Rochdale 1 York City 1: Josh Stones provides another magic moment in Yorkshire's final-day history as Minstermen return to EFL
THE idiosyncrasies of England include an obsession with the weather, queuing, intense tea consumption, displaying a stiff upper lip and another thing as well.
Extraordinary drama at the very end of football seasons and throwing up names to conjure. From Michael Thomas and Troy Deeney to Sergio Aguero and Jimmy Glass.
Across Yorkshire, there’s also a few celebrated ones. Try Antoni Sarcevic, James Coppinger, Clark Oduor and Alan Lee.
Josh Stones is the latest entrant to the list after providing a moment for the ages for York City at a stupefied Spotland.
Given what preceded it earlier on in added-on time surely ranks Stones’ 103th-minute goal as the most astonishing final-day act ever. The 13th minute of stoppage time. Lucky for some.
On an occasion when York and Rochdale’s seasons were on the line, it was over the line for the former.
Dale’s devastated players and staff didn’t complain afterwards in fairness after an assistant referee flagged that Stones’ effort had crossed -despite being blocked by sub Tyler Smith – with referee Will Finnie deferring to his colleague.
York manager Stuart Maynard said: "From his angle and fair play to him, I think you can see it's clearly inside the net. It's a big call from him, but he's got it correct."
Dale had more cause to rue the overexuberance of fans who poured onto the pitch after Mani Dieseruvwe did what he does on 95 minutes.
After putting York’s promotion shindig on hold at Braintree seven days earlier, he set up his own club’s party – a towering header from Ian Henderson's magnificent cross. The music would stop.
While some visiting players sank to their knees, others recomposed themselves at the side of the pitch until the mayhem ceased.
They downed some refreshment and cleared their heads for one last push. Asked if the five-minute stoppage aided York, Maynard agreed.
He added: "Callum Howe came over and said, 'Gaffer, there's one more chance for us'. I'm not sure I agreed. It was the second time in a week I'd had my heart broken.
"I thought Rochdale had done it again. We had one hand on the trophy last week and it got taken away. But the pitch invasion helped. It gave us time to reflect."
It’s never until it’s over, certainly given the Minstermen’s staggering number of late goals.
This was taking things to another level, mind. York’s 17th stoppage-time strike of 2025-26 was undeniably the sweetest. A decade-long absence from the EFL is over.
Beaming with pride, Maynard said: "They're warriors. They keep going all the way to the end. I'm so proud of them all."
Given what happened last spring, when York finished second with 96 points and lost in the play-offs to a team just down the road from Rochdale who were 23 points behind them in the regular 2024-25 season, no-one could begrudge the merit of promotion. 108 points speaks for itself, but then so does 106.
It was an ending of all endings. The national media had their fun and the Minstermen had their moment. The story, as wonderful as York’s was, remained about the loser, which is wrong.
York were beaten up by the promotion system in 2025, with just one automatic slot open to the EFL.
The hope that Rochdale avoid that cruel fate is shared by not just those in this part of Lancashire.
Maynard commented: "I went around to every one of their players and said: 'go do it in the play-offs'. They deserve it.
"The three-up, three-down, even though we're in the EFL now, I still believe in it.
"This is the toughest division to get out of. We've just got away with it in being away from lottery football. We were literally 60 seconds from it."
Stones had looked like being the fall guy after missing several chances. York defender Howe headed against his own bar before Dieseruvwe struck. It was a killer as City controlled the second half.
The striker took his shirt off and raced away, swinging his jersey in the air in front of ecstatic Dale followers packed into the Pearl Street Stand. Stones would repeat that celebration in front of York's 1,500 fans in the Wilbutts Lane Stand. Pandemonium.
Rochdale: Whatmuff; Gordon, Ebanks-Landell, Perry; East (Pettit 66), Gilmour (Smith 84); Adebayo-Rowling (Pritchard 76), Rodney (Barlow 66), Hannatt (Henderson 66), Moss; Dieseruvwe. Unused substitutes: Baptiste, Francis.
York City: Male; King (Grey 69), Fagan-Walcott, Johnson, Kitching; Hunt (Batty 69), Boateng, Brookes (Howe 75), Banks (Fallowfield 70); Stones, Pearce (Olley 88). Unused substitutes: Sykes-Kenworthy, Newby.
Referee: W Finnie (Bedfordshire).