WING-BACK wizard Dave Merris reckons York City have proved they are a match for any side in Division Three.

A goal five minutes from time denied City the rare scalp of second-placed Oxford United at Bootham Crescent last night.

City were leading 2-1 only for substitute Chris Hackett to grab a late leveller for the visitors, who have lost just once this season.

Speaking to the Evening Press, Merris admitted to a mix of emotions at the final whistle after City produced one of their best performances of the season.

"They were a good team but we have proved we can mix it with the best," he said.

"At the same time, we are still disappointed. We were very close to getting all three points which would have moved us back up into seventh or eighth in the table."

After a mixed bag of results and performances in recent weeks, Merris is hopeful City have turned the corner and have regained some of their early season consistency.

"Against Boston on Saturday we were disappointed because we had chances cleared off the line and hit the crossbar. But it gave us confidence and we have been sharp in training all week .

"It is two draws but, hopefully, it can be the start of a little run now. We have Scunthorpe on Saturday which will be tough but hopefully we can do well there.

"We definitely need to get on a couple of runs and get a bit more consistency."

Merris was substituted less than 15 minutes from time after an accidental clash of heads left the former Harrogate Town defender nursing a slight bout of concussion.

"I went up for a header and I felt all right but ten minutes later I felt a bit dizzy and my vision was a bit blurry," he explained

"It's not too bad and I should be okay for Saturday, although I might have a bit of a headache tomorrow."

Updated: 11:34 Wednesday, October 22, 2003