LAST season’s top scorer Jon Parkin and skipper Sean Newton secured York City’s first points of the National League North season with a 2-0 win at Blyth Spartans.

Both netted in the first half with Newton playing in an advanced midfield role, although Parkin was substituted early in the second half and looked like he had picked up an injury.

City still saw out the victory quite comfortably without their attacking talisman but did not have everything their own way in the opening 45 minutes when keeper Jon Worsnop had to save his team twice and other opportunities went begging for the home side.

Macualey Langstaff turned the first chance of the night wide on two minutes from Michael Liddle’s left-wing cross whilst, at the other end, Parkin sidefooted well wide from Simon Heslop’s square pass.

The hosts then had three excellent opportunities to open the scoring on 12 minutes.

First, Robert Dale allowed the ball to run past him on a skiddy surface to send Daniel Maguire clear on goal.

But City keeper Worsnop charged out of his goal to smother his shot well.

Within seconds, Maguire had a second chance when Dale picked him out with a left-wing cross, only for Worsnop to deny him again from eight yards, before Jarrett Rivers volleyed wastefully wide from the rebound.

Parkin was not as profligate on the quarter-hour mark when he claimed the 197th goal of his career, latching on to Louis Almond’s ball through the right channel before swinging his boot first time to shoot across the goal into the bottom corner from ten yards.

City went on to double their advantage on 22 minutes when Parkin chested down a left-wing Almond ball into the box and Newton’s 15-yard blast beat home keeper Peter Jameson for power.

Chances kept coming for Blyth, but Rivers missed with a diagonal effort, Maguire saw an eight-yard attempt deflected off target and Langstaff blazed an edge-of-the-box shot wide.

In a flowing contest, Parkin’s header, from another Almond cross, then lacked the pace to trouble Jameson and Amari Morgan-Smith failed to capitalise on two great openings on the stroke of half-time.

First, he broke clear through the left channel but Jameson pushed his strike away from goal.

Next, the energetic striker forward on to Josh Law’s through ball on the opposite side of the pitch, but sidefooted across the face of the six-yard box.

Another wayward Blyth effort by Dale from the edge of the box then brought an entertaining first period to a close.

The second half was less open with Almond seeing an early diagonal drive gathered by Jameson, while City lost their attacking focal point on 53 minutes when Parkin walked gingerly off the pitch.

After a long lull in the game, his replacement Kaine Felix should have extended the visitors’ lead, but dragged wastefully wide with only Jameson to beat after being set up by fellow sub Connor Smith.

Heslop, meanwhile, fired wide from 30 yards after playing an inadvertent one-two with the referee.

As the game drew to a close, Felix also exited the action with a head injury, giving Jaseem Sukar his debut as an 86th-minute replacement.

The wasteful Maguire then squandered the chance of a stoppage-time consolation when he hoofed the ball over when well placed.