Fragile York City exit the FA Trophy to lower league Nantwich Town

Manager Neal Ardley had insisted that his side weren’t going to underestimate their hosts despite the difference in leagues, with Nantwich currently playing their football at just one level higher than the likes of Tadcaster Albion and Pickering Town.

But after handing opportunities to players that had allegedly been knocking on his door for a chance, it was an afternoon to forget for York, who crashed out of the FA Trophy to a prolific Nantwich side.

The Dabbers took the lead just two minutes into the contest with Steven Hewitt’s free-kick finding Ahmed Ali in the box, who flicked his header past David Stockdale.

York were struck a second blow despite finding brief momentum, with another cross being failed to deal with as Paddy Kay met Troy Bourne’s pass to beat Stockdale to the ball and head into the gaping net.

And it was three for Nantwich less than half an hour in, with Connor Rankin meeting a corner at the near post before glancing his effort past Stockdale.

City did fight back with Zanda Siziba being fouled in the box in the 82nd minute, allowing Lenell John-Lewis to step up and claim one back for the Minstermen.

There would be hope for Ardley’s side in stoppage time too, with Siziba again being involved with a low strike that beat the Nantwich goalkeeper, before Byron Harrison was shown a straight red card for an alleged elbow.

But it wouldn’t be enough to earn a spot in the next round of the FA Trophy, with York now out of all cup competitions.

Ardley had handed opportunities to players that were keen to play and as a result did rotate his squad, which was still a relatively strong one, handing matches to the likes of Quevin Castro, Michael Duckworth and Callum Harriott, with the latter two returning from injuries.

Kai Kennedy and Will Davies were also brought into the eleven after missing out in the Emirates FA Cup second round defeat to Wigan Athletic, with it being a huge contrast on this weekend’s defeat to lower league opposition.

Nantwich themselves boasted a name which was recognisable to Ardley, with Harrison leading the line for the Dabbers, a player who was managed by Ardley during his time with AFC Wimbledon.

Despite the Minstermen rotating their squad and handing valuable minutes to injured players, nobody would have expected City to fall behind so early on in the match.

But it didn’t take long for Nantwich to assert themselves, with defender Ali latching onto a teasing cross from Hewitt to beat Stockdale from close-range, putting City on the back foot from the off.

Nantwich didn’t look to sit back on their lead but to instead extend it, with Tyler Cordner, who had been rewarded with the captain’s armband, making a crucial challenge to deny Kay a route through on goal.

Some sloppy passing from City at the back allowed Hewitt a chance, but he couldn’t force an effort on target and instead side-footed his strike wide.

Stockdale was called into action when dealing with Harrison’s effort, before Maz Kouhyar had a snapshot deflected narrowly over the crossbar.

Davies was back in the eleven after missing out on the Wigan spectacle due to being cup-tied, and had an array of chances in the 20th minute mark, first heading over from Kouhyar’s corner, before sliding Harriott’s impressive cross wide of the mark.

And York would go on to regret those missed opportunities, as Nantwich profited from City’s waste.

Another cross forced struggle amongst the backline, before Kay beat Stockdale to the ball to power a header past the York shot-stopper, celebrating with Bourne who had provided the assist.

Davies was again eager to get on the scoresheet after finding his way through on goal, but an excellent stop by Danny Roberts denied York a route back into the match.

And with Nantwich already holding a comfortable lead, the hosts extended their advantage.

A corner found the head of Rankin at the near post, who found the space to glance a header through a crowd of bodies and into the back of the net.

There was work to do for York heading into the second half, but it would be a hard task if the Minstermen were going to force penalties in the tie.

Jake Kirby looked to establish an early dominance as his strike bended wide of the target, before Luke Daley produced a low cross that somehow evaded that finishing touch inside the six-yard box.

John-Lewis was introduced as a substitute on the hour mark for Davies, and looked to have an immediate impact when meeting Duckworth’s cross, only to arrow his header wide of the target.

One of the players suspected to have been asking for an opportunity is Castro, who had back-to-back efforts on goal when first firing a free-kick over the crossbar, before following suit when meeting Siziba’s low cross in a centralised position.

With time running out on the Minstermen to mount a comeback, they did find a glimmer of hope, as Siziba was dragged to the ground in the box, forcing referee Greg Rollason to point to the spot.

Up stepped John-Lewis, who hammered his strike past Roberts to pull one back for York, potentially bringing City back into the tie.

And that belief was quickly matched by Siziba, who netted his second in City colours in stoppage time.

A tricky run from the winger allowed Siziba to open up his body and bend an effort into the bottom left corner, handing York a lifeline in the competition.

That was even more evident when Nantwich were reduced to ten men with just minutes remaining, after an alleged elbow from Harrison saw the Dabbers striker shown a red card.

But it was too little too late for the Minstermen, who exited the FA Trophy at the first time of asking with Nantwich progressing to the FA Trophy fourth round, despite a late fight back from York.

Nantwich Town: Roberts, Bourne, Okome, Butlr, A. Ali, Hill, Hewitt (Bircumshaw, 68), Kay, Kirby (M. Ali, 90+3), Rankin (Raffie, 83), Harrison

Subs not used: Cooke, Saunders, Tavakoli, Speare

Goals: A. Ali (2), Kay (23), Rankin (28)

Yellow card: Bourne (45+3)

Red card: Harrison (90+2)

York City: Stockdale 5, Duckworth 6, Cordner 6, Daley 6, Latty-Fairweather 5, Green 6, Castro 5, Harriott 6 (Woodyard 6, 61), Kouhyar 6, Kennedy (Siziba 7, 11), Davies 6 (John-Lewis 7, 61)

Subs not used: Watson, Fallowfield, McLaughlin, Burgess

Goals: John-Lewis (82), Siziba (90+2)

Yellow cards: Harriott (45+3), Latty-Fairweather (87)

York’s star man: Zanda Siziba. He had a real go and tried to create opportunities for York, even winning the penalty for John-Lewis’ late consolation goal and netting in stoppage time.

Attendance: 905

Referee: Greg Rollason

Shots off (on target): 3 (4) | 6 (4)

Corners: 4 | 3

Offsides: 1 | 1

Fouls committed: 9 | 10