Torquay United 2 York City 1: Cresswell strikes on return but penalty is of scant consolation

YORK City manager Nigel Worthington was left lamenting a pair of “very, very soft goals” as his side went a 15th game without a win.
Nigel worthingtonNigel worthington
Nigel worthington

The Minstermen stayed in the League Two drop zone after losing 2-1 at relegation rivals Torquay despite the hosts playing out the last 20 minutes with only 10 men following Tom Cruise’s second-half red card.

Cruise was given an early shower after barging into on-loan Ipswich winger Josh Carson as he prepared to shoot.

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On-loan Sheffield United striker Richard Cresswell then marked his second “debut” for the Minstermen with a converted spot kick on 72 minutes but the visitors ultimately paid the penalty for falling 2-0 behind by the first half’s midway point.

Worthington said afterwards: “We gave the opposition a two-goal start and then had to try to get back into the match.

“We showed spirit during the last 20 minutes and passed the ball a lot better than we have been doing but the game lasts 90 minutes and you cannot afford to give away two very, very soft goals.”

York fell behind after six minutes following a scrambled effort by Elliot Benyon after the visitors had failed to deal adequately with Lee Mansell’s corner.

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Ashley Chambers then missed a sitter seconds later when he headed wide from six yards and Ryan Jarvis went on to double the hosts’ lead on 23 minutes by beating Michael Ingham far too easily with a long-range strike.

It meant Cresswell’s comeback goal was a mere consolation.

AFC Wimbledon’s gave their survival chances a major boost with a 2-0 home with over Morecambe, thanks to first half goals from Kevin Sainte-Luce and Jack Midson.

Edgar Davids’s Barnet were held to a 0-0 draw at home to mid-table Cheltenham.

Table-topping Gillingham were the big winners on a day in which half the League Two fixtures fell foul of the weather.

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Martin Allen’s Gills moved eight points clear at the top as Matt Fish’s super 24th-minute strike proved the difference at Priestfield, where the hosts defeated struggling Accrington Stanley, who are third from bottom, more comfortably than the 1-0 scoreline suggests.

Northampton Town moved up to fourth in the table after a 1-0 win at home to Oxford United, courtesy of Ben Harding scoring in first half stoppage-time.

Fleetwood Town kept their play-off hopes alive after coming from behind to defeat Dagenham and Redbridge 2-1 at Highbury Stadium.

Medy Elito’s penalty put the visitors ahead in the fifth minute, only for Junior Brown to equalise immediately and Gareth Evans to complete the turnaround in the second half.

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Torquay United: Poke, Oastler, Saah, McDonald, Cruise; Jarvis, Labadie, Mansell, Chapell (Bodin, 83); Howe, Benyon (Nicholson, 73). Unused substitutes: Downes, Lathorpe, Rice, Macklin, Craig.

York City: Ingham; Parslow, McGurk, Smith, O’Connell; Chambers, McGrath, McLaughlin (Platt, 46), Carson; Cresswell, Blair. Unused substitutes: Jameson, McDaid, Fyfield, Reed, Walker.

Referee: Roger East (Wiltshire).

Man of the match: Jack O’Connell.