Five Things We Learned from York City's 2-1 home win against Barrow

When a naive and disorganised York City were dismantled 6-1 at Guiseley in October, more than half of the starting line-up had never played National League football prior to the start of the season. Of the others, Scott Fenwick had only managed three substitute outings for Tranmere and Ben Clappison a couple of appearances at Halifax.

That left Simon Heslop, Clovis Kamdjo and Matt Fry as the only seasoned Conference campaigners. Fast-forward three-and-a-half months and, against Barrow, Gary Mills’ first XI was packed with seven players - Dan Parslow, Sean Newton, Heslop, Hamza Bencherif, Yan Klukowski, Amari-Morgan-Smith and Jon Parkin – who have all played more than a century of games at their current level.

Such know-how, right through the spine of the team, is proving invaluable and will be drawn upon once more for this weekend’s trip to Aldershot where all of them, aside from Klukowski and Morgan-Smith, have played before.

2 Gary Mills is more willing to go direct than in his last managerial spell at Bootham Crescent

The Minstermen won twice at Wembley and secured promotion back to the Football League in 2012, without deviating from Mills’ favoured 4-3-3 formation or ever compromising their attractive brand of football, which prioritised ball retention. Nobody is suggesting that Mills has turned his back on such principles but, before taking on the physical contest always guaranteed in any meeting with Barrow, he did stress that this team plays a little differently to his previous City side.

Winning ugly, he stated, is perfectly acceptable when the need for points is so acute and it would be counter-productive not to capitalise on Parkin’s aerial prowess, as well as his reliable feet, where possible. Route one might not have been the favoured approach of Mills’ mentor Brian Clough, but it certainly proved fruitful when Kyle Letheren’s long punt forward was helped on by Parkin’s head and Morgan-Smith stole in to open the scoring on 21 minutes.

Three touches to get the ball from one goal into the other is even one fewer than controversial FA coach Charles Hughes once recommended but, considering the club’s current predicament, Mills is rightly exploring all methods of securing points from the group of players he has at his disposal.

3 The Minstermen have become a disciplined outfit

Only five fouls were committed by the hosts in a game where they more than matched Barrow’s brawn. That figure demonstrates admirable self-control and also highlights how positionally aware the team have become – very few players are now finding themselves in areas where they are forced to concede a free kick and risk further punishment.

Following his appointment, Mills promised to address the club’s position at the bottom of the National League fair play table and, true to his word, he has overseen an improvement of four positions. The departure of yellow-card magnet Richard Brodie has obviously helped in that respect and was, given Mills’ disciplinary standards, among the reasons why he decided to part company with the seven-goal leading marksman.

4 Amari Morgan-Smith’s goals have been the reward for his bravery and desire

The on-loan Cheltenham striker has scored in both of his first two appearances for the Minstermen and the efforts have been virtual carbon copies, in terms of him twice beating an opposition goalkeeper to 50-50 chases for the ball. On Saturday, other strikers might have made a token effort to latch on to Parkin’s headed flick on, while some may have even watched the ball bounce back to the keeper.

But Morgan-Smith’s fearless gamble, allied with a favourable bounce in the same penalty box that would go on to deceive City keeper Letheren, saw him come out on top again. That attitude highlights the former Luton forward’s personal hunger to get on the scoresheet, but also a willingness to risk his own body for the team, as evidenced by incidents in other areas of the pitch against Barrow.

Charging on to a Danny Holmes ball down the line later, Morgan-Smith nicked the ball past Moussa Diarra before being clumsily hacked to the floor by the committed Barrow defender, who was cautioned for that misdemeanour and might have received his marching orders when he felled the City marksman for a second time.

5 Dan Parslow has lost none of his versatility

Having spent prolonged periods playing in three different positions – centre half, right back and midfield anchorman – during his last nine-year stint with the Minstermen, Parslow continues to be an ultra-reliable utility man. Shifting from the right to left-hand side of a back three is not the easiest transition to make but, typically, the former Wales under-21 international never looked troubled.

His expert reading of the game meant he cleared as many balls with his head, as his weaker left foot, which still proved dependable when needed. The failure of Barrow’s right-sided pair Shaun Beeley and Liam Hughes to create anything also spoke volumes of his ability to lock down that flank.