ACCRINGTON Stanley left it late to deny York City all three points at the Store First Stadium, with a son of the White Rose county providing the crucial equaliser for the Reds.

With the struggling Minstermen looking on course for only their third win of 2015, proud Yorkshireman Josh Windass stepped up to net an 89th minute free kick to give Stanley a share of the spoils.

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On a bright, sunny but bitterly cold afternoon in East Lancashire it was a strange game.

The opening hour saw two sides with virtually identical systems cancelling each other out before a final half-hour that was full of drama.

York, who started the day 21st in the League Two table, looked most likely to make something happen in the first half against a Stanley side unchanged from the midweek draw at Wycombe.

However the chances created were of low quality, with sub Tom Platt blasting a shot into Rob Atkinson and Matt Crooks heading a flick from Jake Hyde out of the danger area before Scott Davies made easy saves from Platt and the lively Shaquille Coulthirst.

John Coleman’s side looked off colour, with Crooks stretching and firing over the bar at the culmination of their best move.

In truth it was a poor spectacle, with City changing their system to 3-5-2 to nullify Stanley’s wingbacks and succeeding. It as easy to see how the visitors have drawn six games 0-0 this season.

After the interval Davies was called into action to turn a long range drive from Keith Lowe around the post before holding an effort from Coulthirst.

It took over an hour, and a sizeable deflection, to break the deadlock.

York countered following a Stanley attack and fed the ball to midfielder Luke Summerfield, who from just outside the box pulled the trigger. The ball clattered off Dean Winnard, diverting into the opposite corner of the net and wrongfooting Davies to make it 1-0 to the visitors.

The lead last just six minutes when Sean Maguire netted his first goal since December to level things up. Piero Mingoia crossed from the right, Lowe’s clearing header was poor and the Irishman chested the ball down and finished left footed into the bottom right corner.

Suddenly this was a thrilling, end to end game and York were soon back in front after a through ball unpicked the Stanley rearguard, Platt found John McCombe inside the box and he laid it off to Hyde to convert from close range to make it 2-1.

The overly exuberant celebrations of the visiting supporters proved premature though, as Windass made the telling late contribution. His left wing free kick flicked off the wall, beat Bobby Olejnik and nestled in the right corner of the net to make it 2-2.

Five minutes of stoppage time saw Stanley in the ascendancy but substitute Jason Gilchrist, who is on loan from neighbours Burnley, was unable to control the ball inside the box when he was found with a cross and the Reds were unable to find the winner.

Still, the final whistle brought a point from a Lancashire v Yorkshire game to leave Stanley cheering a son of the White Rose.