YORK City boss Russ Wilcox admitted he left Halifax with food for thought after his side lacked hunger during their final public friendly before the start of the new season.

A goal in each half from Jake Hibbs and Connor Hughes served up a straightforward 2-0 victory for the part-time hosts, while few in the Minstermen's line-up asserted their claim for a starting position when the serious action begins at Wycombe on Saturday.

Along with decisions on personnel, Wilcox might also be pondering a tactical rethink ahead of the trip to Buckinghamshire.

With last season's switch to 3-5-2 prompting a run of positive results that helped preserve the club's Football League status, it had been expected that the same system would be employed at the start of this term – an assumption that has been strengthened by its regular employment in pre-season.

However, after changing to 4-3-3 for the last half hour at Halifax and witnessing a slight improvement in his team's play, Wilcox could now be tempted to change tack and match up a Wycombe team who play the same formation.

That could certainly provide a remedy for the current dearth of fit centre forwards at the club and much might depend on the ability to thrash out a deal for Frickley striker Reece Thompson this week.

With his trial at Bootham Crescent coming to an end, Thompson and skipper Russell Penn were the only changes made from Wednesday night's 2-1 victory over Newcastle but their twin absences were keenly felt.

City never really got to grips with the midfield area at The Shay and sat extremely deep on occasions, whilst in attack – with Thompson, Jake Hyde, Emile Sinclair and Michael Coulson all missing – 18-year-old Callum Rzonca was tasked with trying to supply game support for Vadaine Oliver.

The latter was often the target for hopeful balls forward which, almost without exception, he looked to head on when, occasionally, he may have been better advised to retain possession for a little longer.

Rzonca, meanwhile, did muster the game's first opportunity on five minutes when he cut in from the left and fired across the face of the home goal – but City would have to wait until the second half until their next chance, a long-range effort from fellow teenager Ben Godfrey.

In between, Halifax forged in front and might have taken a 3-0 advantage into the interval.

Hibbs opened the scoring on 14 minutes, curling a 20-yard free kick inside Scott Flinders' right-hand post following James Berrett's foul.

The City keeper then dived low to his right to keep out a Jordan Burrow header, with full-back James Bolton finding it far too easy to make inroads down the visitors' left side.

Further raids down that flank saw Burrow prod wide from eight yards and former City loan midfielder Elliott Whitehouse scuff his shot from a similar distance.

Scott McManus went on to drive over from 20 yards before the interval.

Following the restart, Burrow headed over from six yards after another Bolton centre before Godfrey shot tamely wide from distance.

Hibbs also went close from 30 yards for the Shaymen before Lindon Meikle directed a header wide from Luke Summerfield's right-wing cross on 73 minutes.

Moments later, home keeper Matt Glennon was forced into his first save when Berrett drilled a low 15-yard attempt straight at him.

With Meikle and Josh Carson now flanking Oliver up front, the pair combined to tee up City's best chance of the afternoon on 85 minutes.

Meikle made a positive burst down the left from the halfway line and, having hared into the penalty box, squared the ball to Carson.

With only Glennon to beat, though, the former Northern Ireland international fired straight at the 36-year-old veteran – and, in the next attack, Hughes was more emphatic when he curled a 15-yard, first-time effort into Flinders' bottom left-hand corner with Bolton again the instigator.

It left City with the same margin of defeat that Harrogate Town – operating one tier below Conference outfit Halifax – had inflicted on them seven days earlier.

In between, of course, Wilcox's men disposed of a Newcastle team featuring eight players with Premier League experience, along with full Dutch and Serbian internationals.

The Minstermen faithful need now wait no longer to discover whether the promise suggested by that result – and, indeed, others against higher-league opposition – revealed a more accurate pre-season indication of the club's fortunes for the forthcoming nine months than was provided at the weekend and against Harrogate.

A visit to Wycombe, last season's beaten League Two play-off finalists, should certainly offer some clues.

Halifax: Matt Glennon, James Bolton, Matty Brown, Hamza Bencherif, Scott McManus, Kingsley James, Jake Hibbs, Elliott Whitehouse (Sam Walker, 77), Josh MacDonald (Danny Hattersley, 77), Sean Tuton (Connor Hughes, 77), Jordan Burrow (Andy Bishop, 77).

City: Flinders; Lowe (Swan, 72), Winfield (Hare, 72), McCombe (Ilesanmi, 46); McCoy (Nolan, 62), Platt (Godfrey, 46), Summerfield, Berrett, Straker (Carson, 46); Oliver, Rzonca (Meikle, 46).

Attendance: 678 (148 from City).