York City 0, Woking 1

The explosive end to last night's 1-0 home defeat against Woking will be remembered long after the memory of the preceding 90 minutes has faded.

After all, how often does any regular football spectator witness the away coach head-butt a home substitute?

And when was the last time any side had two players sent off who were not even on the pitch at the time?

Even John Motson would struggle to have such stats at his fingertips.

The chaos ensued when City substitute James Dudgeon, warming up along the touchline, stepped in as a peacemaker after home midfielder Neal Bishop and Woking left-back Danny Bunce tangled with each other.

For some unknown reason, Woking coach Matt Crossley then decided to charge 20 yards from the visitors' bench to confront Dudgeon.

The two men went nose to nose like two rhinos locking horns for a couple of seconds before Crossley performed his version of an old festive favourite - the Nutcracker - on Dudgeon.

Cardinals' sinner Crossley and Dudgeon were then engulfed in an extraordinary melee involving players and managerial staff from both benches with Nathan Peat, who had been substituted earlier, throwing a flurry of punches.

Even allowing for the size of the crowd, his chances of remaining inconspicuous were slim and, when the posse finally dissipated, the City pair and Crossley were sent off.

Judging by Woking manager Glenn Cockerill's reaction as the red-carded trio headed down the tunnel the lack of seasonal spirit also continued en route to the dressing-rooms.

Cockerill, though, will have left KitKat Crescent crowing after his side clinched victory with their only on-target shot of the night - a Jamie Taylor effort in the 81st minute.

Earlier, the Cardinals had worked hard to stop City finding their stride in the opening exchanges, allowing the home side little time on the ball although Bishop almost opened the scoring on 18 minutes when, with away goalkeeper Shwan Jalal stranded on the edge of his box, his 35-yard lob was headed away by covering defender Bunce two yards off the goal-line.

Jalal then produced a fine fingertip save from Clayton Donaldson's header after a Craig Farrell free-kick.

On 33 minutes, uncompromising Woking centre-back Tom Hutchinson narrowly missed the target with a flashing shot on the turn from 25 yards.

Farrell, however, squandered the best opportunity of the first half when he was put clear on goal by Steve Bowey.

The former Carlisle striker's shot carried plenty of conviction but lacked direction with his low, firmly-driven effort finishing wide of Jalal's right-hand post.

In the second half, City continued to fail to make their superiority in possession count.

As the driving rain saw conditions worsen, Donaldson was released by Bishop only to waft a leg at the ball and execute a complete air shot with Jalal well off his line.

The Minstermen were then denied a cast-iron penalty when substitute Darryn Stamp's shirt was tugged as he tried to get on the end of a Bishop cross.

A minute later, skipper Manny Panther gave away possession in his own half and Craig McAllister found Taylor who lifted his shot calmly over Tom Evans.

Woolford went on to drive wide from the edge of the box on three occasions - his last attempt in the tenth minute of stoppage time - but Fight Night was to end with City sucker-punched.

Match facts

York City 0, Woking 1 (Taylor 81)Evans 7, Lloyd 6, Goodliffe 7, McGurk 8, Peat 5 (Craddock 6, 64), Bishop 8, Panther 7, Bowey 7 (Stamp 6, 62), Woolford 8, Donaldson 7, Farrell 6.

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

Subs (not used): Reid, Dudgeon, McMahon.

Star man: McGurk - Made several timely interceptions and tackles, but Bishop and Woolford were also contenders.

Woking: Shwan Jalal, Karl Murray, Tom Hutchinson, Matt Ruby, Danny Bunce, Goma Lambu, Neil Smith (Shola Oyedele 90), Stephen Evans, Giuseppe Sole, Craig McAllister, Jamie Taylor (Chris Sharpling 90). Subs not used: Simon Jackson, Steve Ferguson, James Bittner.

Bookings: Bunce 36, S Evans 69, Murray 88, Jalal 90.

Sent off: Dudgeon 90, Crossley 90, Peat 90.

Referee: Andy Haines (Tyne and Wear). Rating: Performed well until he failed to give City a penalty, but he had an unenviable job when all hell broke loose at the end of the match.

Attendance: 3,173.

Weather watch: Fairly mild until second half monsoon drenched the ground.

Game breaker: Either City striker Craig Farrell's miss or referee Haines' spot-kick gaffe.

Match rating: A treat for boxing fans, but there was little on show for football purists.

Billy's verdict: "We created chances and did not put them in at one end and then gave away a sloppy goal in poor conditions at the other end."

Player watch: Jason Goodliffe

Goal attempts on target: 0.

Goal attempts off target: 0.

Blocked goal attempts: 0.

Passes to own player: 18.

Passes to opposition: 4.

Crosses to own player: 0.

Crosses to opposition: 0.

Pass success rate: 81.8 per cent.

Dribbles ball retained: 0.

Dribbles ball lost: 0.

Headers: 23.

Tackles: 4.

Clearances, blocks and interceptions: 16.

Free-kicks won: 0.

Free-kicks conceded: 0.

Offsides: 0.

Bookings: 0.

Final summary: Jason Goodliffe was unfortunate not to enjoy another clean sheet with central defensive partner David McGurk. After some earlier aerial problems he was his usual commanding self with his head and was also generally reliable with his distribution out of defence. A tally of 16 clearances, blocks and interceptions also shows his commitment to the cause.