KINGSLEY JAMES hailed York City's "great response" in the second half as they sealed a crucial 1-0 victory over Spennymoor Town.

York could easily have found themselves a couple of goals behind at the mid-point having seen Glen Taylor go close three times while Spennymoor also struck the crossbar.

City were much improved after the restart and while they were never quite as dominant as Spennymoor in the first half, a late tap-in from Maziar Kouhyar earned a valuable three points.

York assistant manager James said: “In the second half, I don’t think Spennymoor really had much time on the ball, I don’t think they won many first balls and I don’t think they won anywhere as many second balls as they did in the first half.

“That’s a good thing for us because it was a great response and we have to carry that into Alfreton," he said of Easter Monday's clash (3pm).

After such a disappointing first 45 minutes, James revealed that "there were a lot of honest words" at the break.

"It wasn't anywhere near good enough in the first half," he said.

"But we've just got to win games of football. And in the second half, I thought we deserved to win the second half.

"In the first half, we conceded numerous chances that they really should have taken.

"They created chances. Usually, Glen Taylor would smash that into the far corner and score on a couple of occasions.

"We get away with it in the first half. But in the second half, I think to a man they were better than the opposition and our fitness showed later on in the game.

"In the second half, we moved the ball a lot quicker and generated our own intensity and the crowd got behind us.

"I think it was coming and it was inevitable that we were going to grind them down and score a winner."

York now head to Alfreton Town on Monday sitting sixth in the Vanarama National League North and hold a one-point gap inside the play-off places with games to go.