YORK City manager Martin Foyle was left contemplating a change in system after Saturday’s 3-1 defeat at Crawley Town.

Seventh-placed City have now won just two of their nine away games this season, leaving Foyle pondering whether to switch from 4-4-2 to 4-3-3 on the team’s travels.

Richard Brodie’s 12th goal of the season gave the Minstermen a half-time lead at the Broadfield Stadium, but Danny Forrest’s brace and a Ben Smith effort earned the home side maximum points.

Foyle said: “We are not right away from home and I’ve known that all along. I don’t know whether we should think about changing to 4-3-3.

“Everybody else plays that way, but if we do we seem to get hammered for being negative. We might have to change tactics away from home, although there were still positives from Saturday’s game.

“We were comfortable at 1-0 and had played some good stuff while they played route one as we knew they would. We dealt with it well in the first half but, after the break, one flick-on caught us asleep and their lad finished well.

“They then raised their tempo, but we still had five or six great chances to get back into the game and I don’t want to be too critical because the finishes were a bit unlucky.”

A sick Ben Purkiss was unable to make the trip to West Sussex.

Skipper Daniel Parslow, also suffering from the virus, replaced Purkiss at right-back, while David McGurk and Neil Barrett played through the symptoms as well, along with substitute Craig Nelthorpe.

Others in the travelling party to be struck down included unused substitute Adam Smith and assistant manager Andy Porter and, while Foyle did not want to use the bug as an excuse for defeat, he felt it played a part.

He said: “It was very hard work for some. I knew we would tire and it showed in the last 20 minutes.

“Dan Parslow and David McGurk are two of the fittest boys at the club, but they were on their knees after about 20 minutes.

“It’s hard to criticise those that played because, on another day, they could have pulled out.

“Everybody will now have a day off (today) because I want the sickness out of their systems and away from the camp.”

Centre-back Djoumin Sangare was forced to hobble out of the action with a groin injury on 71 minutes at the Broadfield Stadium.

That could mean a recall for Alan O’Hare from his loan spell at Gainsborough Trinity before Saturday’s FA Cup home clash with Crewe.

Foyle added: “We have extended Alan’s loan at Gainsborough because he needs to play games, but he’s on a 24-hour call back and, if Jimmy is struggling, we will bring him back.”

Left-back Chris Carruthers, meanwhile, has extended his loan stay at Bootham Crescent until the transfer window and was preferred to James Meredith in Saturday’s starting line-up.

Foyle said: “Chris Carruthers is staying for another two months and I’m pleased with that. I thought he played well (at Crawley). He was a bit unlucky because I felt he was fouled for their third goal, but he gives us quality on the ball.”

Meanwhile, FA Cup opponents Crewe picked up their sixth win of the League Two season on Saturday, winning 4-0 at Cheltenham.