TERRY Dolan is looking to keep the home fires burning after York City maintained their unbeaten home record of 2002 with a 2-0 win over Darlington.

The victory, City's third on the bounce at Bootham Crescent, ended a run of three successive defeats for the Minstermen and lifted City one place up the Division Three table.

City leapfrogged Bristol Rovers into 22nd spot after the Pirates lost 3-0 at home to Rushden & Diamonds as bottom-club Halifax Town kept their faint hopes of avoiding relegation alive with a shock 4-1 rout of Cheltenham.

With games in hand on all the teams above, another win for City at Exeter tomorrow night could see City climb as high as 17th - their highest position in more than four months.

However, according to chief Terry Dolan it is City's home form that will largely dictate whether the Minstermen can climb free from the bottom half of the table. Of the ten games remaining, six are at the Crescent.

"We are unbeaten at home this year and if we can continue that we can finish well up the table because of the number of home games we have got coming up," said a delighted Dolan, who admitted the attendance of 3,903 also offered cause for confidence.

He added: "To be fair to the supporters, since Christmas they have been behind the club very solidly and if we can keep this sort of attendance between now and the end of the season and build on it then it gives everyone hope.

"It was important we got a result to try to catch someone above us and we have managed to do that.

"The players battled and the pitch doesn't help because I can assure you it is not the best surface to be playing football on.

"I never thought we were in any danger and the players have stuck at it.

"They were very together and we had the best chances in the first half although we weren't clinical in the right areas.

"When the two chances came in the second-half we took them. It was pleasing to score from set-pieces and you have to give credit to our players for being positive."

A Mike Basham header from a Graham Potter corner on 55 minutes set City on the path to victory before Michael Proctor grabbed his 12th goal of the season 12 minutes later direct from a free-kick.

Basham, who secured his place in City folklore by scoring the first goal under new chairman John Batchelor, admitted it was a particularly vital goal.

"It was a great result and one we desperately needed after losing our last three games," he said,

"We were the better side in the first-half and obviously the early goal in the second-half helped us.

"It was a goal that we needed because otherwise the game could have become a bit of a stalemate. It was nice for myself to score the goal but it was more important that we went 1-0 up."

The only sour note was a hamstring injury for central defender Gary Hobson, who could now be out for the rest of the season.

Updated: 11:47 Monday, March 18, 2002