York City 1 Mansfield 1 - Blue Square Bet Premier semi-final first leg (From York Press)

York City 1 Mansfield 1 - Blue Square Bet Premier semi-final first leg

9:31pm Wednesday 2nd May 2012 in News By Steve Carroll , Sports reporter

YORK City and Mansfield Town are locked together at 1-1 following the first leg of the Blue Square Bet Premier play-off semi-final at Bootham Crescent tonight.

Ross Dyer gave the Stags the lead midway through the first-half, before City levelled thanks to an own-goal from Exodus Geohaghon shortly before half-time.

But Mansfield will be without top scorer Matt Green for Monday’s pivotal second leg after he was sent off for a second yellow card on 74 minutes.

Chris Doig fired over the bar from a City corner early on and Matty Blair had the ball in the net on 20 minutes but the linesman had already raised his flag with Chris Smith judged to have been offside in the initial challenge with Mansfield ‘keeper Andy Marriott.

The Stags had threatened through the long throws of Geohaghon and he used his skill to devastating effect when Mansfield took the lead on 26 minutes.

His bullet into the six-yard area found Dyer, whose flick header nestled in Michael Ingham’s bottom right corner.

But City responded well and were deservedly level on 42 minutes. Jon Challinor’s delightful cross into the area left Geohaghon bewildered, and he stuck the ball into his own net.

After the break, Ingham was forced to parry away Anthony Howell’s shot on 52 minutes and then Green was sent off following a skirmish close to the Minstermen box.

Challinor came closest to giving York the victory, firing narrowly wide from 25 yards as City looked for a winner, and Chambers headed over from a Challinor cross with two minutes remaining.

But it remains all to play for at Field Mill.