YORK City got back to winning ways and booked their place in the FA Cup second round after a 4-0 dismantling of Northampton Town on Saturday.
Here are the Press’ five talking points from the match.
- Ollie’s on fire
Ollie Pearce scores for fun.
Saturday was no different – two goals for the striker, both excellently taken to cap off a sublime performance.
His first, a routine kick-off lumped forward that bounced into his path – with thanks to Ryan Fallowfield, who found himself the furthest forward – before an instinctive volley that wrong-footed Zach Jeacock.
His second, even better. Made all by him, intercepting a stray pass, running from his own half to the Northampton box, before cutting it back onto his right. Then a genuinely class finish, curling it over Jeacock and finding the top corner.
It’s now 73 goals and 24 assists in 111 matches, making him the 11th top scorer in York’s history.
He’s in some fine company too, in fact Pearce is City’s top scorer in the 21st century (with thanks to @ycfcstatshist on X).
Goal updates after yesterday: Pearce 8 for the season and 76 for the club (=top scorer in 21st century and 11th all time top scorer) Hunt 3 for the season and 16 for the club. Stones 1st for the season and 27th for the club. 13 players now have goals in all comps. #ycfc
— YCFC statistics and history (@Ycfcstatshist) November 8, 2026
It’s now eight goals and four assists in 17 appearances in all competitions for the Minstermen and on of those games was in a minute cameo in the EFL Trophy!
- Four midfielders do the work
Ollie Banks, Alex Hunt, Arthur Read and Hiram Boateng are recognised as City’s four players that are competing for those two deeper midfield slots.
But Scott Lindsey got it right by playing all four on Saturday.
Banks showed last season how good he can be in that advanced role, and whilst Hunt hasn’t played there as much, he certainly didn’t look out of place on Saturday.
The return of Boateng to the squad and Read’s recent involvement gives Lindsey some real headaches across his midfield.
Then you add in the likes of Joe Grey, Alex Newby, Frankie Maguire and even Pearce in that deeper number 10 role, and City have some real depth in that area of the pitch.
City will already be doing work on potential January recruits, but they’d be forgiven for not looking to improve in those positions.
- Josh Stones is back
Interviewing Stones last Thursday was probably one of the more enjoyable interviews the media have had this season.
Stones has had such a difficult road back to recovery. He scored the goal that sent City back to the Football League, so for him to not be able to play a part in their League Two campaign must have been agonising.
He opened up and spoke on his journey, at times waking up in the middle of the night because of the pain alone.
The 22-year-old compared it to toothache. Most of us know just how unbearable that can be!
But Stones perhaps surprised a few by stating that his start at Grimsby had come too soon, so a return to the bench seemed right.
For him to come on, get his goal and open his account as a Football League player, it was a moment he’ll savour.
The City faithful will be so happy for him. Now he’s got one, he’ll surely be hard to stop.
- A needed win
Lindsey has been pretty calm about City’s form this season, and with the club still occupying a play-off position, maybe he’s got good reason to not be worried.
But after back-to-back defeats and a really underwhelming performance at Grimsby Town, City had to get a response.
They are in a hard block of fixtures right now. Defeats at Barnet and Grimsby were then to be followed by an FA Cup fixture, a challenging EFL Trophy tie at a team in the league above, and a visit to Rochdale where City are chasing a first away win of the season.
It could have turned quickly on Lindsey, but he’ll be relieved to have avoided a first run of three straight defeats since March 2024.
- In the hat!
You’d be crazy not to love the FA Cup!
City find out their FA Cup opponents this evening, and it’s always an exciting time.
Sure, it’s just League One, League Two and non-league clubs, but it could also be a gateway to a really enticing draw.
Lindsey spoke of how he wanted a big club, Pearce told his hopes of drawing a team such as Man United.
To get there, City would certainly prefer what’s considered an ‘easier’ tie in the second round.
They’ll hope for a home game, just with how their record on the road currently is.
Guiseley is certainly one that stands out. A local Yorkshire club that have done incredibly to reach this point, and history between the two as well.
There are also some pretty exciting ties that City could get too. Teams like Blackpool, for the weekender, Reading or Plymouth Argyle which are pretty big clubs, or even Bradford City for a Yorkshire battle.
Let’s see what the magic of the cup brings!
Share