Richard Brodie took his goal tally to 35 for the season by bagging a brace against Barrow last night.

Substitute Michael Gash also ended a barren spell stretching back to Boxing Day when he completed a 3-0 win in the 90th minute.

Barrow named 18-goal top scorer Jason Walker on the bench with the visitors rotating their squad due to a punishing fixture schedule.

The Minstermen, meanwhile, made one change to the side that started Saturday’s 3-1 defeat at Eastbourne, recalling Neil Barrett for Paul Harsley in midfield and reverting back to the team that annihilated AFC Wimbledon 5-0 six days earlier.

But City’s first 39 minutes bore little resemblance to that scintillating performance with the home side failing to muster a single attempt on goalkeeper Tim Deasy’s goal during that period.

At the other end, Andrew Bond called City ’keeper Michael Ingham into action with a weak 25-yard effort on four minutes.

Centre-back Paul Jones also headed over from a corner.

Logan then saw a firmly-struck drive blocked at the near post by David McGurk and also fired over from 25 yards.

But City finally managed to threaten the Bluebirds’ goal in the 40th minute when Deasy turned Brodie’s thumping 15-yard effort around his left-hand post and, from the resulting corner, the Minstermen forged ahead.

Chris Carruthers’ first delivery into the box was cleared but the former Oxford midfielder’s second attempt picked out Brodie at the far post and he found the back of the net with a downward header five yards out.

Michael Rankine went close to adding a second before the break, bulldozing his way through a bunch of Barrow defenders before shooting wide.

Ex-Everton striker Nick Chadwick’s poor far-post header failed to test Ingham with the first action of the second half on 54 minutes.

He went close with a better header from Simon Spender’s cross that bounced narrowly wide of Ingham’s left-hand post.

Spender was then the catalyst for an 18-man brawl, wrestling on the floor with Carruthers in front of the dugouts.

City left-back James Meredith attempted to intervene and was then ambushed needlessly by a quartet of Barrow players, leading to members of staff from both benches and all but four players steaming in with Ingham and Brodie the home side’s bystanders.

No punches, however, were thrown and, when calmness descended, referee Scott Duncan decided to caution City trio Meredith, Rankine and Carruthers and Barrow pair Paul Rutherford and Robin Hulbert after consulting his assistant.

Staggeringly, Spender escaped punishment.

Alex Lawless should have doubled City’s advantage when he neatly sidestepped Mike Pearson’s challenge but then shot timidly.

He made amends, though, by providing the corner from which Brodie glanced a header past Deasy at his near post.

Gash then confidently drilled a low shot into Deasy’s bottom right-hand corner from 15 yards after being sent clear by Lawless.

The former Ebbsfleet striker also went close with an audacious lob and tested Deasy with an edge-of-the-box effort in stoppage time.

Match facts

York City 3 (Brodie 40, 83 Gash 90) Barrow 0

Player rating: (Key: 10 – Faultless; 9 – Outstanding; 8 – Excellent; 7 – Good; 6 – Average; 5 – Below par; 4 – Poor; 3 – Dud; 2 – Hopeless; 1 – Retire)

Michael Ingham 7
Ben Purkiss 8
David McGurk 7
Luke Graham 7
James Meredith 8
Alex Lawless 7
Levi Mackin 7
Neil Barrett 7
Chris Carruthers 8
Richard Brodie 8
Michael Rankine 8
Substitutions: Michael Gash for Rankine 86; Richard Pacquette for Brodie 86). Not used: Daniel Parslow, Courtney Pitt, Paul Harsley.

City’s star man: Richard Brodie – another two goals for City’s striking talisman.

Barrow: Tim Deasy, Simon Spender (Simon Wiles 80), Paul Jones, Phil Bolland, Mike Pearson, Carlos Logan, Robin Hulbert, Andrew Bond, Paul Rutherford, Nick Chadwick (Jason Walker 71), Gregg Blundell. Subs (not used) Mark Boyd, Lee McEvilly, Stuart Tomlinson.

Yellow cards: Meredith 62, Rutherford 63, Rankine 64, Hilbert 64, Mackin 65.

Referee: Scott Duncan (Newcastle).

Attendance: 2,547 (27 from Barrow).

Shots on target: City 9 Barrow 3
Shots off target: City 3 Barrow 5
Corners: City 3 Barrow 2
Fouls conceded: City 15 Barrow 11
Offsides: City 2 Barrow 0