A YOUTHFUL York City side wrapped up the Central League reserve season with a 0-0 home draw against a Grimsby team featuring five first-team professionals.

Transfer-listed winger Callum Rzonca was the only non-teenage player in City’s starting XI against a Mariners outfit, whose experienced quintet of Josh Gowling (399), James Berrett (351), Sean McAllister (229), Adi Yussuf (107) and Tom Bolarinwa (35) boasted a combined total of 1,121 appearances at senior level.

In contrast, Rzonca has made a dozen outings for the Minstermen’s first team while, from his team-mates for the Wigginton Road fixture, Sam Fielding has managed two starts and Tyler Walton and Alex Bruton a substitute outing apiece.

Fielding, though, managed to put the shackles on former Crawley and Mansfield striker Yussuf, as under-16 keeper Ryan Whitley enjoyed a clean sheet between the sticks.

City also had chances to win the game with Flynn McNaughton forcing an early save from 12 yards before Bruton exchanged passes with the striker only to fire straight at Grimsby keeper Oakley Heath-Drury.

At the other end, Akee Rose headed wide from close in, before ex-City midfielder Berrett, whose season has been plagued by a back injury, limped out of the action just past the half-hour mark.

After the break, McNaughton curled narrowly wide from the penalty box and a Harry Thompson header from Fielding’s free kick was saved.

Whitley, meanwhile, made a fine one-on-one save to deny Yussuf, who thought he had won the match in the last minute, only for his effort to be disallowed for offside.

City: Whitley; Rogerson, Fielding, Brettell; Rzonca, Walton, Thompson, Bruton, Jackson (Lawrence, 60); McNaughton, Haswell.