York City stretched their unbeaten home streak to a record-equalling 25 games with a comfortable victory against Port Vale.
Goals from Zak Johnson and Alex Hunt were enough to keep City in the playoff places, with only two points separating them from the automatic promotion spots.
The visitors started quickly, with Keyrol Figueroa forcing a good save from Alfie McNally.
Before the half-hour mark, Oliver Lynch had a shot from distance that took a deflection, but it was still easy pickings for York’s number one.
It was a first half that lacked any real quality. York’s best moment came after 33 minutes when Frankie Maguire fired towards goal from 30 yards. Marko Marosi parried the ball into the path of Harry Boyes, who placed his effort wide.
Ten minutes into the second half, the Minstermen finally made use of their home advantage.
Alex Hunt whipped a delightful free-kick into a dangerous area, and Zak Johnson timed his run to perfection before volleying the ball into the right-hand side of the goal.
With the momentum and the fans behind them, York City looked for a quick second.
After 61 minutes, Harry Boyes crossed the ball into the box. Jaheim Headley cleared only as far as Alex Hunt, who smashed the ball into the ground from eight yards out.
The ball flew into the top of the net to give the home side a rapid second and potentially take the game away from Port Vale.
Joe Felix had a chance to make it three minutes later. He drilled a shot straight at Marosi, and the rebound fell kindly for Ollie Banks, who could only hit the side netting.
Boyes then picked up the ball inside his own half and drove at the Port Vale defence. He worked his way to the edge of the box before striking the post, coming so close to a wonder goal. The wing-back had been everywhere all afternoon.
McNally made a fine save from Max Watters which maintained York’s two-goal lead. It was one of a series of stops that earned the keeper the Man of the Match award.
Scott Lindsey was full of praise for his goalkeeper when asked after the game:
“Port Vale put a lot of balls into our box from corners and free-kicks, but we defended brilliantly and Alfie made a couple of decent saves when we needed him to, which is his job and why we brought him to the club because he’s a good keeper,” he said.
The game was City’s 25th unbeaten at home, which equalled the Minstermen’s best run since 1971.
While the contest remained evenly balanced for long periods, York were clinical when it mattered most, securing another home win and continuing their push for automatic promotion.