York City 3 Bristol Rovers 2: Minstermen's quality rises to top to start Football League return with statement win
For half an hour it looked like Bristol Roves' canniness would overcome York City's quality but the shot of adrenaline of two goals in three minutes helped them to their first win at this level for a decade, even if there was more to it than just that.
Steve Evans' side are highly-fancied to challenge for the League Two title this season but the Minstermen outplayed them. It was just that for a long while we were not sure if they would actually beat them.
Goals from Alex Newby and debutant Harry Boyes put them in front for the first time, but the pair had to combine again to get the job done, 3-2.
The acrimony of Scott Lindsey's first competitive match in charge, a League Cup preliminary round defeat to his old club Crawley Town was quickly forgotten as in their first Football League game since playing Bristol Rovers ten years ago at Bootham Crescent, York started with football as positive as the atmosphere.
Newby was even the coach's bold first-half substitution.
With the Gas side happy to drop off and allow York's defenders - and deep-lying midfielder Ollie Banks - time on the ball deep, the hosts stroked the ball around confidently in front of a sell-out crowd.
They ought to have had a penalty in the sixth minute, MacAuley Southam-Hales clattering into Barnsley-born Boyes well inside the area.
The big screen replayed referee Tom Nield's awful decision in his line of sight as Alex Hunt prepared to take the corner he awarded underneath it.
York forced a Brad Young save from the corner, but not a difficult one.
When a dangerous Joe Grey cross was headed away it only further encouraged the South Stand, and Lindsey clapped his appreciation of those sat there.
Boyes had a shot blocked when the ball was worked to him at the edge of the area.
Koffi Balmer bundled Ollie Pearce over as he chased an outside-of-the-boot pass Banks played. With neither man having any real chance of catching it, Nield waved play on.
The visitors were playing a dangerous game, Riley Harbottle all over the back of Pearce early in the second half.
Too often, though, York's captain for the day had to shot from improbable positions in the first half, chipping well wide from 12 yards inside the Rovers half when Dipo Akinyemi chested the ball down to him with Young well off his line. The goalkeeper punched away a ball from the left which was threatening the far post.
Just before half-time, Akinyemi was withdrawn and Pearce moved from inside-left to centre-forward.
A heavy touch would deny Pearce the chance to make it 3-1, and he stabbed wide from yards out at 3-2 but at least they were more realistic chances falling to him, and Newby's introduction in the deeper role allowed him to combine effectively with left wing-back Boyes.
By the time the change was made, York were behind.
Morgan Williams had covered well when a moment of sloppiness allowed the visitors to cross from the right in the 29th minute, and two minutes later they led, Fabrizio Cavegn able to pick out Clinton Mola in far too much space in the middle of the penalty area and Alfie McNally's hand doing nothing to keep the ball out.
Barely in the game until then, Rovers took confidence from it and four minutes later the goalkeeper, one of three Football League debutants in the York XI made a good stretching save to stop Cavegn making it two.
But York reasserted themselves after the break as they attacked towards the South Stand.
Zak Johnson and Banks wee both caught on the ball deep and fortunate the shots that came from it were blocked, but generally York's football was focussed and threatening.
Pearce shot over from a pulled-back corner, Newby when he cut inside a minute later. Banks' dinked cross almost picked out Boyes.
The pressure paid off.
The game was an hour old when Joe Grey put the ball in from the right and Newby glanced into the net.
Three minutes later, Pearce squared the ball to Boyes for a lovely finish just inside the far post.
Once more the visitors threatened to spoil the party when Boyes was penalised for a penalty area push and Bradford City loanee Tommy Leigh sent McNally the wrong way from the spot.
But York refused to accept that, back in front three minutes later when Newby nodded the ball across the area for Boyes to arrive onto.
Bobby Kamwa's 89th-minute shot onto the roof of the net, deflected there by Johnson's brilliant block, ensured York could not breathe easily until the final whistle blew but they are up and running for the new season.
York City: McNally; Williams, Johnson, Kitching; Felix, Banks, A Hunt (Read 68), Boyes (Medley 83); Grey, Pearce; Akinyemi (Newby44).
Unused substitutes: Fallowfield, King, Sykes-Kenworthy, McArthur.
Bristol Rovers: Young; Southam-Hales, Gough, Balmer, Harbottle, Sparkes; Smallwood (Leigh 61), Mola; Cavegn, Forde (Kamwa 84), Quigley (Russell-Denny 68).
Unused substitutes: Kilgour, Aitchison, Rijks, Binns.
Referee: T Nield (Huddersfield).