WORCESTER City have been involved in some strange scenarios down the years but having to use a centre-half in goal for 88 minutes against Harrogate Town will take some beating.

What started as a run-of-the-mill Vanarama Conference North match at Aggborough turned into anything but as Wayne Thomas wrote himself into City folklore.

While Nick Wright and on-loan Walsall prospect Jordan Murphy grabbed the goals, Thomas took centre stage as an emergency keeper.

Barely two minutes had elapsed when Jose Veiga was caught by some stray studs and couldn’t continue.

The ball hadn’t even left Worcester’s half of the pitch.

With City having chosen to leave Nathan Vaughan out of the squad to protect a groin strain ahead of Sunday’s FA Cup clash against Greenwich Borough, the hosts didn’t know where to turn.

Not having a keeper on the bench is always a gamble and on this occasion it was a case of rotten luck.

But it led to one of the most bizarre scenes you’re ever likely to witness at a football match — the manager calling his players into a huddle and asking them who fancied going in goal.

How Carl Heeley could have done with one of the 10 City had registered throughout last season.

Not surprisingly, there weren’t many volunteers but Thomas, who was among the substitutes, put his hand up and came to the rescue.

Never one to shirk a challenge, the Football League veteran got kitted up and, following a five-minute delay, was the centre of attention.

Every time he touched the ball, the crowd cheered his name. Each punch from a corner was greeted with the chorus of “Tommo, Tommo”.

He even went sprawling to his right when James Walshaw’s drive was deflected wide in the first period.

But that was about as testing as it got for Thomas.

Protected by a resolute defence, who restricted a physical Harrogate side to long-range efforts, the stand-in keeper had little else to do.

The visitors, fortunate to keep 11 players on the pitch following a bad Walshaw challenge on Jacob Rowe, only had one other shot of note with Rowe clearing off the line from Ryan Kendall.

Harrogate’s lack of quality was echoed by Worcester in a dismal first-half that struggled to get going.

But the second-half was a dramatic improvement with City again displaying the sort of passing football that has won them many admirers this season, epitomised by captain Ellis Deeney.

George Williams produced a delightful defence-splitting pass to open Town up and Wright latched on to the ball before firing it beyond Phil Barnes in the 58th minute.

Six minutes later, Murphy turned Matt Heath down the right, cut inside onto his left foot and drilled the ball past Barnes from an acute angle.

That sealed the points on an eventful afternoon.