Hit-man Brodie back on track with brace

Richard Brodie broke his eleven-match goal drought as York City recorded their biggest win of the season at the expense of doomed Grays Athletic at the New Recreation Ground.

The Minstermen struck three times in a twelve-minute period just before the break after their opponents had actually gone closest to taking the lead when their bustling striker Jamie Guy crashed an explosive effort from wide on the right against Michael Ingham’s crossbar.

Recently brought into the club as a guiding hand out on the pitch, it was on loan midfielder Paul Harsley who set the visitors on their way just after the half-hour, when Brodie’s cross allowed him to claim his first goal for the club with an angled finish across home keeper Glyn Garner.

Six minutes later and the roles were reversed as this time Harsley was the creator for a delighted Brodie to lash a left-footed finish into the corner for his first goal in twelve games.

And having not scored for more than ten weeks, it took Brodie just another five minutes to add his second of the evening after Michael Gash had been brought down on the edge of the area. Harsley whipped in the free-kick and the alert Brodie stole in to divert the ball past the keeper.

York were forced into a change just before the break when centre-back Djoumin Sangare was taken off for treatment and replaced by David McGurk.

With the damage already done the second period was always likely to be less eventful than the closing stages of the first-half.

And that’s how it turned out as Grays’ youngsters worked hard to keep their opponents in check, although their keen enthusiasm saw four of their players entered into the referee’s notebook.

But they fell further into arrears just before the hour when Gash presented the opportunity for Barrett to claim his fifth goal of the season with another confident driven finish.

To their credit the home side kept battling despite this defeat virtually confirming their relegation, with left-back Danny Bunce bringing the best out of Ingham with a powerful 30-yard drive.

The former Northern Ireland international then made another fine block from a corner before Harry Agumbar sent the rebound wide.

However, with an eight-point lead and game in hand on their closest challengers, and a rather favourable set of remaining fixtures, York now appear near certainties for a top-five finish.

Grays Athletic: Garner, Davis, Glowacki, Reynolds, Bunce, Graham (Wilson 65), Cissoko (Harvey 82), Dean, Bayowa (Osborn 69), Agumbar, Guy

subs (unused): Edwards, Clarey

York City: Ingham, Purkiss, Sangare (McGurk 45), Graham, Meredith, Harsley, Clarke (Lawless 64), Barrett, Pitt, Gash, Brodie (Rankine 75)

subs (unused): Smith, Carruthers

Goals: Harsley (31), Brodie (37, 42), Barrett (57)

Ref: J. Adcock (Nottinghamshire)

Att: 323 (102 York)