1 Dan Parslow brought an assured presence to defence

The experienced 32-year-old campaigner can count himself unlucky to have been left out of the starting line-up for the 13 matches since City’s last meeting with Boston.

But, on his recall in the place of relative rookie Jonny Burn, he strongly pressed his claims for inclusion during the remainder of the season.

The former Wales under-21 international’s distribution from the back might not have always found a City shirt but the first responsibility of all defenders should be to nullify the threat of the opposition and his display was exemplary in that respect, especially when moved into the centre of City’s back three.

Neither visiting centre-forward Jack Dyche or Jake Beesley had a meaningful attempt on goal, which represented marked progress for a team whose season-long struggle for clean sheets has been the cause for genuine concern.

At every set-piece, meanwhile, it was noticeable that Parslow never took his eye off his designated man - former City youth-team defender Ryan Qualter - which is another feature of the Minstermen’s play that has proven unreliable at other stages of this season.

He personified a defensive focus and determination that has been lacking and will be needed as City enter the business end of the campaign.

The implementation of a back three is also now worthy of serious consideration for the club’s final nine matches of the regular league campaign.

Having seen the team keep Stockport off the scoresheet during the second half of January’s 2-0 defeat at Edgeley Park after changing to the formation, it was somewhat surprising when manager Martin Gray decided against the defensive make-up in subsequent fixtures.

Another shut-out over 90 minutes, though, extolled its merits, along with the cross that led to the only goal of the game, following a forward raid by wing-back David Ferguson.

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2 Taking Jon Parkin out of the team does not necessarily improve the side’s attacking movement

With City’s 37-year-old, 25-goal talisman suspended, the anticipated consolation was that the team would be more mobile in the final third of the pitch.

The reality has been a much different story, with the likes of Louis Almond and Aidan Connolly suggesting against Boston that they are more comfortable, making runs off and receiving the ball from Parkin, than they are seizing the initiative in his absence and finding positions where they can be the focal points for attacks.

Likewise, Alex Kempster, who deputised for Parkin as the team’s out-and-out central striker, performed in a manner that supported Gray’s theory he might be most effective playing just behind the Barnsley-born behemoth. As a consequence, with too many static targets in the first half, the defenders’ repeated aiming of long balls into the final third of the pitch prompted groans from the home faithful but, on a poor pitch where previous attempts to keep possession at the back had proven inadvisable, they really had little choice.

In the second half, Almond’s mobility and willingness to assume attacking responsibility was better, but City will now welcome Parkin’s return, with his desire to receive and retain possession, allowing others to seek the ball from him rather than being the primary targets for attacks.

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3 City are becoming difficult to overcome at Bootham Crescent

Perhaps because performances haven’t always been of a hugely commanding or convincing nature, it has gone a little unnoticed that City’s home form is currently the best since Nigel Worthington guided the club to a League Two play-off place in 2014.

Six Bootham Crescent contests undefeated, resulting in a points haul of 14 from 18, represents the best sequence since Worthington’s team went nine without a loss during the second-best unbeaten run (17 fixtures) in the club’s history.

The Boston result was also the third in the current sequence to result in a clean sheet with four goals conceded in the last six matches on their own soil - a significant improvement on the ten shipped in the previous half-dozen home clashes.

Being hard to beat at home is normally the hallmark of any successful side no matter how that is achieved and the 2013/14 play-off team certainly weren’t always easy on the eye.

Promotion rivals Bradford Park Avenue, Spennymoor and Salford have already left Bootham Crescent with just one point between them in 2018 and City chief Gray will now be hoping that momentum can be carried through until the end of the campaign with other fellow contenders Chorley and Harrogate still to visit.

Hopefully, then, it might not be too late for home advantage to count in some form during the play-offs.

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4 The Minstermen need to get back on the goal trail

Saturday’s 1-0 win meant Gray’s team have only netted five times in their last six games, compared to 17 in the previous half-dozen fixtures.

A 3G pitch and suspension has meant top-scorer Parkin has been missing for half of the latest batch of matches, which might largely explain such statistics, but he too is enduring his longest run of the season without a goal, even if that only amounts to four outings.

City have needed an own goal and a badly-defended free kick to find the net during their last two matches while, despite a corner count of 14, the hosts only came close to scoring once from that source at the weekend, when Alex Pattison’s inswinger caused Boston keeper Jon Stewart to tip over, and the flag-kick threat, which was potent when Simon Heslop was handed the duty not too long ago, appears to have diminished somewhat.

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5 Calmer heads are required from the squad’s seasoned campaigners

Leading 1-0 on 88 minutes, in a game that has not seen the opposition threaten your goal for a considerable length of time, is not the moment your cautioned 30-year-old midfielder should be diving into a tackle on the halfway line.

Heslop’s rashness was negated a little when his victim Andi Thanoj retaliated in a manner that ensured numbers would remain even for those crucial closing stages, before Ben Middleton even gave the hosts a numerical advantage in stoppage time.

But other opponents will not be as ill-disciplined as Saturday’s visitors and Heslop’s actions will have repercussions going forward, as he is forced to sit out two more games. When matches are won, or indeed lost as the game was at Curzon Ashton when Parkin picked up his three-match ban, they must be managed in the correct manner and Gray will be irritated to have lost two of his most experienced performers in such circumstances.