THE ten men of York City picked up their third consecutive draw after a late Dorking Wanderers equaliser saw Michael Morton’s side settle for a 2-2 scoreline.

York came within touching distance of their first three points of the season, but a late equaliser from Jason Prior meant City had to share the spoils.

It’s another blow for the Minstermen who had produced a spirited comeback to cancel out James McShane’s first-half opener, with two composed finishes from Maziar Kouhyar and Dipo Akinyemi seeing York take the lead, before Prior’s 85th minute strike saw Morton’s side’s winless run extend into the Bank Holiday Monday.

Morton had talked about defensive improvements in midweek, something that his side had also worked on in training, but there was very little to shout about as City’s search for a first clean sheet goes on.

McShane had opened the scoring early in the match after some lacklustre defending saw York fail to clear a long throwing, before McShane was on hand to prod the ball home from close-range after a previous save from goalkeeper Ryan Whitley.

The Minstermen had enjoyed their fair share of chances, and finally took advantage with some solo quality from Kouhyar, who produced some fancy footwork before bending the ball into the top right corner.

Akinyemi put City ahead when turning Tony Craig inside out, before coolly sliding the ball past Harrison Male and into the far corner again.

But despite York desparetly trying to hold onto a potential first victory of the season, Prior found himself in space to power his header past Whitley to draw the scores level.

Matters were made worse for Morton’s side when a high challenge from Lenell John-Lewis forced the referee to show the York captain a straight red card in stoppage time.

Morton made five changes to the York side that claimed a late 1-1 draw with Aldershot Town last Saturday, with Whitley replacing the injured David Stockdale between the sticks after Whitley was recalled from his loan deal with Scarborough Athletic.

Dan Batty and Jack Stott were signed on Thursday and Friday, and both made their competitive City debuts in midfield.

Adam Crookes returned from a leg injury to start in left-back, whilst captain John-Lewis was reinstated back into the starting eleven after his stoppage time equaliser last weekend.

Making an appearance from the bench for Dorking was midfielder Dan Pybus, who completed his switch to Marc White’s side last Tuesday in controversial fashion, allegedly refusing to play for the Minstermen.

Pybus was a controversial transfer away from the club, and the controversies continued on the pitch, with the referee ruling out a potential penalty shout in the opening minute by Craig.

John-Lewis had a long-ranged effort rifled over the crossbar for the away side, before Batty was shown a yellow card just 12 minutes into his debut for a tactical foul.

But it wouldn’t take long for the hosts to establish themselves and take the lead in Surrey, as McShane netted on the 17th minute mark.

A long throw caused problems for the City backline, before Whitley made a low stop, only for McShane to race onto the loose ball and tuck it home into the empty net.

John-Lewis and Olly Dyson both had chances that tested Harrison Male immediately with the Minstermen looking for a response, before Dyson had an opportunity from a corner that was crucially deflected wide by a Dorking defender.

Seb Bowerman almost doubled the Wanderers’ lead with a curling effort, that fortunately narrowly avoided the far corner.

Tyler Cordner is still looking for a first goal in City colours after being so prominent with Aldershot, and had an opportunity on the brink of half-time when driving into space, but his effort rose well over Male’s crossbar.

Heading into the second half, York looked a little sharper and nearly drew the scores level, with Ryan Fallowfield cutting inside and bending a strike narrowly wide of the target.

But it wouldn’t take long for the Minstermen to bring the game level, with an excellent move orchestrated by Kouhyar.

Some tricky footwork saw the Dorking defenders fail to deal with his threat, before creating a yard of space for himself and curling an unstoppable effort into the top right corner.

John-Lewis looked to grab his second of the season after holding off Craig, before shooting wide of the target whilst on the turn.

But the miss would quickly be forgotten, as Akinyemi added his third of the season with another brilliant effort.

The forward raced in behind after latching onto a long ball, and weaved his way past Craig before showing composure to neatly fire the ball into the far corner.

Quevin Castro was introduced from the bench and nearly capitalised on some fantastic City pressure, but his shot was blocked from the edge of the box.

Akinyemi would be involved again with a close-range header that rattled the post, but the linesman ruled the striker for offside.

Dorking were still in the match, and forced Whitley into a double save after consecutive strikes by Prior.

But Prior couldn’t be denied for much longer, and finally beat Whitley with a glancing header that the York shot-stopper failed to keep out of his net.

It wouldn’t be the last action of the match, as John-Lewis was shown a straight red card after a rash challenge on Harry Ottaway that meant the York captain will now face a suspension for Monday’s match.

Prior’s strike meant that City had to settle for the point, before welcoming league newcomers Rochdale to the LNER Community Stadium on Bank Holiday Monday (3pm).

Dorking Wanderers: Male, Francomb, Craig, McManus, Fuller, Taylor, Moore, Gallagher (Ottaway, 49), Bowerman, Prior, McShane (Pybus, 55)

Subs not used: B. Taylor, Seager, Everitt

Goals: McShane (17), Prior (85)

Yellow card(s): McShane (28)

York City: Whitley 7, Fallowfield 7, Howe 6, Cordner 6, Crookes 6, Dyson 7, Batty 7 (Castro 6, 66), Stott 7 (McLaughlin 6, 76), Kouhyar 8, John-Lewis 5, Akinyemi 7

Subs not used: Watson, Siziba, Latty-Fairweather

Goals: Kouhyar (58), Akinyemi (73)

Yellow card: Batty (12)

Red card: John-Lewis (90+6)

York’s star man: Maziar Kouhyar. An instrumental performance from the winger who scored a fantastic solo effort.

Attendance: 1410 (196)

Shots (on target): 4 (5) | 8 (4)

Corners: 2 | 3

Offsides: 1 | 1

Fouls committed: 9 | 12