Curzon suffer late heartbreak at leaders York

National League North: York City 1-1 Curzon Ashton

Curzon Ashton suffered late heartbreak as Jordan Burrow’s stoppage time strike denied them all three points against league leaders York City.

The Nash defended superbly throughout and took the lead with less than 20 minutes remaining when George Broadbent smashed in his first goal for the club.

But a mix up between Cam Mason and Andy Halls allowed Burrow to pounce and earn the hosts an unlikely draw.

After three weeks without a game because of the recent storms hitting the UK, there were worries that this game would also fall by the wayside. But the York grounds staff worked hard to ensure the Bootham Crescent pitch was in a playable condition.

There were two changes to the team that played against Gateshead at the start of the month. Danny Shaw and Luke Merrill were the players to drop out with Olly Thornley given his first start since suffering a bad injury against Wythenshawe Town in October. Isaac Sinclair was the other player to come into Mark Bradshaw’s starting line-up.

As expected for a team fighting for the title, York started on the front foot and went close to taking the lead when Dan Maguire spun in behind the Nash defence and dinked his shot off target.

Burrow was a threat in the air but aside from one off target header, he didn’t get much joy out of the Nash’s back three.

Owen Watkinson had the visitors’ best chance of the first half when he spun away from Steve McNulty and tested Peter Jameson from a tight angle.

The second half followed a similar pattern to the first as the Nash continued to frustrate their hosts with some solid and well-organised defending. Led by the irrepressible Robbie Evans, York were continually shut down as they approached Curzon’s final third.

Needing three points to maintain their title push, York replaced centre back McNulty with attacker Alex Kempster and as they did so, the Nash were able to take advantage the extra space.

Fabio Tavares – on for his Curzon debut – led the counter-attack and when the ball dropped to Broadbent at the back post, he emphatically rifled his shot into the roof of the net.

With time running out, the home supporters grew frustrated at their side’s inability to penetrate the Nash defence. In the end, it took a massive slice of luck to break through Curzon’s resistance.

A long ball forward caused confusion between Halls and Mason and as they collided, Burrow latched onto the loose ball and slotted home from a tight angle.

By Sam Hendry