Five Things We Learned from York City's 1-0 defeat at Dagenham

Aside from one scuffed clearance on a horrendous playing surface, City’s new loan addition between the sticks was almost flawless. The former England under-21 international showed immaculate first-half judgement to claim two difficult crosses and then punched away another, but only when he was confident the ball would not fall in an area that could cause problems for his team.

Loach went on to make an excellent reflex save to deny Elliott Romain after the break and no blame could be apportioned in the former Watford net-minder’s direction when he was eventually beaten by Frankie Raymond’s perfectly-curled, 15-yard effort on 82 minutes. His performance might not have been rewarded with a points return but did vindicate Gary Mills’ decision to enter the transfer market rather than pitch in the relatively unproven Luke Simpson, whose lesser pedigree might have rendered him a risk at a stage of the season when every contest carries such high stakes.

The more difficult dilemma will come when Mills has to choose between Loach and Kyle Letheren when the latter has recovered from his minor back problem. Letheren is the clear leader in The Press Player of the Year contest after a string of man-of-the-match displays throughout the season, but the Bootham Crescent chief will be thinking of the present and future, rather than the past, when he chooses who dons the gloves during the crucial run-in to the season’s end.

2 Sam Muggleton might need to be hailed from the bench sooner in future

On a narrow pitch, it was clear that Muggleton’s not-so-secret weapon could be used to good effect at Victoria Road. The rutted turf also meant an aerial attack on the opposition’s penalty box might have proven more profitable than trying to make inroads on the deck.

With the game still evenly poised, the 78th-minute mark seemed an appropriate time for Muggleton’s touchline talent to be introduced. But the fact that the former Barnet left-back would only get the opportunity to launch one of his missiles during the remainder of the game – leading to a decent save by Elliot Justham from Asa Hall – will have given Mills food for thought when he is next contemplating what stage of a match to send him on.

Dagenham were clearly alert to Muggleton’s threat and deserve credit for limiting the number of balls they kicked out of play within the 21-year-old’s remarkable reach. Equally, City will perhaps now be working on methods of forcing the opposition into conceding throws in those areas.

3 The versatile Sean Newton might be best utilised in midfield once Yan Klukowski is fit

There is very little variance in Newton’s playing standards wherever he plays on the pitch and Mills is sensibly using him in a problem-solving manner to address departments of the team that need strengthening on a game-by-game basis. Therefore, with Alex Whittle fit again and Shaun Rooney characteristically following up an excellent performance with an unreliable display against Southport, the former England C international was moved from wing-back to the left-side of a three-man defence.

While that resulted in a more solid back line than the one that shipped three goals in one half against bottom-of-the-table Southport, Newton’s ability to break forward from midfield was missed, however, as Adriano Moke and Hall struggled to provide incision from the middle of the park and wing-backs Simon Heslop and Whittle were forced too far back to penetrate down the flanks for long periods. Newton still arguably managed to conjure up the best cross of the match for Amari Morgan-Smith to head against the bar in first-half stoppage time and, with Yan Klukowski closing in on a return to fitness, the former Wrexham full-back could again prove a forceful central-midfield alternative.

4 Dan Parslow will remain unflappable during dogfight

Since returning to North Yorkshire in January, the former Wales under-21 international has hardly put a foot wrong in 14 matches, which is an insanely strong level of consistency at National League level. Dagenham, perhaps having watched Rooney’s struggles against Southport, decided to overload their left flank during the early exchanges with Romain, Luke Guttridge and Joe Widdowson all trying to make inroads.

But Parslow, whose connection with the club will mean he is more anxious that most about the current situation, stayed unperturbed and offered the trio little cause for encouragement, as the hosts went on to plot other angles of attack.

5 No team should be feared or under-estimated regardless of their position in the National League

Even allowing for the absence of 19-goal, top-scorer Oliver Hawkins and midfield magician Andre Boucaud, fourth-placed Dagenham did not look a side that should strike peril into the Minstermen’s current squad. Equally, nobody would have expected bottom two Southport and North Ferriby to respectively score three Champions League-standard goals in one half and show such prodigious work-rate and desire during their visits to Bootham Crescent.

In summary, it is difficult to determine what kind of performance to expect from sides at this level from one game to the next, adding further credence to Mills’ mantra that it’s best to concentrate on your own strengths and weaknesses.