Andrew Bennett reports:

Sometimes life is very hard to understand. Why do Kraftwerk want to take over Cadbury's? How does Piers Morgan keep getting work? Does anyone have the faintest idea what is going at Fratton Park, Portsmouth? But one thing in life is certain: saying goodbye is the hardest thing to do. And this month we have said goodbye to four of the most popular players of recent years at the Abbey.

"The song is ended, but the melody lingers on."

First to go was Anthony Tonkin, a left-back of elegance, pace and flair who departed for Oxford United to further his ambitions of a return to the Football League. Although I can't help thinking that joining a Football League club might have been more helpful in that respect. Good luck anyway, "Tomkins," you're a class act.

"Remember me and smile, for it's better to forget than remember me and cry."

Courtney Pitt has left on a season-long loan to York, with the knowledge that his United contract is up at the end of the season and Martin Ling's words "…isn't in my plans for the future" ringing in his ears. A lovable figure with his short little legs and voluminous shorts, Courtney was one of the most frustrating players ever to wear the black and amber but on his (infrequent) day was one of the most skilful and exciting players we have ever seen at the Abbey.

"Where's the good in goodbye?"

Chris Holroyd will sign for Brighton on Monday and has already left for the Withdean Stadium. Gary Brabin battled long and hard to get him, and this season we have seen exactly why, his sheer speed, skill, industry and proficiency in front of goal marking him out as someone with great things ahead of him. Farewell, florid-cheeked Mercury.

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened."

Today Wayne Hatswell played his last game for United before embarking on a new phase in his career at Dundalk. An imperious, tough-as-teak defender, what made him truly special was his long-range shooting and free-kicks; who could ever forget his forty-yarder against Forest Green or his lob-volley at Histon? We may never see his like again.

Every club has its legends, of course. It is an indication of the pace of change of modern football that most of our recently departed favourites had been with the club for less than two years. Before the match today a minute's silence was held for a giant of the old school, Phil 'Mr Woking' Ledger, life president and former goalkeeper, fixture secretary, director and chairman of the Cards as well as a director of the Football Conference, and by all accounts a thorough gentleman. Every club should have one, but too few clubs do these days.

United were to face a York City side which was looking to extend a newly-created club record of eight consecutive league win, during a run which had also seen them knock Crewe and the U's out of the FA Cup before succumbing 3-1 to Stoke at the Britannia Stadium. Their midfielder Neil Barrett has been a friend of Courtney Pitt's since they were together as youngsters at both Chelsea and Portsmouth.

Martin Ling retained the 4-3-3 system which had worked to an extent against Eastbourne on Tuesday, replacing the Brighton-bound Holroyd with Lee Phillips after his midweek freshener at Bury, while Aiden Palmer replaced Darryl Coakley at left-back. The subs' bench looked thin, with a goalkeeper, a left-back and a centre-back not offering much in the way of inspiration should United need to chase the game later on.

The U's, however, started breezily and positively and dominated the early possession. On 5 a foul on Crow by Chris Carruthers presented Hatswell with an early farewell free-kick chance from the right-hand corner of the penalty area, but he could not beat the wall with his blaster.

While they were on top, United were unable to trouble keeper Michael Ingham, with too many inaccurate final balls or players who seemed happier to lay the ball off or play another pass than shoot for goal. The lively Robbie Willmott raced away from marker Danny Purslow on 11 but failed to make a decision once he reached the box and was eventually crowded out, something of which he has been guilty too many times this season.

York finally raised themselves a minute later and Ben Purkiss' cross found Michael Rankine at the far post, but he could only head over on the stretch. Then Palmer ventured down the left and crossed for Sam Ives to nod wide. Next up the visitors' top scorer Richard Brodie blazed wildly over before Willmott latched onto a Jai Reason free-kick on 16 but a deflection slowed his shot sufficiently for Ingham to gather comfortably.

Brodie was soon up to his old tricks, tumbling to the ground like a supermodel in a gale under pressure from Hatswell, but ref Drysdale remained unimpressed. Barrett poked a shot wide on 21, then Brodie fired just off target two minutes later as the visitors began to find their feet.

United responded on 25 when a miscue by David McGurk allowed Willmott to burst clear down the middle, but he delayed his shot by a split second and his low driven effort took a slight deflection from the chasing Parslow, and Ingham dived to tip around the post.

Willmott blasted over just before the half hour and the hosts remained in the ascendant while struggling to hurt the Minstermen where it really counted. On 35 Reason lofted a free-kick into the box from which Hatswell rose to power a header just the wrong side of the post, but he was penalised for a push, then Crow saw a shot blocked by James Meredith, and on 39 Paul Carden rampaged forward and for once heeded the crowd's entreaties to shoot with a tremendous strike from 25 yards which curled agonisingly inches past the far post, the ref waving aside United claims that Ingham had got a touch on the way past.

