Gateshead 1 City 2

On a thoroughly entertaining evening in the North-East, ten-man City fought back to claim their first away win of the campaign at newly-promoted Gateshead. Michael Gash's first goal for the club added to Richard Brodie's earlier effort to overturn the 1-0 lead Gateshead held at half-time, and the Minstermen clung on to escape with all three points despite the dismissals of both Richard Pacquette and manager Martin Foyle early in the second half.

The Gateshead International Stadium made for a bizarre venue for non-league football; with its uncovered stands offering panoramic views of the bleak Tyneside landscape, and an athletics track separating the crowd from the pitch, the scene had an almost Eastern European feel. And while the atmosphere might not quite have matched that of a Belgrade derby, both sets of fans were determined to make an occasion of a rare local fixture.

Gateshead's supporters, although numbering less than 700, generated a creditable amount of noise throughout the match. City's travelling faithful, hampered somewhat in their attempts to respond by the open stand, played their part with a pre-kick-off streamer display instigated by the Jorvik Reds. As the tickertape and tissue was distributed among the travelling fans, the elderly gentleman seated near me seemed somewhat perplexed upon being handed a toilet roll, but, evidently deeming it impolite to refuse a gift, secreted the roll in his bag for later use. The effort put into the display, however, failed to inspire the City players to an equally impressive first-half performance.

City began brightly enough, with Foyle's unexpectedly adventurous choice of a triple-pronged strikeforce looking set to pay dividends. Richard Pacquette, playing on the right of the three and willingly running the flank, saw his early low drive stopped under the body of Gateshead keeper Jim Provett. The old fellow, seemingly still confused by the toilet roll incident, offered encouragement by shouting 'Go on Rankine!' whenever the ball came Pacquette's way. Then, after the home side's skipper Kris Gate had blasted over the bar from their first opening, York's front three combined in style, with Brodie's clever flick releasing Pacquette on the right wing, whose cross in turn found the head of Gash. City's £55,000 signing failed, however, to get much contact on the ball, and as the first half entered its final 15 minutes, Gateshead began to dominate.

Playing three up front meant that City's midfield was squeezed even narrower than usual, and Gateshead's wingers looked to exploit the open space on the flanks. Wayne Phillips on the left looked particularly dangerous, and after a series of marauding runs came to little, he eventually found himself on the ball in the penalty area, with time and space to direct his shot. His finishing let him down, though, as the ball was fired directly at Michael Ingham, and City had Ingham to thank again after he was tested twice more soon after. The City stopper reacted well to keep out a low shot by Steven Richardson after the striker's jinking run into the box, and then palmed a chipped Phillips shot around the post.

When the ball broke to Alex Francis just inside the York half in first-half stoppage time, however, Ingham was powerless to prevent the resulting goal. City's back line failed to close down the advancing Francis, and he took the opportunity to chance a powerful 25-yard drive, which nestled in the bottom right-hand corner and gave Gateshead the lead at half-time. It was a lead the Tynesiders deserved, as the commitment shown by their players was matched only by local boys Brodie and Ferrell from the City ranks, and their unity and purpose provided a stark contrast to the uncertainty displayed by the Minstermen.

The tables turned immediately in the second half, though, as City put the home side on the back foot from kick-off, and Provett was forced into a save just two minutes after the break from Richard Brodie's effort from outside the area. On 55 minutes, however, the Gateshead-born striker was not to be denied, as he broke free on the left, and skilfully rounded the last Gateshead defender before calmly slotting the ball past Provett for the equaliser. City's opponents had failed in a bid to lure Brodie home over the summer, but even if the frontman does little else all season, this display - one of his best in a City shirt recently - might at least cause Gateshead manager Ian Bogie to table another offer at the season's end.

City's jubilation at equalising lasted less than a minute, as a clash between Phillips and Pacquette caused the latter to lash out in retaliation, and he was shown a straight red card to reduce City to ten men, and seemingly dent any hopes of a win. A harsher critic might suggest that York had effectively been playing with ten men even before the decision due to an anonymous Neil Barrett, but I will simply remark that he had a poor game and pulled out of several challenges. Martin Foyle, usually reticent in the dugout, was so incensed by the dismissal that his remonstrations at the referee led to him being sent to the stands. Strangely, the sendings off seemed to galvanise City if anything, and from then on they looked the more likely team to score despite Gateshead enjoying most of the possession. On the hour mark, a counter-attack by the visitors resulted in a shooting opportunity for Gash, but the weak attempt he mustered betrayed a lack of confidence in front of goal, and drew groans from the City fans.

When Gash's next chance came, with just ten minutes left on the clock, his confidence seemed to return, and in an instant the jeers of the travelling supporters were replaced by cheers. Andy Ferrell, chasing a loose ball on the left flank, did well just to keep the ball in play, but managed to compose himself sufficiently to send in a pinpoint inswinging cross towards Gash. The former Ebbsfleet forward leapt to meet the ball, before sending a powerful header past Provett and sparking scenes of elation among York's fans, many of whom spilled onto the pitch to join the players' celebrations. And when Gash was substituted shortly afterwards, he received a standing ovation - while this was hardly merited, neither were the earlier catcalls directed at the player, who showed brief flashes of excellence but a worrying lack of fitness, at times looking as though he was running through treacle. Judgement on the wisdom of spending such a large sum on him over summer will have to be reserved for at least a short while longer.

City clung on to their one-goal advantage despite late pressure from Gateshead, thanks in no small part to an excellent performance in the centre of defence by Djoumin Sangare. The big Frenchman, brought on to replace Dave McGurk who sustained an early injury, looked powerful, not short of pace, and commanding in the air; in short, he looked like the kind of defender which City fans have been yearning for ever since the impressive loan spell of Janos Kovacs in the 2006/07 season. The win was as needed as it was fortunate; York's players need to gel quickly to avoid being left behind by the better sides of the division and being forced to write yet another season off at an early stage. As for Gateshead, they look to have a strong team ethic, and more than enough firepower to spring a few surprise results over the course of the campaign. Their strength going forward is balanced by a vulnerability at the back, however, and they seem likely to leak at least as many goals as they score. Having said that, on the evidence of last night's performance, I expect them to survive the drop - and unless City can build on their win and string together a run of results, that might be the only feat which they achieve, too.