Match programme: York City v Lincoln City (3 March 1971)

About this match programme

By Richard Snowball On April 3, 1971, York City took part in one of those high-scoring matches that football occasionally throws up. They travelled to Lincoln for the Division Four game with York on a good run of wins and pushing for promotion, and their rivals struggling with injuries and trying to stay out the bottom four.

In the first half the goals came thick and fast with the score line looking more like a set of tennis, with neither side going more than one goal ahead, and half time came with the sides locked at 4-4.

A crowd of 4,226 watched this spectacle, and the fans of both sides must have been wondering whether the match was heading for a record scoreline, but as so often happens in matches like this the scoring dried up, with York snatching the only goal of the second half through midfielder Ian Davidson for a 5-4 victory.

York had five different scorers the others being Ian McMahon, Phil Burrows, Barry Swallow and Paul Aimson.

York City's good goalscoring form continued into the next two Easter fixtures, with home wins over local rivals Darlington 2-0 on Good Friday and Hartlepool 4-0 on Easter Saturday.

On Easter Monday York travelled to promotion hopefuls Chester and fought out a 11 draw, a result that proved vital at the end of the season as York finished one point ahead of Chester in the promotion race and grabbed the fourth promotion spot. Lincoln City finished fourth from the bottom of the table.

Over the Easter period clubs had played three matches in four days and York City used the same eleven players in each game.

Acknowledgement This facsimile of the match programme was created by the publisher of There’s Only One Arthur Bottom, the daily email newsletter for fans of York City FC, and TOOAB contributors Richard Snowball, Terry Espiner and Paul Bowser. www.tooab.com