Five Things We Learned from York City's 2-0 triumph at Chester

Having watched his side muscle their way to three points at Chester, the number of times Mills referenced his team’s physical strength and manly qualities during his post-match press conference was telling. As the weeks have passed by with City still in the relegation zone, Mills has gradually sacrificed more and more of his deep-rooted footballing principles, as the ability to compete for possession has been valued perhaps higher than the wherewithal to retain it.

As a consequence, Adriano Moke’s close control was deemed less of a necessity in midfield than skipper Simon Heslop’s ball-winning prowess at the Deva Stadium. Likewise, Yan Klukowski, whose talent to play out from the back was prized after Mills switched him to a sweeper role five months ago, has not been rushed back from injury, with the more physically-imposing Hamza Bencherif continues to man that fort.

While City might take a more direct approach than past Mills teams, however, they can still play in the final third of the pitch, as was evidenced at Chester where Amari Morgan-Smith hit the post following the best move of the game. Morgan-Smith also split the home defence with the pass of the match for Vadaine Oliver’s opening goal.

A lack of tactical flexibility was one of the few criticisms of Mills’ previous reign when, shortly before his dismissal, he challenged the club to find another manager if they wanted to play 4-4-2 football. But, whereas Mills is unlikely to adopt the exact same tactics if City stay in the National League next term and look to challenge in the higher reaches of the table, his needs-must attitude, including the recruitment of long-throw specialist Sam Muggleton, has played a major role in lifting the club outside of the drop zone.

2 Amari Morgan-Smith will never wilt in the heat

On-pitch temperatures were soaring at Chester, but there was one player whose fitness levels did not seem affected by such suffocating conditions. Former Luton striker Morgan-Smith was asked to do even more running when he was switched to a deeper role to counter the home side’s 4-5-1 formation early on, but he looked indefatigable and, having charged upfield to tee up the first goal, he was still threatening to add to the scoreline even though the outcome was settled late on.

Such willing energy will be vital during the Minstermen’s remaining league fixtures and, come May 21, could make him a key performer during his first-ever appearance on the wide open spaces of Wembley.

3 Squad players continue to make their mark under Mills

Mills’ ability to keep out-of-favour players motivated continues to highlight the man-management skills often espoused by former players. In his last spell at Bootham Crescent, on-loan Sheffield United attacker Erik Tonne, now plying his trade in the second tier of Norwegian football, scored the goal at Braintree that secured the club’s place in the 2012 play-offs.

Veteran player-goalkeeper coach Paul Musselwhite also featured in that match, as a replacement for the injured Michael Ingham, on his way to becoming the first net-minder to start his City career with three consecutive clean sheets having already, at the age of 43, set a new club record as the oldest-ever player. At Wembley, on-the-fringes midfielder Scott Brown then played his part in the promotion-clinching victory over Luton after coming on as an early sub for the injured Jon Challinor.

Fast-forward back to 2017 and, after the sparingly-used Scott Fenwick converted the penalty that sent City to Wembley in the FA Trophy final at Lincoln, Danny Holmes emerged as another unexpected hero against Chester, following up a goal-saving tackle by doubling his team’s lead on 75 minutes.

Following his November arrival in North Yorkshire, Holmes has not started successive games since New Year’s Day but, while Mills has not shirked away from ruthlessly trimming his squad numbers where needed, he has regularly stressed the importance of those just outside the starting XI, enhancing the prospect of positive contributions when they are called upon.

4 The Minstermen’s reputation as set-pieces specialists is growing

As a natural complement to the promotion of physical strength in Mills’ ranks, the functional Minstermen continue to threaten in dead-ball situations. Oliver always looked the favourite to meet Sean Newton’s long free kick into the home box and his cushioned header, which set up Holmes’ second goal, was one of many he won in similarly dangerous positions all afternoon.

Set-plays have now been responsible for five of City’s last eight goals, with Scott Loach punts forward and Muggleton long throws also contributing to the cause.

5 City's 1993 Wembley hero Jon McCarthy is under a little pressure

As his team lost their eighth of nine win-less home games, the natives began to become a little restless behind former City legend McCarthy’s dugout. Hopefully, the Deva Stadium hierarchy will, however, stand by the intelligent sport science graduate who, with one of the division’s lowest and part-time budgets, has already steered the club to mid-table safety, which would have met expectations set at the start of the campaign.