York 7 Kettering T 0: Seven-goal romp has York on track

With a massive goal difference of 27, they have reached the halfway stage of the season well placed to achieve manager Gary Mills’s target of 92 points, which he believes will win automatic promotion.

York have now gone 11 matches unbeaten since losing at Gateshead on September 27 and that sequence was never in danger of ending as Kettering were taken apart by York’s exciting brand of entertaining, attacking football which could easily have produced double figures.

As it was the 7-0 scoreline was York’s biggest for 26 years, having beaten Darlington 7-0 in October 1985.

Kettering, who had only two substitutes, are in financial trouble – their players won’t be paid this month – and there is conjecture that they could fold this season, although their chairman denies this.

Given such problems it was not surprising that they were well beaten, Jamie Reed’s sixth-minute header from Matty Blair’s superb cross setting York on the victory path. Another Blair header (12) from Scott Kerr’s pass made it 2-0 with Jon Challinor (30) and Blair (45) increasing the gap.

Man-of-the-match Paddy McLaughlin rocketed home a spectacular 47th-minute shot after beating two defenders and Ashley Chambers (65) and Moses Ashikodi (76) completed the rout.

Kerr had another fine match in midfield for York and his partnership with McLaughlin is making a significant difference.

Mills said: “This was a massive boost for us in terms of points and goals, but it is never nice to hear about opponents being in trouble.”

York City: Ingham; Challinor, McGurk, Fyfield, Meredith; Pilkington, Kerr (Oyebanjo 58), McLaughlin; Blair, Reed (Ashikodi 46), Chambers (Moke 68). Unused substitutes: Smith, Parslow.

Kettering Town: Haxhia; Noubissie, Ifil, Swaibu, David; Navarro, O’Leary (Pryor 22), Bridges, Deeny; Dawkin, Hughes-Maso. Unused substitute: Dance.

Referee: D Bond (Wigan)

Man of the match: Paddy McLaughlin.