‘FORGIVE ME’ PLEAS MILLS AS YORK FALL
Bugiel double hammers final nail in City’s coffin
AN emotional and hurting Gary Mills reflected on the ‘tough nature of football’ as York City’s draw with Forest Green couldn’t spare the club back-to-back relegations.
Mills’ team have displayed topten form since the turn of the year but Jon Parkin’s brace in response to Omar Bugiel’s double strike for the visitors was not enough as Danny Lowe’s stoppage-time equaliser for Yorkshire neighbours Guiseley condemned the Minstermen to sixth-tier football just 12 months after slipping out of the Football League.
Demoralised York must now prepare for an FA Trophy final meeting against Macclesfield at Wembley in three weeks’ time, which Mills has insisted must provide the focus for the club to begin their rehabilitation.
He said: “It’s an emotional and tough game and all I can say is I’m sorry I couldn’t do it for the fans, because they have been incredible. What they also need to know is I couldn’t have got more out of this group of players since the turn of the year.
“They came back from behind twice to get a draw and their keeper pulled off two or three great saves to prevent us from staying in the league. But we were still a minute away from being safe and that’s how close football is at times.
“It hurts and it will do for a while, but you have to face reality and, after a few days off, which we would have been having regardless of the outcome of this game, everybody has to come back to try and win a game at Wembley for our football club to help us move on.”
York fell behind six minutes into the Bootham Crescent clash when Dan Wishart raided through the left channel and squared the ball
to Bugiel, who side-footed firmly into the roof of Scott Loach’s net from ten yards.
But Parkin levelled on 33 minutes, finishing clinically with a first-time, left-footed effort from 15 yards after being played in on goal by home skipper Simon Heslop.
Parity was shortlived, however, as Bugiel, almost straight from the kick-off, burst through a parting Minstermen defence and prodded past Loach from eight yards.
Mills’ team again responded well, though, with Parkin using his heel to steer a goal-bound Amari Morgan-Smith shot past Rovers keeper Sam Russell following Sam Muggleton’s long throw.
An Asa Hall downward header was brilliantly kept out by Russell’s legs moments later and, as news filtered through of Lowe’s goal, Sean Newton volleyed the last chance of the match wide from ten yards in the third of four minutes of added-on time.
Rovers boss Mark Cooper went on to reason that the fraught afternoon would represent ideal preparation for his players as they look ahead to their play-off meetings with Dagenham & Redbridge.
“It was a good occasion for the players to experience going into the play-offs, because the atmosphere will be similar then,” he pointed out.