Five Things We Learned from York City's 1-1 draw at Braintree

Under Jackie McNamara last season, the side surrendered a sizeable 16 points from winning positions. Had they held on to all those leads, the club would have finished five places above Sky Bet League Two’s relegation zone by the end of the campaign, rather than being nine points adrift of a position outside of it.

This term, following Lee Barnard’s 90th-minute penalty for Braintree, ten points have already been lost from situations when City were in the ascendancy. Again the significance can be seen, given that, had they gone on to capitalise on their ability to go in front first on each occasion, City would now be seven positions better off and five points adrift of the play-offs – not hovering just above the drop zone.

Working on players’ mental strength and decision making, as well as devising strategies aimed at preserving and adding to leads, need to be priorities for any new manager if the statistics mentioned above are to be reversed. McNamara has spoken about all of those factors during his reign, but it has been a struggle carrying that on to the pitch.

Despite the ex-Dundee United chief questioning the award of both penalties against his team in Essex, skipper Simon Heslop took a risk when dangling out a leg for Sim Akinola to tumble over as the home side launched their first raid into the away box on 12 minutes when they already trailed 1-0. McNamara also acknowledged that his side conceded an unnecessary free kick, leading to the decision for Barnard’s late spot kick.

Similarly, Matt Fry was punished at Guiseley when, at a crucial stage of the match after the home team had just cancelled out the Minstermen’s opening goal, he tried to pass his way out of a tight defence. Making the right choices in the right areas of the pitch might sound obvious, but it is the key to any side having the necessary nous to see out results.

2 City could benefit from a settled back four

Such defensive cohesion can be helped by consistency in selection, but the Minstermen have had nine different back four/five and goalkeeping combinations during their opening 15 fixtures. The longest consecutive run of games without a change in the back line stands at just three this term, but did encompass rare clean sheets against Solihull and Tranmere, which could be telling.

3 In Lanre Oyebanjo and Alex Whittle, the full-back positions should be in safe hands

Since Oyebanjo’s departure from the club in 2014 and Ben Davies’ return to parent team Preston, the wide defensive positions have proved problematic to fill at Bootham Crescent. It was so troublesome for previous boss Russ Wilcox, at times, that he turned to the likes of striker Shaq Coulthirst and centre-back Stephane Zubar to compensate as makeshift wing-backs.

With Oyebanjo finally making his long-awaited second debut for City, though, the Minstermen now have two players who can fulfil all the requirements of a modern-day full back. Both are quick, strong in the tackle and explosive breaking forward, which needs to be encouraged more for the side to profit from an extra attacking dimension.

It is also to be hoped that Oyebanjo can stay fit and that his late injury was no cause for concern.

4 Richard Brodie’s substitution meant City struggled to get up the pitch

The combative striker bossed the opening exchanges of the match, playing his part in Heslop’s opening goal before also teeing up early chances for Danny Galbraith and Yan Klukowski. His ability to hold up possession in the final third brought the likes of Galbraith and Klukowski into play and made McNamara’s 4-2-3-1 formation look potent.

Following his 65th-minute withdrawal, though, both players became peripheral, as can be their tendency, with the team seeing out the rest of the game without a natural centre forward. The intention might have been to isolate the tiring and cumbersome George Elokobi by using replacement Daniel Nti’s pace, but that could have been better achieved by keeping Brodie on as a foil for the ex-Worcester winger.

McNamara, who may have also been handicapped by Fraser Murdoch’s withdrawal during the warm-up, did not explain the switch afterwards. It might have been necessitated by Brodie’s fitness levels or by disciplinary concerns following his earlier yellow card.

Indeed, both need continued attention because, if he’s in top condition and free from suspension, Brodie remains a real threat at National League level.

5 Sam Fielding and Tyler Walton look like ones for the future

Being named as one of the first XI tasked with saving their manager’s job, Saturday’s game was not the easiest in which to make your professional debut as a teenager. But the youth-team graduate did not look fazed and, despite his deceiving skinny frame, didn’t shy away from the battle.

He also stepped forward to assume set-piece responsibility and, while he looked to tire during the second period, both he and Walton, who made his debut at Torquay last month, do not look far behind their rivals for midfield berths and are credible senior-squad members.