YORK City defender Tom Allan believes Kallum Griffiths’ dead-ball deliveries are every bit a good as those that helped him net nine goals for Alfreton Town last season.

Allan, whose 2017/18 tally included Alfreton’s equaliser during a 1-1 draw at Bootham Crescent in February, was only denied a goal on his second debut for the Minstermen when Ashton United goalkeeper Josh Ollerenshaw made a smart reflex save on the stroke of half-time during Tuesday night’s 2-0 triumph.

The 6ft 4in, 23-year-old’s headed chance came from a Griffiths’ free kick - the same source that saw Joe Tait climb high in the penalty box to grab the visitors’ second goal and it is a dimension to City’s play that Allan believes can benefit himself and the rest of the team this term.

“We’re quite a big team and we used that to good effect at Ashton,” the former Huntington School pupil pointed out. “Kall put great balls in all game and I thought I’d scored when I got my head on one.

“I headed it into the ground and, because of how the pitches are at this time of the season, it took a bit of the pace off and the keeper made a good save, but Kall’s balls in are just the same as I had at Alfreton last season. He puts perfect deliveries in, either on to my head or that of somebody else, and it paid off because we scored off one of them and I can, hopefully, see myself scoring a few too.”

Allan also feels City’s aerial muscle could prove crucial during tomorrow’s home clash with footballing outfit Curzon Ashton, reasoning: “I expect them to play quick one or two-touch football and they keep the ball moving, so we’ve just got to maintain our shape and counter attack, whilst using our physical strength to over-power them.”

The former Gateshead defender hopes that City can make their full-time status count again too, having felt the visitors’ professional conditioning levels helped see off ten-man Ashton during the last 14 minutes of the match when they netted twice

“It was a great result away from home and, whilst it wasn’t the prettiest performance at times, you have to go to places like Ashton, that are not really like Bootham Crescent, with small floodlights and grind out results,” Allan declared.

“They came out of the blocks quickly, as we knew they would, being an eager, newly-promoted team, but I felt we were all over them after the first 20 minutes. I also thought they tired and our fitness levels became massively important.”

When brought back to the club in the summer, Allan was earmarked for a central-defensive role, but a medial ligament injury in pre-season meant he missed out on the start of the campaign before being handed his chance at left back in midweek due to a knee problem for Sean Newton.

It is a position Allan is more than familiar with, adding: “I was happy to start there and get a win. I played quite a lot of games there for Alfreton last season and I played the whole campaign here at left back during my first season in the youth team.

“I was just pleased to get my first 90 minutes since being injured and I felt solid and comfortable once I worked myself into the game and got my head around positioning after being out a long time.

“The injury also felt spot-on. I didn’t feel it during the game and haven’t since I returned to training.

“It was very frustrating to get injured four minutes after coming on in the first friendly and really difficult being unable to train then for four or five weeks while watching everybody else getting on with their work, so I was raring to get back out there and show what I can do.”

Allan was an unused substitute, meanwhile, during Saturday’s 2-1 home defeat to his former employers Alfreton and, while disappointed to miss out on that match, he already has one eye on the February 2 return fixture, saying: “It’s always nice to play against your old team, but there’s always the away game and, hopefully, I’ll still be in the team by then.”

It is a match that Allan reckons could pitch two teams together aiming to be in the end-of-season shake-up.

“You know what you’ll get from Alfreton this season,” he declared. “They’ll always look to hit the big man Tom Denton and, as he wins the majority of his headers, you’ve then got to win the second balls,

“Everybody was disappointed that we lost to them knowing that, but I do think they will be up there challenging too.”