YORK City boss Russ Wilcox confessed he was still disappointed not to win at Bury despite seeing his side come back from 2-0 down to win a point.

Goals from Jake Hyde and Luke Summerfield saw City claim a share of the spoils after earlier second-half efforts from home pair Andrew Tutte and Danny Nardiello.

But Wilcox argued that his team were worthy of maximum points after seeing Diego De Girolamo squander a simple first-half chance and Keith Lowe’s header cleared off the line.

The Minstermen chief said: “It was a magnificent performance from the whole group even though we are feeling a tinge of disappointment at not winning. That shouldn’t really be the case after being 2-0 down against what I consider to be a top-seven team - they might be on a bad run but they have enough quality to finish in the play-offs – but we had enough opportunities to win the game.

“Having said that, at 2-0 down, everyone in the ground probably thought it was game over. We didn’t and showed spirit, togetherness and quality to keep chipping away before getting our just rewards.

“The fans also played a massive role because they stuck with us at 2-0 down and helped us get back in the match.”

Recalled midfielder Summerfield, who missed last weekend’s 3-2 home defeat against AFC Wimbledon, secured a share of the spoils with a sweetly-struck 78th-minute free kick, which Wilcox attributed to the former Plymouth playmaker’s extra practice on the training ground.

“What we do at set-pieces is not just down to us coaches,” Wilcox explained. “The players take ownership of them and they all do extra individual work, whether that’s working on your headers as a centre back or finishing if you’re a midfielder.

“You have to work at your game but it’s one thing doing that on the training ground and another doing it in the main arena, so it was a terrific strike by Luke to produce something like that. I also think he has benefited from us playing more football than the team did earlier in the season.”

Hyde had earlier headed in his sixth goal of the season as City struck back within five minutes of the hosts’ second effort of the afternoon.

The former Barnet striker was employed in a left-wing role by Wilcox at Gigg Lane with the City chief pointing out that Hyde now has the necessary endurance levels to do a job for the team in a flank role.

“I want to get offensive players out there and the system worked well when we didn’t have the ball,” the Bootham Crescent boss pointed out. “I know Jake wants to play through the middle but it’s great that I am able to put him there and he ended up getting his rewards by running in to get on the end of a cross to the far post.

“It was a key goal to make it 2-1 so soon after they had got their second and he worked hard for the team, putting in a shift by doubling up on that flank with Femi (Ilesanmi). He’s getting fitter by the game.

“Earlier in the season, he missed a bit through injury, so it’s important to keep him on the training ground and he’s hardly missed a session since I came into the building.”

Wilcox also apportioned no blame on De Girolamo after the on-loan Sheffield United striker missed a great opportunity to claim his fifth goal in seven starts for the Minstermen.

“We were positive and brave on the ball throughout and I was disappointed to go in 0-0 at half-time, but I won’t criticise anybody for missing chances and Diego has won us so many points this season,” the City manager added.

The visitors fell behind following an unfortunate deflection off Stephane Zubar but Wilcox felt Nardiello’s headed second goal could have been avoided.

On the two Bury efforts, the City boss said: “We seem to have conceded a lot of deflected goals but there’s maybe a lesson there – perhaps we need to shoot more because, if you don’t, you don’t score. It was unlucky because the shot was going nowhere but ended up in the top corner after hitting Stephane.

“For the second, Nardiello is a very experienced and clever striker. He was stood in an offside position before the free kick was taken but he stepped back and headed it in.

“We should have done better though. He shouldn’t have had that space and it could have cost us the game, but I think everyone saw we were a decent outfit after that.”

Wilcox’s one concern, however, was his side’s “kamikaze” approach during those closing stages when he feared a desire to get a winning goal could have cost them a third at the other end.

“At 2-2, we went a bit kamikaze and you’ve got to manage the game in that position and make sure you keep the back door shut by maintaining a good shape,” he reasoned. “There were a couple of moments when we had four or five players beyond the ball and got caught on the counter attack but you always learn things after every game.”

Summerfield’s spectacular strike staved off the threat of City dropping into the relegation zone for Christmas with Wilcox signalling his intention to steer clear of the bottom two positions throughout the rest of the campaign.

“Being in the bottom two obviously only matters in May but we didn’t want to be in there for Christmas and don’t want to be down there at any stage,” he said. “We know we are still in trouble but I am sure if we show the quality, application, attitude and work ethic we did against Bury, we will be fine, but we need to do it week in, week out and be consistent.”