John-Lewis brace earns York City clash with Wigan Athletic in FA Cup

It was far from a vintage performance from the Minstermen, who failed to exhibit much of the quality of Saturday’s victory at AFC Fylde, but a brace from returning captain Lenell John-Lewis proved enough to see them over the line.

They will now welcome Sky Bet League One strugglers Wigan Athletic to the LNER Community Stadium in front of the BBC cameras on December 1 in what will be their first appearance in the competition’s Second Round since 2010.

For the second consecutive match, the Minstermen struck inside the opening 10 minutes when John-Lewis turned home Scott Burgess’ corner on the volley, but they found themselves second best thereafter as their National League North opponents began to get a grasp on proceedings.

After a half-time change and a few choice words from manager Calum McIntyre, Chester were by far the better side after the interval, with City having goalkeeper David Stockdale to thank for not falling behind as John-Lewis’ second was almost immediately cancelled out by his opposite number George Glendon.

But the Minstermen held on for victory and the estimated £100,000 financial bonus that comes with it.

Neal Ardley made three changes from City’s 2-0 victory on the Fylde coast on Saturday, with Stockdale replacing the cup-tied George Sykes-Kenworthy between the sticks, and Thierry Latty-Fairweather and John-Lewis preferred to Kai Kennedy and Hull City loanee Olly Green.

The Minstermen gave Chester a taste of what to expect from the kick-off, with Akinyemi firing both high and wide less than a minute into proceedings.

Much as they had in City’s crucial win at Fylde three days prior, Ryan Fallowfield and Scott Burgess again linked up well on the right edge, winning the game’s first corner on the five-minute mark.

And the hosts took their first real opportunity of the match with both hands, returning captain John-Lewis making no mistake to volley Burgess’ near-post delivery past Wyll Stanway from close range in a move straight off the training ground.

It was in a similar vein that the Minstermen almost doubled their advantage two minutes later as another corner was recycled to Akinyemi who found Burgess inside the box, but the winger saw his effort blocked and then cleared by the Chester defence.

The visitors, rocked by finding themselves with an early deficit, soon began to find their feet in the match, playing captain Glendon in behind the City back line, but Stockdale was down quickly to save.

Akinyemi continued to be at the heart of most of York’s attacking play, seeing his low cross just evade strike partner John-Lewis on the penalty spot before firing well wide from Latty-Fairweather’s cut-back.

Chester remained content to attack on the counter, Latty-Fairweather doing just enough to force Kieran Coates to put his shot wide after a rapid break 10 minutes before the interval.

Akinyemi was shown the game’s first caution on the 40-minute mark before a slick move between Burgess and Latty-Fairweather saw the ball fall in the direction of Callum Howe, but the defender’s acrobatic effort failed to find the target.

And City squandered another fantastic opportunity to double their lead in first-half stoppage time, Fallowfield’s teasing cross somehow evading everyone in the penalty area on the whistle.

Chester introduced top-scorer Charlie Caton at half-time, with the striker proving a constant threat after repeatedly finding himself with space behind City’s back line.

His first involvement won a corner five minutes after the restart, but Tyler Cordner was on hand to clear, before John-Lewis blocked a follow-up effort.

Stockdale was called into real action for the first time with 56 minutes played, more than making up for parrying a Harrison Burke cross with an outstanding double save before the ball eventually rolled wide for a goal-kick.

The next chance of the match fell Akinyemi’s way after he was left in space on the edge of the box, but he could not keep his long-range strike under the bar.

Having found themselves increasingly under pressure, a second goal could hardly have come at a better time for City.

Sensing an opportunity, John-Lewis persisted to find himself between the two Chester centre backs and was left with the simplest of finishes to tap into an empty net after the bounce of the ball caught out Stanway, who could only watch on as it rose over his head and towards the goal.

Stockdale sensationally denied Declan Weeks two minutes later with a fingertip save at full stretch, but the visitors halved the deficit with just under 20 minutes remaining, the City defence standing still as Burke delivered a dangerous cross to the far post, where his captain was on hand to side-foot the ball into the back of the net.

That set up a nervy finish for the Minstermen, who were lucky to hold onto their lead after Glendon’s strike from the edge of the box whistled past Stockdale’s right-hand post.

Chester continued to press for an equaliser, with Caton thrice denied by the offside flag after being found by a series of long passes over the City defence.

The Minstermen however edged the late chances, despite John-Lewis being perhaps lucky to have stayed on the pitch after catching a Chester defender late in the box just minutes after being cautioned for a challenge outside the centre circle.

Burgess, fresh from scoring his first York goal in almost five years at the weekend, seemed certain to add to that tally in stoppage time after Latty-Fairweather’s pull-back, but saw his strike sting the palms of Stanway before blazing the rebound over the crossbar.

That opened an opportunity for Chester to snatch an all-important equaliser at the death, but they could not capitalise on a fantastic low cross from the right wing, nor the resultant corner, the referee instead ruling that Stockdale had been fouled in a goal-mouth scramble.

A victory that the Minstermen made perhaps harder work of than they should have, but one that provides them with a second consecutive win and momentum ahead of Saturday’s tricky National League clash with Hartlepool United.

YORK CITY: Stockdale, Fallowfield, Cordner, McLaughlin, Akinyemi (Kennedy 78), John-Lewis, Howe, Burgess, Woodyard, Latty-Fairweather, Smith.

UNUSED SUBSTITUTES: Watson, Duckworth, Dyson, Castro, Kouhyar, Siziba, Barrow, Green.

GOALS: John-Lewis (5, 65)

YELLOW CARDS: Akinyemi (39), Stockdale (85), John-Lewis (88)

CHESTER: Stanway, Taylor, Weeks, Burke, Williams, Glendon, Whitehouse (Daly 83), Thomas (Caton HT), Coates, Roberts, Edwards.

UNUSED SUBSTITUTES: Davies, Evans, Sparrow, Murray, Heywood, Rosenblatt, Maguire.

GOALS: Glendon (71)

YORK’S STAR MAN: Lenell John-Lewis. A brace was a just reward for the City skipper’s efforts on his return to the starting line-up, and he took both opportunities well.

ATTENDANCE: 3850 (755)

REFEREE: Aaron Bannister