York City 0, Shrewsbury Town 1

A 1-0 reverse to Shrewsbury - previously win-less on the road themselves in 14 league matches - means the Minstermen have failed to beat the last nine visiting sides to Bootham Crescent since Michael Coulson's free kick against Newport secured a single-goal success and a Sky Bet League Two play-off spot at the end of April.

Six months on, a late strike by James Collins, following Ryan Jarvis' careless 63rd-minute red card, plunged City into the same division's relegation zone.

The sorry run of results in front of the club's own fans, which has reaped just two goals from open play, now stands at just one less than that endured as Chris Brass' 2003/04 team tumbled out of the Football League.

Tom Johnston also went ten games without a Bootham Crescent triumph, spanning the 1971/72 and 72/73 old third division campaigns, while the club record of 14 is shared by 1981/82 chiefs Barry Lyons and Kevin Randall.

Surprisingly, their teams included the likes of Keith Walwyn, John Byrne, Gary Ford and Derek Hood.

Ex-Scunthorpe chief Wilcox, who spent long periods shaking his head on Saturday, must now quickly identify the players - from within or outside the existing ranks - to precipitate an improvement.

That process will not include a suspended Jarvis in the near future although, in truth, he has not provided a convincing answer to City's season-long lack of penetration down the flanks in recent matches.

Ironically, though, he was dismissed for a badly-timed, dangerous challenge on Shrews defender Nathaniel Knight-Percival just seconds after being handed an opportunity in his preferred central attacking role, following Diego de Girolamo's withdrawal.

City coped slightly better with ten men than they had seven days earlier after skipper Russell Penn's sending off at Newport, but still succumbed to Collins' 86th-minute goal.

As in Wales, Penn was missed against Shrewsbury with Tom Platt a peripheral figure alongside Lewis Montrose.

With the opposition again employing a 3-5-2 formation, City were once more outmanned in those central areas and that system might be worth consideration in coming weeks given Marvin McCoy's status as the club's leading provider of assists this season and the forward thrust provided by fellow full-back Femi Ilesanmi at the weekend.

Such a switch might need to wait until the end of Dan Parslow's loan spell at Grimsby.

The team's wing play must certainly improve to justify a perseverance with 4-4-2, although a move to the right flank for Coulson, where he is less inclined to drift inside, could spark an improvement, as might a chance for Anthony Straker to rediscover his early-season promise.

After Wilcox was applauded on to the pitch at the weekend, City started positively but tame efforts from De Girolamo and John McCombe failed to trouble the visitors' goal and momentum was soon lost.

On seven minutes, sloppy defending by McCombe and Keith Lowe led to a ricochet off McCoy that saw the ball fall to Andy Mangan in the home penalty box but Michael Ingham was quick off his line to smother the former Forest Green striker's shot.

Mangan called Ingham into action again at his near post moments later and had the ball in the home net on 19 minutes but was flagged offside after following up a Bobby Grant drive that the City shot-stopper could only parry.

In between, Ingham had also beaten out a 30-yard Collins strike and he saved a tamer attempt from the same player closer in after he could only palm another Grant shot into the path of the ex-Swindon striker.

At the other end, Jayson Leutwiler was belatedly called into action by a hopeful 30-yard Ryan Brunt effort, but needed to react smarter to keep out Montrose's edge-of-the-box strike.

Coulson's curling free kick also required a decent save from the Swiss net-minder after the break but Jarvis was given his marching orders for catching Knight-Percival ten yards into the visitors' half.

Ex-Histon centre-back Knight-Percival recovered quickly to test Ingham with a powerful header that the City keeper did brilliantly to keep out.

Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro also headed over from a Mickey Demetriou cross and, after persistent play by substitute Lindon Meikle offered some respite and teed up a chance that was sidefooted across the face of goal by Brunt, Collins tried his luck from long range with a shot that was spilled by Ingham, who then stared at an offending divot on the pitch as McCoy cleared the danger.

Moments later, Coulson was cautioned after conceding a free kick and, when Demetriou's right-wing delivery was only cleared by Lowe as far as substitute Jordan Clark on the edge of the box, his shot was diverted past Ingham four yards from goal by the predatory Collins.

Coulson almost made amends with a 20-yard drive that Leutwiler saved low to his right and, in stoppage time, the ball bounced agonisingly wide off Brunt following McCoy's raid to the byline.

Match facts

York City 0, Shrewsbury Town 1 (Collins 86)

York City

Ingham 7 – STAR MAN erratic at times but made two excellent saves to keep his side in the game

McCoy 6 – looked a little nervous in possession but defensively reliable

Lowe 6 – needed to get more purchase on his clearance for Collins’ goal

McCombe 6 – a little slow to react on occasions but stuck to his task

Ilesanmi 7 – made some positive runs down the left flank and delivered a couple of dangerous crosses

Jarvis 4 – failed to make any inroads on the wing and sent off within seconds of switching up front

Montrose 7 – started very brightly and eager but less prominent as game wore on

Platt 5 – game passed him by somewhat and found it difficult to get involved

Coulson 7 – gave Leutwiler his only real tests with edge-of-the-box attempts

Brunt 6 – forced to plough a lonely furrow for second successive weekend after Jarvis red card

De Girolamo 5 – saw very little of the ball before being replaced early in second half

Subs: Lindon Meikle 6 – keen (for De Girolamo, 62).

Subs not used: Jason Mooney, Luke Summerfield, Ben Hirst, Anthony Straker, Cameron Murray, Jake Hyde.

Shrewsbury: Jayson Leutwiler, Jack Grimmer, Connor Goldson, Jermaine Grandison, Nathaniel Knight-Percival, Mickey Demetriou, Anthony Griffith (Scott Vernon, 79), Ryan Woods, Bobby Grant (Jordan Clark, 61), James Collins, Andy Mangan (Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro, 26). Subs not used: Mark Ellis, Ashley Vincent, James Caton, Mark Halstead.

Shrewsbury star man: Grandison – prove a strong adversary for City strikers

Booked: Grant 20, Coulson 86

Sent off: Jarvis 63

Attendance: 3,651 (671 from Shrewsbury)

Referee: Michael Bull (Chelmsford) rating: 7/10 – few complaints about red card and good generally

Shots on target: City 6, Shrewsbury 12

Shots off target: City 5, Shrewsbury 5

Corners: City 3, Shrewsbury 2

Fouls conceded: City 12, Shrewsbury 14

Offsides: City 1, Shrewsbury 1