1 Sean Newton can compensate for the loss of Simon Lappin’s set-piece deliveries

When ex-Premier League midfielder Lappin was ruled out for the rest of the season, there were concerns expressed about how detrimental his absence would prove in terms of the side’s threat from dead-ball situations. Two inswinging Newton free kicks in the first half, however, were as good as any taken this term and should have resulted in goals.

From identical positions on the right wing, he curled in balls with unerring accuracy that, first, Dan Parslow and, then, both Hamza Bencherif and Vadaine Oliver were unable to convert at the far post. In January, at Dover, Newton also displayed radar-like ability to loft in a free kick that led to Shaun Rooney’s point-saving equaliser.

His reliability to put balls into dangerous areas of the penalty box must now be exploited as often as possible during the crucial run-in.

York Press: 2 Aidan Connolly is the most suitable candidate to link midfield and attack if City line up 3-5-2

Gary Mills opted to dispense with his three-pronged strikeforce just ten minutes into the second half as Brackley started to dominate. But City’s midfield three of Simon Heslop, Asa Hall and sub Danny Holmes played in almost a horizontal line and spent far too much time stationed together just outside the home penalty box, where the latter found himself when he committed the two fouls that would lead to his 86th-minute dismissal.

The switch also saw Parkin dropping back regularly into a deeper role to bridge the widening gap to his midfield team-mates which, in turn, meant Amari Morgan-Smith cut an isolated figure in attack. Territorially, the Minstermen were almost permanently in retreat mode and needed more of an outlet than the tiring 35-year-old veteran who, given the quality of his first-half header, is best positioned as close to the opposition goal as possible.

Connolly, who was left on the bench, seems the most obvious candidate to get City playing further up the pitch if three central midfielders are to be employed moving forward. He remains the team’s leading provider of assists on six despite only making one appearance in the last three months and, given the need for victories, his match-winning potential should be given genuine consideration during the remaining nine weeks of the league campaign.

York Press: NO PANIC: York City goalkeeper Kyle Letheren is taking no notice of the National League standings after ten fixtures of the new season. He has argued that it is where the club are positioned in March or April that will determine City’s destiny3 Kyle Letheren came back fighting

Following costly mistakes in his last two outings, the former Dundee keeper deserved his first clean sheet in four games after a pair of fine reflex saves that have generally typified his performances as City’s first choice between the sticks. His kicking distance was good too in testing conditions and the Minstermen will need their net-minder to maintain that same level of focus for the rest of the campaign.

York Press: 4 A pattern of flying starts and second-half slumps needs to be arrested

Of City’s last eight goals, only one – Newton’s stoppage-time winner against Barrow – has been scored after the break. For four consecutive matches now, the Minstermen have dominated the opening 45 minutes before the opposition have seized the initiative after the interval.

It’s a peculiar phenomenon that is in danger of becoming a worrying trend. The most feasible way of countering it, as Mills has often championed, is instilling a bravery in the team to carry on wanting and keeping the football because if the opposition haven’t got possession they can’t hurt you.

That was the premise for the team’s improvement in performance from the trip to Tranmere in early December onwards, but it seems to have been lost a little ever since the half-time interval against Maidstone. The second period against Brackley was possibly as one-sided a half you could witness without a visiting side scoring a goal with 13 goal attempts to none, the frame of the goal struck three times and Letheren forced into two excellent saves.

Mills was honest enough to admit that the final outcome probably wasn’t a fair reflection of the overall game, having previously reasoned that draws against Maidstone and Boreham Wood, along with the defeat to Gateshead, were the correct results so, while there was nothing wrong with his post-match wish to become a lucky manager between now and the end of the season, he also knows you cannot rely on the fickle finger of fortune to deliver survival in a relegation dogfight to nowhere near the same degree as on Saturday.

York Press: York City player Lanre Oyebanjo, chairman Jason McGill, manager Gary Mills and player Matty Blair with the FA Trophy in York5 Cut-price admission was good for fan relations if not club finances

A crowd of just under 2,000 was pleasing with history suggesting that a gate of around 1,300 could have been expected if normal match-day prices had applied at this stage of the Trophy, given the club’s current struggles. With entrance fees slashed by more than half, the club will have still made a loss on projected receipts, as chairman Jason McGill has pointed out is often the case with such ventures, but that will have been offset by the £8,000 cheque for reaching the semi-finals and the general good will generated by the gesture.