ENTERPRISE NATIONAL LEAGUE. SATURDAY, 28th FEBRUARY 2026.

Ten against Twelve as York Nab Last-Gasp Win.

Old acquaintances were renewed at half past five this afternoon as ancient foes York City visited the Mazuma Mobile Stadium for the first time in ten years. The Yorkshire club have an excellent record against the Shrimps: six wins out of the seventeen meetings in all competitions I have identified and only one loss: the crucial Play-Off semi-final in 2006 which saw Morecambe promoted to the EFL after the Final against Exeter. Earlier this season, Ashvir Singh Johal’s usually hopeless Morecambe gave City a scare at their own place by going ahead but then proved why the RSPCA should ban him from ever owning a dog (inability to hold onto a lead) before Normal Service was resumed and the Minstermen won 4-2.

City arrived right at the pinnacle of the National League on the back of eight straight wins – a club record. They also are on an astonishing run of 23 league games without defeat. Last Tuesday, they swept Scunthorpe United aside in Lincolnshire with three unanswered goals. York are pretty formidable and have walloped a number of clubs already this season, accumulating an astounding 91 goals scored so far in just 34 games – almost thirty more than anyone else in the division. But they are not invincible – as minnows Clitheroe proved earlier this year by dumping them out of the FA Trophy.

By sharp contrast, Morecambe began today’s game on the back of three draws and a single win in their last six league games. They have scored just 46 goals in the National League (almost literally half as many as their opponents today) but conceded 74, largely as a result of the disastrous stint in charge by Ashvir and his utterly bizarre notions of defending. The Shrimps were twenty-second in the National League at three this afternoon, eight points adrift of safety. Two hours later, given results elsewhere, they found themselves nine points adrift as Sutton United drew 2-2 at Halifax and Braintree actually won 2-3 at Truro. Gateshead also lost again – 0-2 at home against Forest Green Rovers.

This is what Jim Bentley made of the task facing his men prior to the game this afternoon:

“Hell of a challenge. It doesn’t get much tougher, does it? But it is what it is. Everything’s stacked against you but – football being the way it is – and our belief; a little bit of confidence now; our momentum (two unbeaten); scoring goals ourselves – eight in the last two – so let’s embrace the challenge; give it our best shot.”

The weather was wet early on in north Lancashire today but the skies grew brighter as the day got older and the game started under sunny skies. The atmosphere within the Mazuma Mobile Stadium was electric from start-to-finish. A noisy and expectant home crowd kept up the noise right from the off and – although they fell very quiet as the second half dragged on and on – the thirteen hundred plus crowd from Yorkshire also added to the excitement.

This was a fantastic game, played by two teams who wanted to win and spoilt by just one thing: the Referee. Mr Aaron Bannister was an absolute disgrace from beginning to end. I’ve rarely seen such an obviously partisan display by an official who is supposed to be objective. He gave York everything they demanded – and they were in his face a lot of the time – and Morecambe nothing at all. Time and again, Chris Popov was impeded on the ball and fouled off it. But neither the man with the whistle nor his equally ineffectual assistants ever penalised these constant misdemeanours. I remember a move towards the end of the first half when Chris managed to hurdle an attempt to trip him and was then pulled-back by another York player in the middle of the pitch – and the incompetent in the yellow shirt waved play-on even though City were in possession and there was no advantage to the home side at any point. It was bizarre – but he kept on doing it. No wonder the three officials were loudly booed as they left the field at the end: they shouldn’t be employed at this level of the game. For me, Bannister actually spoilt the game because what should have been an equal contest never actually was.

Despite this, Morecambe actually shaded the first half. With Lewis Payne looking lively with his penetrative runs on the right, City had their hands full at the back right from the off. Lewis found Jack Nolan with an excellent cross after seven minutes but Jack’s header was wide of the target. Miguel Azeez also looked lively and a goal-bound strike by him was blocked by the York defence with nineteen minutes played. Nolan then tried his luck again with twenty-seven minutes on the clock. He cut inside from the right and his superb shot seemed to be looping into the top corner of the net to Harrison Male’s right and looked unstoppable. The City stopper is not the biggest but he made a prodigious leap upwards and sideways to try and keep the strike out but failed. He was saved by the fact that the ball smacked against the post and then away to safety. Then there was a real flashpoint in the game. Azeez committed a bad foul on Hiram Boateng for which he was rightly booked after half an hour. But the reaction of the City player – leaping to his feet and shoving Miguel in the throat area – should have seen him red-carded: you simply cannot raise your hands to an opponent in this day and age and stay on the pitch. But the totally ineffectual Referee just wagged his finger at Boateng and booked him.

