PAUL Brayson delivered a cruel - and classic - sucker punch to floor his former club.

The Geordie striker blasted a stoppage time volley so brilliant it was hard to argue against it as a prizewinner, but for Vics to end the game empty handed was an unjust outcome.

York's late, late show smacked of déjà vu.

For Brayson, insert Nathan Peat who settled last season's encounter with the last kick of the game.

Neil Redfearn's men will have to call on deep reserves of resolve to bounce back after putting on what was their best performance so far, yet they remain on just one point after five matches.

The turning point came on the hour.

Simon Rusk led a Vics counter attack after Michael Carr had pick pocketed Brayson, sending Brad Maylett clear with an incisive pass between two City defenders.

Maylett, faced only with keeper Steve Evans, crashed his shot against the custodian form point blank range.

On such small details are matches decided.

Before that the hosts - switching back to 4-4-2 after playing with three attackers at Crawley on Saturday - had created the clearer openings.

Paul Tait and Lee Steele, reunited in Vics' attack a decade after their first debuts, combined on 16 minutes to craft a shooting space for Steele but his cross shot fizzed across the face of goal.

The pair repeated the trick five minutes later, only this time Tait's goalbound shot was deflected past the post by Dave McGurk.

Darren Craddock cleared Tait's header off the line from the resulting corner, taken by Kevin Sharp, as Northwich looked the more likely to open the scoring.

Their hopes were hit on 27 minutes though when Steele limped off - replaced by Kevin Townson - with a recurrence of his hamstring injury, this time though with a more serious suspected tear.

Vics old boy Stuart Elliott sizzled a long range shot inches past the post on the half hour before Chris Williams missed his team's best chance.

Townson's cross evaded everybody bar the onrushing winger, but his diving header was pawed away by an alert Evans at his near post when a goal seemed certain.

Carr then threw himself in the way of Onome Sodje's drive to keep the scores level at the interval.

Maylett's miss aside, Vics conjured fewer openings in a frantic second half.

Elliott had two shots deflected off target before Brayson improvised to hook a shot on target that Rusk headed off the line on 70 minutes.

Farrell tried to catch Ben Connett napping when he curved a free kick towards goal after Brayson had been dumped to the floor by Michael Welch, but the Vics custodian somehow kept it out.

Williams wasted an opening made by sub Dino Maamria before Brayson's moment of magic.

Martyn Woolford skipped down the left flank before sailing an inviting cross for his teammate to arrow a volley past Connett before he could blink.

STAR MAN: 2-Simon Rusk - Easily his best game for Northwich so far. Not naturally a midfielder, but certainly the best compliment to Michael Carr that Neil Redfearn has used this term. His workrate and willingness to take possession made him stand out for his side.

VICS (4-4-2): 1-Connett, 6-Birch, 4-Welch, 5-Strong, 3-Sharp, 17-Maylett (18-Maamria 75), 2-Rusk, 8-Carr, 11-Williams, 19-Tait, 23-Steele (16-Townson 27)
Subs not used: 12-Murphy (GK), 15-Battersby, 22-Wilson
Booked: 4-Welch, 8-Carr (fouls)

YORK (4-5-1): 1-Evans, 2-Craddock (23-Purkiss 62), 5-McGurk, 6-Parslow (21-Hutchinson 60), 3-Robinson, 7-Sodje (10-Farrell 54), 4-Elliott, 14-Greenwood, 9-Brayson, 11-Woolford, 16-Brodie
Subs not used: 13-Pentney (GK), 12-Beardsley
Goal: 9-Brayson 92

Referee: Graham Horwood (Bedfordshire)
Attendance: 1,302