YORK CITY v WOKING
3pm on Saturday 6 September 2008
Phil Gilchrist?s first match in temporary charge sees him take his team on a difficult trip to unbeaten York City. Football, as we all know, is a funny game, so it wouldn?t surprise me to find the Cards grabbing all three points against all the odds! We have in any case performed much better away from home than at Kingfield, so a draw is certainly not beyond us.
WOKING
Well, what a week it has been! Colin Lippiatt?s retirement from the Board; Tony Thorpe?s and Wilfried Domoraud?s arrival on short-term contracts; a late equaliser against Lewes; the sacking of Kim Grant; David Taylor?s resignation rejected by the Board; Phil Gilchrist, assisted by Andy Cook, placed in temporary charge; and now, finally (or is it?), Thorpe departs after only one game! And to think Woking used to be a staid old club where nothing ever happened! Whether any of all this brings credit on the Club is, of course, entirely a different matter!
It will be interesting, of course, to see if Phil approaches things differently at KitKat Crescent but his hands are likely to be tied to some extent by injuries. Jerome Ledgister, Abdou El Kholti, Colin Miles and Paul Lorraine all sat out the Lewes game and Paolo Vernazza went off with a hamstring injury.
YORK CITY
City have had a good start to the season, although they will be disappointed to have followed very encouraging wins in their opening two games with draws in the following five. Their results so far have been:
Crawley Town 0 York City 1
York City 1 Wrexham 0
York City 1 Histon 1
Northwich Victoria 2 York City 2
York City 1 Barrow 1
Torquay United 1 York City 1
York City 1 Mansfield 1
Can the Cards inflict a third successive home draw on the Minstermen?
In the summer City brought in: Steven Hogg (Gretna), Niall Henderson (Raith), Ben Wilkinson (Hull), Daniel McBreen (Scunthorpe), Mark Greaves (Burton) and Michael Ingham (Hereford). McBreen is a powerful 6?1? striker from St Johnstone who played against Rangers in the Scottish Cup semi-final. Greaves was released by Burton but is a highly experienced central defender whom Colin Walker, City?s manager, has made captain. Subsequently the Minstermen captured Simon Russell, a winger from Kidderminster. A transfer deadline day signing was that of another winger, Peter Bore, who joined on a one-month loan deal from Grimsby.
The Cards will be relieved that two players who have tormented them in previous encounters will be missing on Saturday: Martyn Woolford, who has joined Scunthorpe United, and Onome Sodje, who is injured.
PREVIOUS ENCOUNTERS
Our performance at home last season against York was one of the worst of the campaign as we succumbed all too easily to a 3-0 pasting. The away game, Colin Lippiatt?s first in temporary charge after Frank Gray?s departure, saw City reduced to eight men by the end. Our game at York the year before saw a mass brawl involving Matt Crossley, so our trips there are usually eventful!
04/05: Woking 1 York City 0 (Canham)
York City 0 Woking 2 (Richards 2)
05/06: York City 2 Woking 1 (Richards)
Woking 2 York City 0 (Richards, Ferguson)
06/07: Woking 1 York City 2 (Nurse)
York City 0 Woking 1 (Taylor)
07/08: Woking 0 York City 3
York City 2 Woking 3 (Norville, Sole (2 pens))
GETTING THERE
KitKat Crescent
York
North Yorkshire
YO30 7AQ
Telephone: 01904 63147
Website: http://www.ycfc.net
Coach
The Supporters? Club coach leaves Kingfield at 8.30am, leaving time perhaps for a quick look round York before the match. The cost is ?25 for members and ?30 for non-members. Ring the Club Shop today to book your place.
Car
Exit A64 at signpost 'Leeds, York A64' and at the roundabout turn right onto the A64. Exit A64 after 9.3 miles (signposted York (North) A1237, Harrogate) onto the A1237. Go straight on, remaining on the A1237 for 5.2 miles, over three roundabouts and over River Ouse, to fourth roundabout. Here, turn right (signposted York A19) onto the A19 Shipton Road. At lights after 1.6 miles by village green, go straight on (signposted City Centre). After 0.2 miles turn left by 'The Burton Stone' pub into Burton Stone Lane. You'll see the ground on your right. Parking is very difficult near the ground, so leave yourself plenty of time; the nearest car park is in Clarence Street, about half a mile away
Train
Check http://www.thetrainline.com/ for train times and prices. The ground is only 15 minutes? walk from the station. Turn left out of the station into Station Road, past the Royal York Hotel. Take the first left (signposted towards the National Railway Museum). Follow the road round to the left, passing the Royal Mail depot on your right. Just before the railway bridge, turn right along pathway (this pathway is difficult to spot!) and take the footbridge (Scarborough Bridge) over the river. Once over the river, turn left and take the path between railway and Marygate car park. At end of car park turn left through an underpass (under the railway line) and once under the railway turn right into Bootham Terrace. At Main Road turn left, cross over using the pedestrian crossing provided and take the second right into Bootham Crescent, leading directly to the ground.
Come on, you Cards!
