York City players have suffered enough kicks in the teeth this season to keep the most frenzied of dentists delighted.

The latest boot to the bicuspids was delivered at 4.45pm on Saturday when a rare mistake from James Dudgeon, without an incisor or two himself, gifted a toothless Grays Athletic maximum points at KitKat Crescent.

Aaron McLean accepted the 89th-minute chance with glee as City endured a finale every bit as agonising as that in the first league meeting between the two clubs back in August when Grays equalised from the spot in injury time.

It also seemed as unjust as the draw Scarborough snatched at the death of this month's McCain Stadium derby, but at least in those matches some solace could be taken in the form of a point.

This time, Billy McEwan's men received no reward for a dominant display.

Grays were restricted to two on-target attempts but McLean accepted both chances in City's first game since Stevenage secured victory from their only accurate effort against the Minstermen.

This match, however, heralded a much-improved performance. The home side created enough chances to comfortably add to Joe O'Neill's spectacular fifth-minute strike with exciting loan signing Tcham N'Toya alone conjuring four excellent second-half openings.

Frenchman N'Toya displayed vision, control and awareness to create chances for Mark Convery, Clayton Donaldson, Emmanuel Panther and O'Neill but none were taken.

The former Troyes striker's standard of service suggested that had 14-goal leading marksman Andy Bishop been on the pitch instead of sat in the stands because of suspension, the outcome would have been different.

O'Neill, however, could not have been more clinical when he belied the confidence of a striker who had gone 18 matches without a goal by opening the scoring in devastating fashion.

The ex-Preston striker sent a viciously dipping volley over 'keeper Ashley Bayes from 20 yards after Donaldson had laid the ball into his firing range.

Either side of that effort, Grays right-back Andy Sambrook made two last-ditch interventions to prevent Donaldson netting from close range. Convery, roaming busily behind the front three, and O'Neill, with renewed confidence, provided the chances.

At the other end, City survived a nervous moment when skipper Mark Hotte appeared to slide under Gary Hooper in the box but referee Mohammed Matadar made his first in a series of baffling decisions by awarding a free-kick to the hosts.

Grays, however, drew level with their first opportunity. McLean headed in from a yard out after a miss-hit Tony Battersby volley from a corner had found him fortuitously.

Undeterred, City continued to forge forward with N'Toya forcing Bayes into two saves from low drives.

Within 25 seconds of the restart, N'Toya's perfectly-weighted pass sent Convery clear but his shot was parried by Bayes and Donaldson fired wide from the rebound.

A minute later, Bayes was troubled by a ballooned Donaldson cross but recovered to save N'Toya's prod.

Brief respite was offered for Grays with Christian Hanson's 50th-minute header from a corner that cleared the crossbar but City reimposed their authority when N'Toya first released O'Neill and then charged into the box to head towards Donaldson, who went close with an overhead kick.

N'Toya, signed on loan from Chesterfield, then shot wide from an angle before releasing Panther for another unopposed run on goal after a smart turn and pass.

But the midfielder lifted his 74th-minute shot into a visiting end populated by just 69 Grays supporters. Nine minutes later, an intelligent reverse pass by N'Toya found an overlapping O'Neill but his control was poor and the chance gone.

An outclassed Grays team, who must have been relieved to enter the 89th minute still level, were then handed the opportunity to grab all three points.

First, substitute Lev Yalcin gave away possession from a throw-in with his first touch and, from the resulting punt, Dudgeon miscontrolled near the halfway line. McLean capitalised fully, racing clear of Dudgeon's defensive partner Hotte before confidently beating Chris Porter.

Whether McLean should have been on the pitch to score either of his goals was debatable.

He had earlier bloodied the nose of Darren Craddock in an act of retribution against the committed City debutant. Both players received yellow cards although McLean's punishment could have been firmer.

The striker also escaped further censure when he vigorously celebrated his winning goal in front of an incited David Longhurst Stand, making a mockery of the ruling that had cost City the services of Bishop.

N'Toya still summoned one last effort but Donaldson could not force home from his drive across goal.

Match facts

York City 1, (O'Neill 5)

Grays Athletic 2, (McLean 30, 89)

City ratings: Key: 10 - Faultless; 9 - Outstanding; 8 - Excellent; 7 - Good; 6 - Average; 5 - Below par; 4 - Poor; 3 - Dud; 2 - Hopeless; 1 - Retire

Porter 6

Craddock 8

Hotte 7

Dudgeon 6

Merris 7

Convery 8 (Yalcin, 88)

Panther 7

Dunning 8

N'Toya 9

O'Neill 8

Donaldson 7

Grays Athletic: Bayes, Sambrook, Hanson, Edwards, Johnson, Kightly (Williamson, 50), Thurgood, Martin, McLean, Battersby (Slabber, 57), Hooper. Subs not used: Nutter, Eyre, Mawer.

Yellow cards: Craddock 7, McLean 13, Dunning 82.

Referee: Mohammed Matadar (Lancashire).

Rating: Error prone and whistle happy.

Attendance: 2,461.

Weather watch: Dry and mild for January.

Game breaker: Yalcin surrendering possession and Dudgeon miscontrolling on the half-way line led to another heart-breaking finale.

Match rating: Exciting match that saw some impressive football from the home team only to be overshadowed by another cruel ending as Grays scored a late winning goal.

McEwan's verdict: "I was proud of the boys. They worked their socks off and we have got to bounce back and produce the same level of performance against Southport."

Player watch: Tcham N'Toya

Shots on target: 2

Shots off target: 1

Blocked shots: 0

Passes to own player: 18

Passes to opposition: 6

Crosses to own player: 0

Crosses to opposition: 3

Pass success rate: 66.7 per cent

Dribbles ball retained: 13

Dribbles ball lost: 12

Dribble success rate: 52 per cent

Headers: 5 Tackles: 4

Clearances, blocks and interceptions: 1 Offsides: 0

Free kicks won: 1

Free kicks conceded: 1

Yellow cards: 0

Final summary: Impressive and exciting debut by City's new on-loan signing. The Frenchman carved open four excellent chances for his team-mates that should have resulted in goals and also forced Grays keeper Ashley Bayes into two saves. He managed to dribble past an opponent 13 times and was always willing to run at Grays' players as his 25 attempts illustrated.

Updated: 10:28 Monday, January 23, 2006