Terry Dolan admitted he rode a roller-coaster of emotions after York City's last-gasp clamber to safety at Torquay United.

The 2-2 draw and point, courtesy of Graham Potter's improbable injury-time equaliser direct from a corner, was enough to safeguard City's Football League safety.

Before Potter's amazing strike, City seemed destined to leave their fans' sweating going into the final week of the season after letting slip a 1-0 half-time lead.

From being well in control, City were undone by a Torquay fight-back that brought an equaliser from Kevin Hill on 59 minutes before a Jimmy Aggrey header gave Torquay the lead with just four minutes remaining.

"This game will never cease to amaze people," admitted Dolan.

"We made hard work of it. We were in control of the game in the first half and then we lost our composure.

"But the one thing we didn't lose was our resilience and we stuck at it without playing that well in the second half.

"Six months ago we would have probably lost that game 2-1 but we bounced back at just the right time."

Dolan admitted the game's final flourish seemed improbable at the break with City so much in the ascendancy.

"The annoying thing was we were so much in control and had the elements in our favour at the start of the second half," he recalled.

"Whether the players relaxed psychologically too much I don't know, but we just started booting the ball anywhere which is not like us.

"We knew that they would come at us in the second-half but we told the players to put the ball in behind them and then they couldn't come at us.

"We didn't do that and we struggled to get in their half. When we did our final ball wasn't good enough."

While savouring safety, Dolan is adamant City still have something to play for ahead of tomorrow's visit to Shrewsbury and Saturday's final game of the season at home to Kidderminster.

"The amazing thing is we have suffered just one defeat in 14 and still found ourselves in this position," he said.

"We now want to make it just one defeat in 16.

"At least we can go to Shrewsbury relaxed. I am delighted we haven't got to go there on Tuesday or go into the game on Saturday still needing something.

"We can let others worry about that now."

Updated: 10:25 Monday, April 30, 2001