11:50am Saturday 1st May 2010
By Dave Flett
YORK City centre-back Luke Graham has pointed to the club’s tremendous defensive record against the Blue Square Premier’s top-ten teams as reason for encouragement ahead of Monday’s crucial play-off decider at Luton.
Since Graham’s arrival at Bootham Crescent from Mansfield last autumn, City have only conceded one goal in 15 hours of football during the ten fixtures that have pitted them against sides which finished the season in a top-ten position.
That goal came in last weekend’s 1-0 defeat at champions Stevenage during a game that was effectively a “dead rubber”.
It is an incredible record and testament to the steely resolve Graham, pictured, has brought to the Minstermen after being told he was surplus to requirements at Field Mill.
The former Northampton trainee is also hoping it bodes well ahead of the club’s Bank Holiday trip to a Luton team, who ended the season as runners-up but failed to scored against City for a second successive match in Thursday’s first leg 1-0 home win.
The 24-year-old defender said: “We have proven we are good enough to make that next step and we have got to do that again on Monday.
“If you look at our record against the top teams then, bar Stevenage last weekend when we had a lapse in concentration, we haven’t conceded a goal in all those big games we’ve had.
“Luton had a couple of chances on Thursday but that’s always going to happen. We largely restricted them to long-range efforts and I wouldn’t call it a lucky clean sheet.
“We took our chance well and defended well as a team not just as a back four. The guys in front of us were magnificent.”
Graham also praised scorer Richard Brodie and his striking partner Michael Rankine, arguing that the pair won their battle with Luton centre-backs George Pilkington and Shane Blackett at the other end of the pitch.
He now believes that they can be key men again in the second leg, saying: “Michael Rankine and Richard Brodie were excellent on Thursday night. They bullied their centre-halves in the air and won all the second balls.
“When those two are not on their mettle, we tend to struggle but, if they are on their game, we have every chance of winning any game of football at this level because I have every confidence we can keep a clean sheet.
“I’d be lying if I said we dominated the first leg. I think they did for long periods because they are a good team and play football that you admire but they had a lapse in concentration at the end.
“You’ve also got to look at the individual players we have got. We played to our strengths and everybody was on their mettle to get us the win.”
Graham stressed it was important the players were allowed time to reflect on their first-leg victory yesterday before returning to training and focusing on the task ahead this morning.
He said: “Thursday night was a fantastic feeling. We had just won a good game of football against a very good team.
“We pinched it at the death and there’s no greater feeling as a defender to keep a clean sheet and then see your team get a goal at the end.
“It might be half-time but we still earned the right to enjoy our win during our day off and then today it’s all about concentrating fully on the next game.
“Nobody’s getting carried away and there’s another 90 minutes to be played now.”
• Updated ratings for The Press player-of-the-month and player-of-the-year awards will be published in Monday’s The Press as part of our extensive coverage of the semi-final second leg at Luton.
CITY’S LEAGUE RECORD AGAINST TOP TEN TEAMS WITH LUKE GRAHAM IN THE SIDE
Nov 21 – AFC Wimbledon 0 CITY 1
Dec 1 – Rushden 0 CITY 1
Dec 26 – CITY 3 Mansfield 0
Jan 23 – Cambridge 0 CITY 1
Feb 6 – Kettering 0 CITY 1
Feb 16 – CITY 0 Luton 0
Mar 16 – Mansfield 0 CITY 1
Apr 7 – CITY 5 AFC Wimbledon 0
Apr 24 – Stevenage 1 CITY 0
Apr 29 – CITY 1 Luton 0
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