YORK City suffered a humiliating 4-1 defeat at Curzon Ashton and had Jon Parkin red carded.

Home striker Niall Cummins grabbed a first-half hat-trick and also saw a 28th-minute penalty saved by Adam Bartlett during a dreadful opening 45 minutes from the visitors.

Samuel Walker went on to add a fourth after the restart, before Parkin was sent off for the visitors after being accused of stamping on home skipper Jonathan Hunt. The only bright note of the afternoon for City came with the arrival of debutant Alex Kempster as a second-half substitute.

He scored a stylish consolation, following his midweek move from Whitley Bay, before also heading against the bar late on.

Curzon forged in front four minutes into the contest from the afternoon’s first attack.

Alex Pattison failed to track a raid down the left, having taken an early whack that saw him substituted shortly afterwards.

When the ball came in, Sean Newton’s poor clearance then fell to Jake Dunwoody 15 yards from goal and, after his low drive was only parried by Adam Bartlett, Cummins was on hand to find the inviting net.

Moments later, James Baillie released Chris Rowney for a free run down the right and, when the latter’s cross picked out Dunwoody, his 12-yard effort was pushed out by Bartlett before Joe Guest blazed over.

At the other end, Simon Heslop managed the visitors’ only on-target attempt of the opening 45 minutes, but his 25-yard shot was safely gathered by home keeper Cameron Mason.

But, midway through the first period, Parkin squandered an excellent chance to equalise, heading downward and across the face of goal after rising unopposed to meet Heslop’s left-wing free kick to the far post.

Within two minutes, Curzon had broke up the other end and won a penalty when Ben McKenna cut inside Connor Brown through the left channel and was tripped by the full back.

But Bartlett made an excellent save from Cummins’ spot kick, diving low to his left to push the effort on to his left-hand upright.

Bartlett was also needed to catch a Walker 15-yard half-volley following more sluggish away defending, but his efforts only provided brief respite with Cummins doubling the advantage on 35 minutes.

Debutant Marcus Williams – on for the injured Pattison – sold himself as he completely misjudged a long diagonal ball from left to right, allowing McKenna to skip past him and deliver a low cross that was converted by Cummins from five yards.

Within three minutes, Cummins had claimed the matchball, firing across the face of goal into Bartlett’s bottom corner after a series of calamitous penalty-box ricochets had presented him with a free ten-yard shot in the right channel.

Baillie should have made it 4-0 from the next opportunity, but fired wide of the near post after being sent clear through the right again by Matthew Regan, leading to chants of “You’re Not Fit to Wear the Shirt” from the exasperated Minstermen faithful.

After Newton dragged off target from the edge of the box, McKenna also saw a deflected attempt go wide, while Baillie volleyed over from 12 yards and Bartlett had to push away a Walker shot following Hamza Bencherif’s weak header.

From the restart, a 25-yard Guest shot was pushed away by Bartlett, while Cummins saw his header deflected over from Baillie’s right-wing centre.

But it was 4-0 on 58 minutes when Guest’s left-wing cross travelled all the way to Walker, who had been left alone at the far post.

He subsequently drilled the ball into City’s six-yard box, with a deflection helping it finish in Bartlett’s bottom-right corner.

The afternoon went from dreadful to horrific on 64 minutes when Parkin was sent off and incurred a likely three-match suspension for his clash with Hunt.

But Kemspter did provide some cheer for the away supporters, chasing a long ball through the left channel, before cutting inside and drilling a confident finish across the face of goal into the bottom corner.

More nonsensical play was to follow, though, when Brown picked up his 15th yellow card of the campaign and another three-game ban for dissent despite being awarded a free kick by referee David Underwood.

Bartlett, meanwhile, made an excellent reflex save to prevent Newton heading through his own goal from a Curzon corner.

At the other end, Kempster was unfortunate not to claim a second goal when his header, from Jonny Burn’s right-wing cross, beat Mason but rattled the frame of the goal.

But Bartlett needed to be alert in stoppage time to smother at sub Ben Wharton’s feet after he had been sent clear by fellow replacement Aaron Dwyer.

The City keeper also gathered a rising McKenna attempt from 20 yards, while Bencherif lifted the match's last chance over after Kempster had pulled the ball back from the byline.