YORK City manager Nigel Worthington insisted his team still believe they will avoid relegation from the Football League despite their stoppage-time heartbreak against Accrington Stanley.

The Minstermen led through Adam Reed’s goal on the stroke of half-time until Peter Murphy grabbed a 93rd-minute equaliser for Stanley in Saturday’s relegation clash at Bootham Crescent.

Murphy’s scrambled effort meant that City stayed second bottom in League Two instead of climbing three places above the relegation zone ahead of this weekend’s trip to promotion-chasing Northampton.

But Worthington remained optimistic about his side’s survival chances, saying: “We are still in the fight and that’s the biggest thing.

“We have had three big games in seven days and everybody has been able to see the effort, commitment and, at times, quality from the team in those matches. The energy expended has been phenomenal and you could certainly see a few running on empty on Saturday.

“But we have three games left to play and have to deal with Northampton away next because there is plenty to play for – there really is. We’ve got the sprit and belief that we can do it and, while there are still points available, we will fight right until the final weekend.

“It was disappointing to concede so late on and, from looking like a very good win, it then almost feels like a defeat, but it’s an important point gained. There will be a few more twists and turns over the next three weekends and we know what we have to do.”

City dominated the opening period against Stanley and should have led by a bigger margin at the break but the recurrence of David McGurk’s calf injury caused a half-time reshuffle that changed the outlook of the match, culminating in Murphy’s scruffy equaliser.

“Their goalkeeper made a few big saves in the first half and we didn’t take some chances but in the second half losing David McGurk upset us a little bit because we had to change things around and you can’t expect one-way traffic for a whole game either,” Worthington reasoned.

“But, having dealt with 99 per cent of the balls that were thrown into our box, during the five minutes of extra time and I don’t know where that came from, they got a goal from a corner.”

City will now closely monitor McGurk in the hope that he will be able to play a part in the final three matches of the season, with Worthington explaining: “He tweaked his calf just before half-time so we decided to bring him off straight away to avoid any more damage and we will be assessing it today.”

On-loan Sunderland midfielder Reed’s goal was his first in senior football following previous spells with Brentford, Bradford, Leyton Orient and Portsmouth, and Worthington added that it was a reward for the endeavour he has shown in his three outings for City, adding: “We are looking for anybody to score but it was nice for young Reedy. His energy is excellent and he was still going strong at the end.”

The City boss is now hoping that the parent clubs of Reed’s fellow on-loan signings Josh Carson and Richard Cresswell will agree to extend their stays until the end of the season.

Ipswich are within their rights to call Carson back to Portman Road this week, while Sheffield United will have that option on Cresswell following Saturday’s Northampton match.

On both matters, Worthington said: “After the Northampton game, we have got to look at Richard’s situation and see if keeping him is a possibility. He’s enjoying himself and is doing a fantastic job.

“We’re also hoping to get the paperwork through from Ipswich to keep Josh Carson until the end of the season. They won again at the weekend and are almost safe now so that should not be a problem.”

McGurk’s half-time withdrawal saw Dan Parslow drop to centre-back with teenager Tom Platt filling the vacated midfield anchorman role.

On his response, Worthington added: “Tom sat in front of the two centre-halves and did a steady job. It was a bit foreign to him but he did as much as he could.”