Rochdale 1-1 York City: 103rd minute equaliser sends York back to EFL | OneFootball

The first straight shoot-out title decider in England’s top five leagues this century saw York promoted back to League Two after a last-gasp equaliser from Josh Stones secured their return after a decade away.

Neither side was at their best going forward this afternoon, but both defences held strong until deep into injury time when Dieseruvwe erupted the Crown Oil Arena with what appeared to be the golden goal. However, Josh Stones had other ideas and netted a 103rd minute equaliser to send York back to League Two.

Rochdale will now hove to go through the play-offs if they are to win promotion this season, despite racking up 106 points this term, it simply wasn’t enough in the end.

As It Happened

York City named an unchanged side from their 3-0 win over Yeovil Town last time out, while Rochdale made one change, with Aidan Barlow replaced by 22-year-old Dan Moss. The ball was in the net for Rochdale after just eight minutes, but the referee disallowed the shot for a foul on Harrison Male.

The Dale’s first chance of the game saw Luke Hannant fire over from the edge of the area. York came close to opening the scoring in the 18th minute, when Ollie Pearce forced a strong save from Oliver Whatmuff. The first yellow card of the day was shown to York’s Ollie Banks, his sixth of the season, for a late tackle on Moss. The resultant free-kick saw Rochdale pile bodies into the box, but the cross was well dealt with by the City defence.

It was Pearce who once again went in search of an opener on the half-hour mark, but he was denied by a brilliant block from Ethan Ebanks-Landell. Ryan East was the second name in the referee’s notebook minutes later, following a foul on Alex Hunt. Whatmuff was penalised after 36 minutes, with the referee judging him to have handled the ball outside of his penalty area, but Ben Brookes couldn’t hit the target from the free-kick.

The visitors won a string of corners shortly before half-time, but the Rochdale defence held strong, keeping the match goalless after the first 45 minutes. Hannant took on another ambitious effort at the start of the second half, but his strike fizzed wide.

Josh Stones was close to breaking the deadlock 10 minutes into the second half; however, he was denied by Whatmuff. Harvey Gilmour was booked on the hour mark following a bad foul. Moments later, there was a further display of excellent defensive work, this time with Ebanks-Landell cutting out a cross that looked destined for Pearce.

The hosts then made a triple change, which saw East, Devante Rodney and Hannant replaced by Ian Henderson, Casey Petit and Barlow. York manager, Stuart Maynard, also turned to his bench at a similar time, introducing Ryan Fallowfield, Daniel Batty and Joe Grey in favour of Banks, Hunt and Jeff King.

Rochdale broke through the York press in the 71st minute and won a free-kick in a dangerous position. Barlow couldn’t keep his shot down and instead watched it drift over the bar. Grey thought he had finally opened the scoring with 15 minutes left to play, but his shot deflected off his own player and behind for a goal kick.

Further changes followed for both sides, with York’s Callum Howe replacing Brookes for the remainder of the match, whilst Dale’s Tobi Adebayo-Rowling was replaced by Joe Pritchard. The net rippled in the 80th minute, but it was a missed chance rather than a goal, when Fallowfield powered his effort into the side netting.

Whatmuff was on hand once again just moments later, this time denying a deflected strike from Stones before gathering safely from the resultant corner. Rochdale’s final change saw Gilmour make way for Tyler Smith as they went in search of a winning goal. Stones came close again in the 85th minute, heading over from inside the area.

The Dale almost found their golden goal late on in the match, but Dieseruvwe’s stretching effort was glanced wide. York made their last substitution in the 88th minute, when Greg Olley replaced Pearce. Whatmuff made yet another save, getting down low and fast in the final minutes to deny Olley.

Rochdale came even closer just moments later, when a flick at the near post rattled the crossbar at the start of eight additional minutes before being cleared away by the York defence. In the 95th minute, though, it was Dieseruvwe’s time to make history, when he headed home, sending The Crown Oil Arena into chaos as they looked to have secured a spot back in the football league.

The game was halted for six minutes following the goal, whilst authorities cleared fans from the field of play. Once play resumed, the 103rd minute of the game saw Stones find the net at long last for York, winning his side promotion after a decade away from the EFL.