YORK City’s winless run stretched to seven, after a disappointing performance in Kent saw Ebbsfleet United claim a 4-1 victory.

Some poor defending meant York struggled to keep Ebbsfleet at bay, with a dominant performance seeing interim manager Tony McMahon begin his stint in charge with a defeat.

City are still yet to pick up their first win of the Vanarama National League season, being the only team yet to do so in the division, with the Minstermen sitting second bottom only because of Southend United’s points deduction.

Zanda Siziba did open his account in York colours with a thunderous finish to bring the scores level, after a humiliating error from Ryan Whitley allowed Omari Sterling-James to somehow sneak the ball home from the edge of the area.

City were pegged back on the brink of half-time after some shameful defending saw Franklin Domi turn two defenders in the box, before powering home.

Craig Tanner added to York’s misery with a goal 50 seconds into the second half, slamming home from close-range despite Whitley’s best efforts.

Dom Poleon, who had previously played with McMahon at Bradford City, netted his seventh of the season late on in the match, securing the three points for the Fleet and sending York back to North Yorkshire empty-handed.

McMahon had said prior to kick-off that every player had a clean slate within the team, and that nobody had necessarily earnt their place in the starting eleven after such a poor start to the season.

With that in mind, McMahon made three changes from the side that fell to a 3-1 defeat to Rochdale on Bank Holiday Monday.

Paddy McLaughlin returned to the starting eleven and was handed the captains armband, whilst Kai Kennedy and Thierry Latty-Fairweather were brought into the lineup.

Latty-Fairweather replaced Adam Crookes in the side after the defender suffered a clumsy red card against Rochdale, whilst Kennedy was handed a first start since joining the club last week.

Mitch Hancox was also a welcome addition to the bench and would be introduced in the second half, with supporters eager to know why the midfielder hadn’t been as involved as he had last season.

It was also a chance for Tyler Cordner to return to the club he had enjoyed a previous loan spell, having made 20 appearances for the Fleet in 2019.

And with Ebbsfleet netting four, it didn’t take long for the hosts to quickly establish their dominance, with Whitley making a strong stop to deny Tanner just two minutes in.

York mustered a chance with Siziba coming close, meeting Dan Batty’s deep cross and nodding narrowly wide of the target.

However, it didn’t take long for Ebbsfleet to take the lead, and with it being a goal that Whitley won’t want to remember.

A curling strike from Sterling-James snuck through the crowd of York bodies, before causing confusion amongst Whitley and somehow tucking beneath the shot-stopper.

Dipo Akinyemi would be feeding off of scraps for much of the game, but did look to spark a reaction with a thunderous effort from the edge of the box, that rose over Mark Cousins’ crossbar.

And it would be Akinyemi to play a pivotal part in York’s equaliser, helping Siziba grasp his first goal for the club.

Some strong body work from the powerful forward allowed Akinyemi to feed the ball into Siziba, who found himself unmarked before hammering a venomous effort into the far corner.

York’s equaliser didn’t come from much, but defensively it was a poor showing from the backline today.

It showed with Ebbsfleet’s equaliser, as Domi completed a fantastic run from his own half by expertly turning two City defenders, before slamming the ball into the roof of the net.

Heading into second half, McMahon’s words at half-time were quickly rendered pointless, with Ebbsfleet scoring less than a minute into the second forty-five.

Whitley did produce a fantastic stop to keep out Domi from doubling his tally of the afternoon, leaping to palm the midfielder’s curling strike wide of the target.

A slick move from the hosts allowed Tanner to pick up possession within the box, before firing past an unfortunate Whitley, who got a hand to his effort but was unable to parry the effort away.

Matters were nearly made immediately worse for the Minstermen with Poleon tucking the ball home, but thankfully the assistant referee’s flag had ruled out Ebbsfleet’s fourth.

Kennedy nearly began another City comeback when meeting Hancox’s cross to the back post, rising highest and heading goalwards, but his effort rattled against the crossbar.

With time running out on York and McMahon’s side looking to be heading towards their fourth defeat of the National League season, Poleon settled the scoreline.

Some underwhelming defending allowed the attacker space in behind, before sliding the ball past Whitley and securing a losing start to McMahon’s temporary tenure in charge.

York are now back in action next Saturday, September 9 (3pm) for a home match against Boreham Wood.

Ebbsfleet United: Cousins, O’Neill, Solly, Martin, Domi, Tanner (Clifford, 79), Wright, Chapman, Amoo (McQueen, 59), Poleon, Sterling-James (Odokonyero, 70)

Subs not used: Cisse, Edser

Goals: Sterling-James (19), Domi (41), Tanner (46), Poleon (88)

Yellow cards: Martin (66)

York City: Whitley 5, Fallowfield 5, Cordner 6, Howe 6, Latty-Fairweather 6, McLaughlin 6, Batty 6 (Castro 5, 58), Kouhyar 6 (Dyson 6, 58), Kennedy 7, Siziba 7 (Hancox 6, 65), Akinyemi 7

Subs not used: Watson, Stott

Goals: Siziba (28)

Yellow cards: Siziba (17), Dyson (81), Hancox (84)

York’s star man: Dipo Akinyemi. Another performance that impresses despite not receiving much aid from elsewhere, but an assist and a constant threat again from York’s star man.

Attendance: 1724 (228)

Shots (on target): 2 (7) | 5 (2)

Corners: 6 | 3

Offsides: 3 | 3

Fouls committed: 9 | 11