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The game kicked off with York having a bright spell of possesion in the first five minutes.
Citys first corner gave an insight of what was to come for the away side. Mayos corner was cleared to Peter Gain, the midfielder fired the ball home only to discover an offside flag.
Ben Sedgemore nearly opened Citys account with a good drive, but it went wide of Ovendales post. Sedgemore appeared to be driving in the furrow previously ploughed by Richard Butcher, and City looked lively pushing forward.
York produced their first breakthrough via Turkish Under 19 international Levent Yalcin. Yalcin broke free and squared up one on one to Alan Marriott, but the finish was wide of the goal.
The first half fizzled out to a drab affair, with both sides failing to get to grips with the heavy pitch. The dour contest sparked into life just before the break when Marcus Richardson appeared to be felled in the area. Paul Robinson had no hesitation in pointing to the spot to the despair of the York players. TV replays may prove more enlightening, but Chris Brass' challenge certainly appeared innocuos.
Paul Mayo stepped up to convert the spot kick, Mark Ovendale rooted to the spot as the Lincoln born wing back put the Imps ahead. 1-0.
Half time saw City go in on top, and resume the second half a quarter of an hour later the same way. It seemed City weren't content with sitting back on a lead like in previous weeks, and Francis Green made the early runnings to improve on the sole goal lead. He broke free from Marcus Richardsons clever ball, and fired high and wide when he should have netted.
The speedy forward made amends minutes later. Richardson again created space to find Green. He strode into the area after beating a defender and slotted the ball past the York keeper and into the net.
City looked rampant at this stage, Peter Gain producing another save from Ovendale as City moved in for the kill.
The third came just minutes later. Gary Fletcher persistently pressed the York defence and found space for a shot. His saved effort fell into the path of Peter Gain who made no mistake for his second in a week. 3-0, and City looked every bit the team on top.
City took the good lead as an oppotunity to rest a few legs for Saturdays crunch game with Huddersfield. Fletcher and Richardson made way for Dene Cropper and Simon Yeo. Those substitutions were eclipsed by a bizarre set of changes for York. Promising attacker Yalcin was replaced by Richard Cooper (a midfielder) and the probing Walker replaced by ex premiership star Mitch Ward.
Yeo proved to be a wise choice by Alexander when he netted Citys fourth of the game. A good ball from Paul Mayo sneaked across the face of goal. Two defenders picked up the measured run of Francis Green, but non spotted Simon Yeo with the goal gaping just four yards out. Yeo made no mistake steering the ball past Ovendale to send Citys 533 visiting fans onto cloud nine.
City pushed their opponents for more, with Yeo and Cropper having efforts saved by Mark Ovendale. Croppers header was relatively simple for the keeper. In the 83rd minute York hit back. There first shot on target was parried by Alan Marriott, and Bullock stroked home from close range. A large portion of the home crowd missed the goal having departed after the fourth.
The final seven minutes brought little from either side. City seemed content at job done, and had spells holding the ball in the corner playing out time. An infuriated York felled both Gain and Cropper, but neither side really looked like altering the scoreline.
Four minutes of injury time brought much of the same, and Paul Robinsons whistle was long overdue when it finally sounded.
The win lifts the Imps to 7th in the table just 2 points behind Saturdays opponents Huddersfield.