Get the lowdown on our opening day opponents: York City.

The Opposition

York City will have their eyes set on at silverware come May, having enjoyed a stellar 2024/25 season.

The Minstermen ended the 2024/25 campaign with 96 points to their name, bettered only by league winners Barnet who picked up six more points, and meant that despite winning 29 games last term, losing only eight, and seeing their goals for (97) and goals against (42) tallies both bettered only by Barnet, they were condemned to the play-offs at the end of the season.

Mid-season recruit Josh Stones played a pivotal part in their success, while the likes of Harrision Male, Ryan Fallowfield, Fagan Malachi-Walcott, Callum Howe and Joel Felix held down the fort at the back, with Male and Howe were named in the National League Team of the Season.

However, marquee signing Ollie Pearce was without a doubt the standout player in the Minstermen’s ranks, scoring more than 30% of their goals with a whopping 31, and was enough to win him the division’s Golden Boot and Player of the Season awards, as well as joining Male and Howe in the Team of the Season.

Many of Pearce’s goals came in high-scoring home wins including a 6‑2 triumph against Maidenhead, along with a 5‑3 win over Hartlepool United and 4‑0 drubbing of Yeovil Town, and displayed York’s identity, establishing themselves as an attacking, entertaining side that transformed them from relegation strugglers into title contenders in the blink of an eye, with Hinshelwood producing an unthinkable turnaround for the Minstermen.

Despite the season’s success, York’s promotion bid fell short when they lost in the play-off semi-final to Oldham, who despite finishing 23 points behind, went on to win the final and secure promotion to League Two, much to the disappointment of York.

Nonetheless, they have already been hard at work in bouncing back, with the signings of Hiram Boateng, Ollie Banks, Ashley Palmer, Mark Kitching, Ben Brookes and Greg Olley already adding a host of quality to their ranks in their pursuit of EFL status once more, and have looked to have an instant impact with a successful pre-season.

The Minstermen have won two of their five friendlies (Marine and Spennymoor Town), along with one draw (Barnsley) and two defeats (Garforth Town and Sheffield United), and are now all prepped and raring to go for the new campaign.

The Manager

Adam Hinshelwood

Since arriving in the hotseat at the LNER Community Stadium in February 2024, Adam Hinshelwood has been the architect of a remarkable turnaround in North Yorkshire, turning the Minstermen into one of the most impressive teams in all of non-league just two years after securing their return to the fifth tier of English football.

Coming from a footballing family – with father Paul, grandfather Wally and son Jack all playing professional football – Hinshelwood continued his family’s legacy with a long-term stint as a player with Brighton, making 100 appearances for the Seagulls as well as becoming one of the youngest captains in their history. A loan spell at Lewes saw his Brighton come to an end in 2008, and he finished his playing career with stints at Aldershot Town and Wycombe Wanderers before finally hanging up his boots in 2010.

Hinshelwood would later transition into coaching though, being appointed assistant manager of non-league club Hastings United. While his tenure was short lived, he decided to follow in his family’s footsteps by becoming the manager of Sussex County League side Selsey, before going on to become a player and assistant manager at Burgess Hill Town.

A two-year stint at Worthing was then followed by a return to the AMEX Stadium as a coach at Brighton, before he opted to return to Worthing in 2017. He would remain with the Rebels for the next seven years, leading them to the Isthmian Premier Division title in the 2021/22 season, as well as the Sussex Senior Challenge Cup the following year.

The 41-year old later made the jump up to the National League, joining 20th placed York at the start of 2024 and was tasked with keeping the Minstermen in the division. He would instantly impress at the LNER Community Stadium, with four wins in six games in April enough to see York over the line, before taking their form and newly ingrained philosophy into the current campaign.

Following a strong start to the 2024/25 season, Hinshelwood was named National League Manager of the Month for September having picked up 12 points from six unbeaten matches, before ending the campaign with 96 points, bettered only by league winners Barnet, and results in Hinshelwood overseeing play-off heartbreak as they fell to defeat in the semi-final to eventual winners Oldham Athletic.

One to Watch

Ollie Pearce

Ollie Pearce’s move to York City ahead of the 2024/25 campaign proved central to the Minsterman’s push up the table, with a stellar year in front of goal that saw him notch more goals than anyone else in the entire division following his move from Worthing.

Having begun his career with Bognor Regis Town, Pearce spent several years with the Rocks, making his first team debut at 17-years of age before going on to enjoy a goal-laden career at Nyewood Lane, netting around 80 goals in a little over 250 appearances including four in four at the start of 2017/18 campaign. Pearce would feature in both promotion and relegation campaigns in the green and white shirt, as well as playing his part in getting Bognor to the FA Trophy semi-finals in 2016.

A move along with the coast saw Pearce move to Worthing in 2018, and he would go on to enjoy an incredibly successful six-year stint with the Rebels. The pinnacle of this success saw him scoop a Golden Boot win with 35 goals and a place in the Isthmian Premier Division Team of the Season, as well as being voted as the division’s Player of the Year, which added to a title winner’s medal in 2021/22.

With Worthing rising up non-league, Pearce continued his fine form and smashed through a century of goals in February 2023, making it 100 goals in just 178 appearances at the time, before again breaking through the 30-goal barrier to land himself in the National League South Team of the Year. More records followed when he scored in a post-WW2 record of ten consecutive games, before reaching the landmark of 150 goals with a stoppage-time strike to round off a 3-1 win at champions Yeovil Town in April 2024, ending another remarkable campaign with 46 goals in 51 appearances across all competitions, winning the golden boot in the National League South by a distance.

His form for the Rebels hadn’t gone unnoticed, and he would depart Woodside Road with 155 goals in 245 appearances, joining York City in the summer where he has continued his ridiculous goalscoring run. Indeed, Pearce ended the campaign as the division’s highest scorer, notching 31 goals in all competitions, seven more than Regan Linney’s tally of 23, and proved to be a crucial part of the Minstermen’s title challenge last term.

Recent Form

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Garforth Town 1-0 York City

Photo Credit: Sean Walsh Photography