Still United pressed, Rory McAuley hammering a shot into Ingham's midriff then providing a cross for Phillips to head over the top, but the breakthrough just would not come. The last significant incident of the half was popular with the amber army, however, with Brodie picking up a booking for a reckless lunge on Willmott then brainlessly continuing to argue the toss with the ref after being carded. Mr Drysdale had a further stern word with the rosy-cheeked Geordie, who for all his undoubted talent looks like he would be more at home plucking a banjo on a verandah in the Deep South.

It had been a simultaneously encouraging and salutory half for the U's, whose impressive possession and build-up play had been wasted by a lack of cutting edge where it really counted, in the final third. Crow and Phillips were at least showing signs of a growing understanding up front, looking a potentially decent combination despite being broadly similar types of player.

As we all know, however, it is important to score when you are on top. And that lesson was rammed home with the force of a catapulted elephant when York took the lead within three minutes of the restart.

Carruthers crossed to Rankine in the middle, his control wasn't great but Brian Saah could not nick it away, and he laid it back to Barrett, unmarked in the D, who thrashed an impressive shot past the despairing Danny Potter and into the far corner of the net. 1-0.

United tried gamely to respond but seemed determined to play everything through the congested middle, lacking natural width unless the fullbacks got forward. Ives almost slalomed through on 52 but was robbed before he could pull the trigger, and inspiration began to look harder and harder to come by.

Reason tried an ambitious long-range lob on the hour which drifted wide, while Rankine fired Parslow's free-kick over three minutes later. Carden typified his team's shot-shy approach with an excellent run straight at the heart of the York defence, but spurned any chance of shooting, instead looking to beat one more man or lay it off, and he was inevitably dispossessed.

The delivery of free-kicks was variable too, several finding an unchallenged keeper and one on 65 from Reason woefully underhit to the edge of the box to present the visitors with a simple clearance. Two minutes later Ling unsurprisingly made his first change, withdrawing Ives in favour of Andy Parkinson and reverting to 4-4-2 with Willmott wide left.

It was an even contest now, and on 72 Carruthers crossed for Rankine to force a fine save from Potter with a header, then back came United with a McAuley cross to Phillips, but Ingham saved without difficulty. On the visitors' next attack Brodie dived shamelessly in the area and was very lucky to avoid a second yellow card from the tolerant ref.

Hatswell, still striving manfully to go out with a bang, drove an optimistic thirty-yarder wide, then the visitors recognised that Brodie was sooner or later going to push his luck too far and replaced him with ex-Histon striker Richard Pacquette. Tempers were rising, though, and on 75 a foul by Levi Mackin on Reason provoked an unseemly kerfuffle on halfway with pushing and shoving on both sides. There had been nothing terribly violent, though, and the man in black sensibly refrained from showing any cards after consultation with his linesman.

United reacted positively and pushed for an equaliser. Within a minute Phillips had headed a McAuley cross wide, and three minutes later Hatswell, staying forward as much as possible, nodded Reason's cross into the six-yard box and somehow Phillips placed his header just the wrong side of the post from five yards out. Should have done better.

That was Phillips' last contribution as he was replaced by Adam Marriott after a decent, rust-shaking comeback. As the remaining subs were Coulson, Coakley and Walker, that was really all United had left to change the game. The hosts continued to take the game to their visitors, though, Reason lifting a shot over from the D on 85, then came a series of corners, the second of which was flicked on by Hatswell to Reason, who still could not keep his shot down.

York replaced Purkiss with Djoumin Sangare and Carruthers with Andy Ferrell, for no reason other than to waste time, but United simply could not break through. In the four added minutes McAuley found himself in space but scuffed a hurried left-footed shot wide with more time available, then when they won one last corner, Potter signalled to the bench that he would like to get forward but permission was delayed and he had only reached just past the centre circle when it was taken, the ultimate outcome an offside flag against Marriott. It was all over.

The amber army remained behind to applaud their team's endeavour and, particularly, to give an ovation to Hatswell, who hugged every player from both sides and anyone else who was in his path, applauding every side of the ground in turn. As Shakespeare said, "Forever, and forever, farewell, Cassius! If we do meet again, why, we shall smile; if not, why then this parting was well made."

It would have been better made, however, if United had not lost their fifth consecutive league match. The match stats were impressive: 58% of possession to the U's, shots on target 6-2, shots off target 10-2, corners four to York's none. But only one stat really counted, and that was the scoreline.

