YORK City's hopes of a dream tie in the first round proper of the FA Cup lasted barely ten minutes.

Terry Dolan and his management team rushed off after congratulating their side on a gritty 1-0 win over Macclesfield on Saturday to watch the draw live on BBC.

Minstermen fans had been hoping for an attractive local derby against the likes of Doncaster or even Scarborough's conquerors, Whitby Town.

Instead York's name followed that of Colchester out of the hat, leaving them with a tough trip to Essex on November 17.

One fan shook his head in disbelief at the news, saying, 'Oh that is rubbish', but City boss Dolan was slightly more philosophical.

"You can't pick and choose in the cup can you." he said immediately after seeing the draw. "Everyone here would prefer a home draw, but we haven't got it.

"Not many people will give us a chance going there, so we will have to wait and see. As long as there is time left, you have a chance."

With a division gap between the two teams, Dolan admitted he knew little about the Layer Road outfit, but that would quickly change.

"I don't know anything about them at this moment in time, but I will know enough about them when it comes to playing them," he said.

"We will definitely have them watched."

While Colchester were losing 1-0 to Division Two form side Brighton, City were picking up their second win in three games with a battling victory over Macclesfield.

And Dolan, having watched his team show big improvements defensively and create a number of chances, was pleased with the result.

"I'm delighted for the players, they've worked hard out there," he said. "The pitch was very, very heavy and that made it hard work.

"At half-time we said there wasn't much in it and I said 'one goal will win it, so lets make sure it's us who score it' and the players did what they were told.

"It could have been more but if you don't take your chances then you can be hanging on and people can start to get frustrated, but to be fair to the players they didn't and I thought they were excellent.

"I thought we looked more solid at the back today. Gary Hobson did very well and with Darren Edmondson and Graham Potter coming back it gave us more balance.

"We will look to build on this now. The players are delighted with the way we've stuck at it - it could have been three or four, but it wasn't. We had to wait until the last minute, but as long as the game is going there is a chance."

Michael Proctor was guilty of missing the best chance to open the scoring, before his late winner, when he had his spot kick saved by Macclesfield keeper Steve Wilson.

But Dolan was unsurprised to see Wilson keep the ball out and even had words of praise for Proctor's attitude.

"The penalty save didn't surprise me because Steve Wilson, who I had at Hull for quite some time, is excellent in those situations," he said.

"He is very quick, he picked the right way and saved it. Michael didn't let it affect him though - he missed a couple of other chances, but he got the one when it mattered."

Despite the performance and the victory, chants of 'Dolan Out!' echoed around Bootham Crescent - even when Proctor pounced to score the winner.

Updated: 12:25 Monday, October 29, 2001