YORK City's juniors missed the chance to meet Tottenham in the third round of the FA Youth Cup as they lost by a single goal to Chester City last night.

A decent crowd of just under 300 at KitKat Crescent saw the Minster-mites battle gamely but lose 1-0 to a goal scored just before half-time.

Head of youth Eric Winstanley said it was a disappointing result but didn't complain. "It was a tough game," he said. "It was one of those games that could have gone either way. We can't grumble, but the boys are disappointed. I think they thought they should have done a bit better."

The goal came after a miscued clearance fell to a Chester player. The ball was crossed into the box and City 'keeper Jerome Chambers was beaten to the ball by a striker.

Chambers, however, made three fine saves in the closing stages as City were caught on the break when pressing forward in search of an equaliser.

Earlier, City had had a good chance to take the lead when Alex Rhodes was denied in a one-on-one opportunity.

Winstanley reckoned his side were probably younger than the visitors on average, and added: "The lads think they did not do themselves justice, especially when the big carrot was to play Spurs. But it's a learning curve - they're only young and are still learning."