Three wins in seventeen league matches is, let's face it, dismal, and that record must improve, quickly. There are foundations in place, but there is still a lot of rebuilding work to be done, and no doubt Martin Ling is hard at work with his trowel and hod as we speak. There are at least ten days before the next league match, and they must not be wasted.

Finally, there was a reminder that a goodbye in one place is just a hello somewhere else, with the news that our old friend Herve Renard has sprung a surprise in leading outsiders Zambia to the top of their group in the African Nations Cup and a quarter-final with Nigeria. Allez Chipolopolo!

Statto Corner: Goodbye Special

Wayne Mervin Hatswell signed for United from Rushden in January 2008 and made his debut on the 19th of that month in a 2-1 defeat at Grays as one of three centre-backs, alongside Michael Morrison and Mark Albrighton. In all he played 101 games for the U's, of which 86 were in the league, 5 in the FA Cup, 4 in the FA Trophy and 6 in the Conference playoffs.

His first goal was a spectacular 40-yard free-kick in a 2-0 home win over Forest Green on 23rd February 2008, and he went on to score a total of nine league goals and one in the FA Cup. He also scored two own goals, both of them this season against Kettering and Luton, and he was sent off once, in last Boxing Day's home defeat by Stevenage. Prior to coming to the Abbey he faced the U's four times for Rushden, twice for Kidderminster (scoring once) and once for Oxford United.

Courtney Leon Pitt made his United debut on 10th September 2005 after signing from Boston United, in a 4-0 defeat at Exeter. He started 150 games for the U's (135 in the league) with a further 29 appearance as substitute, and scored 16 goals; his most prolific season was his first, notching five times.

His first goal came two weeks after his debut, the opener in a 4-0 home win over Altrincham, and he sported three different squad numbers in his time at the Abbey: 29, 11 and 26. He has played against United twice, once each for Boston and Oxford. And he took only one penalty for the U's, missing the target in the team's 2-0 win at Droylsden on 5th April 2008.

Christopher Holroyd scored on his United debut, coming on as a sub for Lee McEvilly and getting the team's last goal in a 3-0 win at Eastbourne on 23rd August 2008. His last U's appearance was against the same team on Tuesday. He scored a total of 28 times in 59 games plus 16 as sub, the relevant league stats being 25 goals in 50 (+12).

He scored one hat-trick, at Chester last August, and netted a double in a game seven times. He converted seven penalties and missed just one, at Luton in November, after which Danny Crow took over spot-kick duties. His strike partners in his time at the Abbey were McEvilly, Crow, Scott Rendell, Mark Beesley and Lee Phillips.

Anthony Richard Tonkin made his United debut on the first day of last season, 9th August 2008, in a 1-0 win at Northwich. He went on to start 61 league matches, with just one sub appearance, plus 8 cup matches (and another sub) plus three playoff games. He scored just once, a twenty-yard cracker in United's 2-1 home FA Cup defeat by York last November. He appeared twice against the U's for Forest Green.

Player Ratings

Potter 6. Not a lot he could do about the goal, otherwise had little to do.
McAuley 7. Another bright display, with plenty of support given to the team going forward.
Palmer 7. Very capable effort, fairly restrained on the overlap until late on.
Saah 7. Back to his usual comfortingly strong self.
Hatswell 8. A fine final bow.
Reason 7. Plenty of industry, just could not find a real killer ball.
Ives 7. Good, busy effort, unfortunate to be subbed off as usual.
Carden 7. Drove the team on in his usual fairly quiet way, one blockbuster of a shot.
Willmott 6. Another game of two halves for Robbie, a buzzing menace in part one, fairly anonymous in part two.
Crow 7. Willing runner as usual.
Phillips 7. Decent comeback, putting himself about effectively and so close to scoring with his last touch.
Parkinson 6. Did his best, albeit to little effect.
Marriott 6. A few decent touches in his ten-minute cameo.

Match Summary

United had much the better of the possession but lacked the invention to breach York's defence and paid the price when the visitors converted their one good chance of the match. It was a harsh lesson that they must learn from quickly if this season is not to turn into a complete dud.

Man of the Match

Wayne Hatswell. An inspirational figure for the last two years, Hats did his level best to save the match in his last appearance in black'n'amber. He will be greatly missed, and never forgotten.

Ref Watch

Drysdale 8. The best sort of ref, one who is rarely noticed at all but just ensures that the match flows. Should perhaps have shown Brodie a second yellow for his pathetic dive, otherwise did not put a foot wrong.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

"The best thing I thought was all the sausage rolls at half-time. But I did not like all the fouling. Most of the fouling was done by the Burnley players." (Jason Martin)

Soundtrack of the Day

Charlotte Gainsbourg "Heaven Can Wait"