In the 35^th minute, Morgan Williams played a good ball over the top of the home defence for Captain Ollie Pearce to run on to. He attempted to lob the Morecambe goalkeeper but deserved Man of the Match Jamal Blackman kept him out with a fingertip save to push the ball away.

So it was honours virtually even with Morecambe enjoying the best chances at half time. This changed in the second half. Right from the first whistle, York started to play higher up the pitch and compress play more often than not in the home team’s half. Blackman made a really good save from Jeff King after 49 minutes and Liam Hogan did brilliantly to head Josh Stone’s header from a Alex Newby cross off the line just a minute later. So City were already on top and asking most of the questions when the pivotal moment of the game arrived in the fifty-fourth minute. York were attacking; Banks launched a cross from their right towards the far post. Paul Lewis stood his ground there but then put his arm around the neck of Stones as the big Number Nine backed into him and then made a meal of it as he dramatically fell towards the ground – and the man with the whistle duly awarded York a penalty. That was harsh enough but to then give Paul a straight red card into the bargain simply beggars belief: it was barely a foul – and totally innocuous in comparison to what Boateng had been allowed to get away with earlier. Alex Hunt stepped up to take the spot-kick but Blackman made another world-class stop by diving low to his right and pushing the ball away at full stretch.

But Morecambe now faced playing for over half an hour – and much longer in reality – with only ten men. York well and truly threw the kitchen sink at them and a combination of resolute defending and several more excellent saves by the home stopper looked as if they were going to frustrate the league leaders. A shot by a man who should have left the field ages before Paul Lewis did – bad boy Boateng – was cleared off the line by substitute Yann Songo’o and then headed clear byTimmy Akindileni after 56 minutes. After York Manager Stuart Maynard had shaken things up with several late substitutions, Jamal again did well to tip a Stones’ header over the bar after 75 minutes. Eighty minutes became ninety as a nervous hush fell over the away supporters behind the home goal. Ninety minutes became Ninety-Five. Ninety-Six. Ninety-Seven. Ninety-Eight. Surely the Shrimps could hold on for just a couple more minutes…

But then – as the away end had become as quiet as the grave – Ollie Banks broke Morecambe hearts with a tremendous volley past a helpless Jamal Blackman with almost the last kick of the game in the ninety-ninth minute to steal the match and all three points with it.

York didn’t deserve it. They were tetchy and niggly at times and a stronger Referee would have punished them on regular occasions this evening. Additionally, Boateng should have walked in the first half. Morecambe were worth at least a point for their resilience in an impossible situation: they faced a team with an extra player in the shape of Aaron Bannister for ninety minutes and two extra players for almost half that time after Lewis was sent off.

So it was As You Were at the end of the game. Morecambe are still stuck in the relegation mire; York are leading the way at the very top of the National League.

With just eleven games left, the fear is that Morecambe are not going to have enough time to close the gap between themselves and the other teams with relegation worries in the safe zone of the National League. Jim has possibly been given too much to do by owners who should have sacked the previous Manager months before they actually did. But today, his side did not let him down. The team which performed today was literally unrecognisable from the uncommitted, unfit rabble commanded by Ashvir Singh Johal. They were a credit to the new Manager; to themselves – and to the shirt. Nobody could ask for more.

It’s nearly midnight now and I have been unable to discover what Jimbo said at the end of the game: the usual feeds aren’t carrying it yet and the link to the Morecambe website –

https://www.morecambefc.com/news/2026/february/28/jim-bentley–post-york-city–h-/

doesn’t work. So we shall have to wait until tomorrow.

Morecambe: 40 Jamal Blackman; 2 Lewis Payne; 7 Gwion Edwards (C) (15 Ben Williams 77’); 8 Miguel Azeez (24 Yann Songo’o (Y) 45’); 12 Kyle Jameson; 16 Liam Hogan (Y) (5 Harlee Dean 85’); 17 Paul Lewis (R); 20 Mo Sangare (18 Ben Tollitt 67’): 33 Timothy Akindileni; 36 Jack Nolan (10 Jake Cain 85’); 42 Chris Popov.

Subs not used: 41 Myles Boney; 23 Dan Ogwuru.

York City: 1 Harrison Male; 3 Mark Kitching; 8 Alex Hunt; 9 Josh Stones; 10 Ollie Pearce (C); 15 Jeff King (Y)(12 Joe Grey 70’); 21 Hiram Boateng (Y) (18 Daniel Batty (Y) 70’); 27 Morgan Williams (Y) (4 Malachi Fagan-Walcott 70’); 29 Zak Johnson; 28 Oliver Banks (Y); 30 Alex Newby.

Subs not used:  2 Ryan Fallowfield; 5 Callum Howe; 17 Craig Hewitt; 31 George William Sykes–Kenworthy.

Ref: Aaron Bannister.

Att: 3,726 (1,135 from York.)