YORK City’s new manager Steve Watson made his biggest impression yet during a 3-2 win at the Impact Arena.

The former Gateshead chief ended a run of eight successive away league defeats with maximum points against an Alfreton Town team that had looked to be on the verge of completing a season’s double over the Minstermen as they led 2-1 going into the 85th minute of the National League North contest.

At that point, accountant Reece Styche – a regular scourge of City back lines - had given the visitors another taxing afternoon, bagging a brace and winning two penalties to turn the tables after Sean Newton had opened the scoring on 11 minutes.

But, significantly, Styche blasted his second spot kick against the crossbar, denying his team a 3-1 70th-minute lead and himself the match-ball.

Watson, who had seen his side falter considerably after an encouraging first half in which rookie defender Tom Bradbury’s conceded penalty was the only real blemish, was then rewarded for making a series of positive second-half substitutions with Jake Wright, Alex Harris and Wes York injecting some much-needed forward impetus, as Alex Kempster and Jordan Burrow’s 15th goal of the season – from the third penalty of the match – saw City stage a late comeback and pick up their first points on the road since October 13.

Earlier, former Minsterman Tom Platt headed the game’s first opportunity over at the far post following Bobby Johnson’s dead-ball delivery from the left, while Newton curled a free kick well over at the other end.

But it was the visitors who looked more threatening in general play during the opening exchanges, with Newton revelling in the space he was being afforded at left-wing back.

It was a diagonal run across the pitch, though, that led to the former Wrexham defender’s fourth goal of the season.

Retrieving a forward ball through the right channel before it crossed the byline, Newton went on to curl a shot over the head of home keeper Sam Ramsbottom and inside the far post from an unfavourable angle.

Moments later, a powerful run by Burrow down the right flank led to him picking out Scott Burgess, who saw the sting taken out of his blocked edge-of-the-box effort with Ramsbottom gathering safely.

Platt, meanwhile, fired a long-range attempt out of the ground, before Newton dragged another 15-yard chance inches wide after being teed up by Burgess.

Combination play between Kempster and Paddy McLaughlin led to a further Newton opportunity which, after being struck from 20 yards, was gathered by Ramsbottom.

Styche, though, began to smell blood just before the half-hour mark, driving just past Adam Bartlett’s left-hand upright from 20 yards after Bradbury had lost a challenge close to the halfway line to leave exposed City debutant David Mirfin outnumbered in a two-on-one situation.

The next contest between Gibraltar international Styche and the Minstermen’s on-loan Dundee defender was more telling, as the former teased Bradbury through the right channel and, after a first nibble at the ball failed to stop the 29-year-old forward in his tracks, a pull on his jersey sent him crashing to the deck.

Styche went on to firmly find Bartlett’s bottom-left corner from the resulting penalty.

Looking for an attacking response, the visitors saw Kempster try his luck with a couple of efforts either side of the interval.

The ex-Whitley Bay forward first saw a stretching volley with the outside of his boot flash wide after Martin Riley could only head on Bartlett’s long kick and, then, a firm edge-of-the-box shot on the turn was gathered by Ramsbottom.

But the home side started to get on top and, after Styche had hoisted a 25-yard effort out of the ground, David Lynch should have done better when he rode a McLaughlin challenge in the penalty box but shot tamely at Bartlett from 12 yards with only the City keeper to beat.

By 51 minutes, though, Alfreton were in the lead as Styche got in behind Bradbury through the right channel and his low deflected shot spun past Bartlett despite Mirfin’s last-ditch covering tackle.

After McLaughlin had curled a free kick well over, Josh Wilde’s 25-yard half-volley proved a good height for Bartlett to collect, while Newton shot wide from just outside the penalty area following Burrow’s lay-off.

The game’s pivotal moment subsequently arrived on 69 minutes when Mirfin was adjudged to have impeded Styche as he looked to get on the end of a right-wing delivery into the box.

After bluffing Bartlett by pointing in the direction he supposedly intended to aim his second spot kick, though, the former Forest Green, Kidderminster and Darlington striker smacked the frame of the visitors’ goal.

Riley went on to miss the target with a free header from a corner before City, who hadn’t managed a goal attempt for 20 minutes, levelled after McLaughlin’s corner was met in the air by Burrow and, when his header was only cleared as far as Kempster, the former PE teacher skilfully hooked the ball in over his shoulder from eight yards.

From the game’s next attack, Wright was wrestled to the ground in the six-yard box by Riley as the pair contested a ball in from the left and Burrow demonstrated great nerve to blast the resulting 89th-minute penalty into the roof of the net to the delight of the jubilant travelling fans behind that goal.

With the hosts deflated, midfield pair Harris and McLaughlin both failed to hit the target with late chances, before Watson was left to celebrate his first points as City boss three games into his reign, as the club also tasted victory for only the third time in 11 fixtures.

City ratings

Adam Bartlett 7

Hamza Bencherif 7

David Mirfin 7

Tom Bradbury 6 

Kallum Griffiths 6 

Scott Burgess 5 

Josh Law 6 

Paddy McLaughlin 6

Sean Newton 7

Jordan Burrow 7

Alex Kempster 7

Substitutes: Jake Wright 7 (for Burgess, 60), Alex Harris 7 (for Bencherif, 68), Wes York (for Griffiths, 71).

Subs not used: Ryan Whitley, David Ferguson.

Star man: Mirfin - legs might have tired a little in second half, but showed enough to suggest he can help with frailties at the back

Alfreton: Sam Ramsbottom, Josh Clackstone (Danny O’Brien, 89), Martin Riley, David Shiels, Josh Wilde, David Lynch (Jordan Sinnott, 90), Tom Platt, Danny Clarke, Dominic Smith, Bobby Johnson, Reece Styche. Subs not used: Tom Nicholson, Nathan Hotte, Nyle Blake.

Alfreton star man: Styche – caused City all sorts of problems as has become customary

Referee: Scott Simpson 6/10 – gave too many fouls when contact seemed negligible

Booked: Riley 8, Smith 55, Lynch 64

Sent off: None

Shots on target: Alfreton 5, City 7

Shots off target: Alfreton 5, City 7

Corners: Alfreton 6, City 4

Fouls conceded: Alfreton 17, City 11

Offside: Alfreton 2, City 0