York City produced a commanding second-half performance to secure a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Wealdstone at the LNER Community Stadium. While the first half remained goalless and cagey, punctuated only by a yellow card for York’s Lewis Richardson in the 22nd minute for a foul, it offered glimpses of the attacking threat that would ultimately prove decisive after the break.
Malachi Fagan-Walcott broke the deadlock immediately in the second half, scoring in the 46th minute to give York the lead. York City manager Adam Hinshelwood then made a triple substitution on the hour mark, introducing Dipo Akinyemi, Josh Stones, and Junior Luamba. This tactical change had an immediate impact. Stones doubled York’s advantage in the 64th minute, assisted by fellow substitute Luamba. Just three minutes later, in the 67th minute, Ollie Pearce converted a penalty to extend York’s lead to 3-0. Wealdstone responded with substitutions of their own, but were unable to breach the York defence. Further changes from both sides followed, but the scoreline remained unchanged as York comfortably controlled the remainder of the match.
The victory strengthens York’s position near the top of the National League table, where they entered the match in second place with 77 points. Wealdstone, meanwhile, remain in the lower half of the table, having started the day in 19th place with 42 points. The result represents a significant turnaround in the recent history between these two sides. Wealdstone had won four of the previous five encounters going into this fixture, including the earlier meeting this season. Today’s victory, therefore, provides York with a measure of revenge and marks a shift in the head-to-head record.