark when Will Marsh flashed a shot across the face of Worsnop’s goal from the inside-left position after Adriano Moke had been beaten in the air.

On the stroke of half-time, Barnes-Homer converted the team’s only other first-half chance, sliding in front of Newton to net from four yards after Bencherif had failed to cut out John Marsden’s low cross from the right.

Marsden was a livewire for the Bucks during the second period, lifting over a 20-yard opportunity following a positive diagonal run, before curling a free kick, conceded by the harassed Bencherif, against the well-beaten Worsnop’s right-hand post on 66 minutes, with Elliot Newby ballooning over from the rebound.

In between, City’s only sniff of an equaliser had seen Singh scramble a Parkin header to safety after Jordon Gough had sliced Louis Almond’s low, left-wing cross into the air.

Parslow went on to head over a Morgan-Smith corner and Newton volleyed too high following a Muggleton missile, but the home side were struggling for further attacking inspiration.

On 90 minutes, a free kick won by Almond was smacked towards goal by Law, only for a flying Singh to push the effort over with his fingertips.

His final contribution meant the Bootham Crescent faithful witnessed a curtain-raising reverse on their own soil for the first time since Kidderminster turned over Martin Foyle’s City team 2-1 seven years previously.

City: Jon Worsnop, Dan Parslow, Hamza Bencherif (Kaine Felix, 74), Sean Newton, Josh Law, Simon Heslop, Adriano Moke, Alex Whittle (Sam Muggleton, 61), Louis Almond, Jon Parkin, Amari Morgan-Smith.

Subs not used: Connor Smith, Theo Wharton, Jassem Sukar.

Telford: Jas Singh, Aaron Hayden, Shane Sutton, Jordan Gough, Aaron Simpson, Jack Rea, Jon Royle, Elliot Newby, John Marsden (Curtis Strong, 85), Matthew Barnes-Homer (Kieran Dunbar, 74), Will Marsh (Ross White, 60). Subs not used: Sheridan Martinez, Joe Fitzpatrick.

Referee: Anthony Tankard rating: 7/10 – odd puzzling foul, but generally OK

Booked: Simpson 60, Heslop 70, Royle 83

Sent off: None

Attendance: 2,951 (149 from Telford)

Shots on target: City 9, Telford 2

Shots off target: City 4, Telford 3

Corners: City 7, Telford 2

Fouls conceded: City 15, Telford 13

Offside City 3, Telford 0