5 Things We Learned from York City's 1-1 draw with Boreham Wood

With Richard Brodie still short of match fitness and Jackie McNamara expressing similar concerns regarding Scott Fenwick’s sharpness, the Minstermen struggled to pack a punch up front for the third successive fixture. Rookie Reece Thompson, meanwhile, remains absent with a stomach problem and first-year pro Nick Kennedy is yet to kick a ball in senior football, meaning an alternative might need to be sought from outside the club.

Brodie’s enthusiasm did lift a lethargic attacking performance following his 56th-minute introduction, but he still needs a significant level of conditioning work to sustain his eager runs over 90 minutes. Fenwick, therefore, must grasp the nettle soon if he is to avoid his manager turning to the transfer market.

During the last 28 matches, stretching back to mid-December, only one goal has been scored for the club by a contracted centre forward – a lone Vadaine Oliver effort against Wycombe in April. Loan pair Bradley Fewster (six) and Lewis Alessandra (two) did net in that time, but City will need greater potency from within their own ranks if they are to challenge in the higher reaches of the National League this term.

2 Yan Klukowski needs to come to the fore as the team’s attacking midfielder

Employed in the space between midfield anchormen Simon Heslop and Clovis Kamdjo and strikers Fenwick and Aidan Connolly, the former Forest Green and Newport craftsman has been trusted with a vital role in Jackie McNamara’s 3-5-2 formation. His performance in that free role can set the attacking tempo of the team, but the Chippenham-born, 29-year-old went missing for long periods and lacked the movement to trouble Boreham Wood midfield pair Kenny Davis and Mark Ricketts.

McMamara might need to decide whether fielding Heslop, Kamdjo and Klukowski together is stunting the team’s creative potential from the middle of the pitch. It could mean sacrificing a little height, which the City boss has also identified as being a useful asset in the National League, but the role might be better suited to Aidan Connolly.

Such a switch would also give the ex-Dundee United winger greater space in which to attack opposition defenders.

3 Scott Flinders’ place in the team is under closer scrutiny again

The ex-Hartlepool keeper was told by McNamara at the start of the campaign that he was the team’s first choice between the sticks but, three games in, his position looks less assured. Both of the goals that City have conceded this term have been scored following attempted, punched clearances by Flinders and the City boss openly questioned his net-minder’s decision not to catch Conor Clifford’s free kick prior to Ricky Shakes’ 90th-minute equaliser. Having dropped Flinders twice in the past, he is unlikely to tolerate many more misjudgements.

4 Greater interplay between Alex Whittle and Aidan Connolly should be encouraged

In a team that has otherwise looked short on flair, City were again most dangerous in open play when Whittle and Connolly raided down the left flank against Boreham Wood. The Minstermen must look to capitalise on the pair’s forward thrust if they are to bring more attacking imagination to their play. Longer game time for Kaine Felix and Daniel Nti might also unsettle the opposition more, while McNamara will be hoping Danny Galbraith can commit defenders too when he is fit.

5 Set-pieces remain crucial in lower-league football

Despite McNamara’s wish to play expansive football, evidenced by the widening of the Bootham Crescent pitch, how the team attacks and defends dead-ball deliveries will carry a strong bearing on the success of the side this term, just as it did in League Two. Points are regularly won and lost from a well-executed or poorly-handled throw-in, corner or free kick and all five of the goals from City’s opening three fixtures have derived from set plays.