5 Things We Learned from York City's 1-0 win at Blyth Spartans

With Saturday’s game marking Sam Collins’ tenth in charge of the Minstermen, it is notable that no outfield player has completed every minute of his two-month tenure. In fact, Josh Law and Simon Heslop are the only pair to start each game, and that will change this weekend due to the latter’s one-game suspension.

Law might also be sweating on his place, given he was the man sacrificed before the hour at Blyth as Collins opted for a different tactical approach. Midfielder Heslop, meanwhile, has arguably been the most consistent performer during the ex-Hull defender’s reign and, while some team selections have been dictated by injury, the message has been clear – all players must meet certain standards from one game to the next to keep their shirt, otherwise, with a squad of 23 professionals, there are plenty waiting in the wings for a chance to step in and impress.

Russ Penn, Kallum Griffiths and Macaulay Langstaff were probably City’s three stand-out players at Croft Park and all looked desperate to hold on to starting places, given recent stints on the bench or in the stand. All three have learned that Collins is not influenced by pedigree or past reputations when choosing his starting XI for the next match.

Penn’s status in the game is undeniably higher than most in City’s squad, but Collins was not afraid to take the captain’s armband off him when taking caretaker charge of the side or to leave him out from the start of the next five matches after his red card against Blyth in the league. Langstaff, meanwhile, was the team’s leading scorer when he first dropped out of the team and Griffiths top of The Press Player of the Year standings as he watched back-to-back matches from the stand.

Similarly, fellow September joint-Player of the Month winner Adriano Moke lost his first-XI spot after an under-par display at Nuneaton. Few professionals would admit that an apparent lack of competition for your place correlates to the quality of your performance levels but the example Collins has set, also demonstrated by the lack of opportunities afforded last-term’s 25-goal top scorer Jon Parkin, suggests that no player is an automatic pick and, being the first name on the team sheet, is normally based on your standards in the previous game rather than your standing in the game or at the club.

Former boss Gary Mills often preferred to deviate little from a first XI that he trusted, building a strong team spirit within that small group of players. But, under Collins, there has been little evidence of favouritism and he has shown strong character with his team selections, sometimes preferring the likes of young rookies Fergus McAughtrie and Nathan Dyer to senior professionals.

Hamza Bencherif, who has always made the team when fit in the past, is the latest being required to show how highly he values his starting shirt and he also reacted well as a second-half sub at Blyth. The squad is certainly more valuable than the team under Collins and, perhaps, only Dan Parslow can feel aggrieved by the lack of opportunities that have come his way since the change of manager.

2 Sam Collins is proving a cool customer when under the cosh

Keeping calm heads under pressure on and off the pitch has been a characteristic of each of the Minstermen’s last three away games, which have reaped four league points from a possible six and progress to the first-round proper of the FA Cup. Each of those road trips has seen the visitors subjected to intense spells of home dominance at certain points in the game, but City’s players have, by and large, stayed disciplined when the balance of matches has tipped towards the opposition’s favour.

When things are not going as desired, it is easy for a manager to rant, rave and berate from the dugout – and often serves a deflection mechanism used to appease supporters. But, keeping your emotions in check and, instead, making judgements with a clear mind to try and precipitate an improvement, is often a more effective approach.

Having switched from 3-5-2 to 4-3-1-2 at Southport to secure a 2-1 triumph in the previous match, Collins made the same change in reverse against Blyth to help his well-drilled players see out their Cup win.

3 City are no longer away-day pushovers

The Minstermen ended last season by losing seven and drawing one of their final eight away fixtures, scoring just three goals and conceding 14. This season, meanwhile, kicked off with a 1-0 loss at Chorley, but the team have now won three and drawn three of their subsequent six matches on the road, which started with a 2-0 triumph at Ashton United under Martin Gray.

A record of just five away goals conceded during the current campaign, meanwhile, can only be bettered by leaders Chorley and Curzon Ashton, who have both been breached four times on their travels, suggesting the side are no longer the soft touch that saw then lose more games on their travels – 11 – than bottom-six outfits Alfreton and Leamington in 2017/18.

4 The search for a 12-yard Jon Parkin deputy continues

Sean Newton’s saved spot-kick ultimately didn’t cost the Minstermen as Blyth, just as Jordan Burrow’s failure to convert from 12 yards proved of no consequence when City defeated Stockport 1-0, but the Minstermen will be aware that a reliable alternative to Jon Parkin is needed when he is not on the pitch. The veteran forward netted seven of his eight penalties last term – the exception being when he hit the bar against Salford.

He also despatched his one attempt this season and, with Newton missing his second effort of the season, skipper and centre-back Joe Tait could be next in line, having taken on that responsibility at Spennymoor, where he scored against his current club last season.

5 The FA Cup’s appeal will never diminish outside the nation’s top-two divisions

Undoubtedly, at the business end of the competition, the Cup has lost most of its magical allure. Keith Houchen’s diving header, Chas & Dave songs and the ‘Crazy Gang beating the Culture Club’ sadly belong to a bygone era and it’s difficult to recall one Cup final from the next these days.

The tournament’s appeal in its formative stages remains heightened, though, with Blyth and City’s supporters helping create a Croft Park atmosphere that was different to the standard National League North fixture. There would be few more fitting farewells to Bootham Crescent, meanwhile, than the exciting hope of staging one final Cup classic before the move to Monks Cross.