5 Things We Learned from York City's 4-1 defeat to Chorley

Steve Watson is confident that his first three recruits Paddy McLaughlin, Scott Burgess and Tom Bradbury will all bring different qualities to his team, but it is debatable whether any of the trio has the leadership qualities that must come to the fore if this squad is to show the necessary character to pull away from trouble.

It is a sad indictment of this 2018/19 group that the likes of Sean Newton, the departed Russ Penn and Joe Tait have all been handed the armband and then seen it taken off them this season. Likewise, Simon Heslop suffered the same fate under former boss Gary Mills.

Every team needs inspirational individuals and Watson is challenging his players to demonstrate that galvanising potential by suggesting that current skipper Jordan Burrow doesn’t have to carry on as skipper if another worthy candidate emerges from the pack. Newton and Tait did look ideal choices in the past, but dips in form have compromised their authority a little, with the latter, in particular, not visibly instructing and cajoling those around him with the same confidence and conviction he did earlier in the campaign.

Speaking after Saturday’s game, Watson stressed the need to avoid panicking as he looks to further strengthen his ranks and, along with patience, casting a big net around to unearth a couple of mentally-tough, seasoned campaigners could prove vital if a much-needed boost to morale is to be injected into the club.

2 Shipping early goals continues to plague the team’s progress

Having seen his inherited team concede after just four minutes at Stockport, new boss Steve Watson was far from enamoured when Chorley only took four minutes longer to forge in front. With ten goals let in before the quarter-hour mark this term, the frustrating tendency cannot be dismissed as a recent trend or simply attributed to the quality of the last two opponents either.

In contrast, Chorley have only shipped one league goal prior to the quarter-hour mark of their league contests this term and it took until Boxing Day for FC United of Manchester to make such an early breakthrough with Chris Lynch netting on 14 minutes. Furthermore, Lynch’s effort was the first any opposition National League North side had managed within the first half-hour of a match.

Max Harrop’s 23rd-minute effort for Altrincham has since doubled that tally, but such defensive focus from the first whistle has been absent from the Minstermen’s game for several months. The significance of such sloppiness is illustrated, meanwhile, by a record of six defeats in the nine matches that City have conceded within that first sixth of a game.

3 Even Adam Bartlett is beginning to look a little short on confidence

Few people would question Bartlett’s status as the club’s leading Player of the Year contender at this stage of the season but the former England C international has endured a couple of uncharacteristic lapses during the last two matches. Eventual errors were perhaps inevitable at some point in the campaign given the heavy workload he has been subjected to and the uncertainty in front of him but, nevertheless, Bartlett will be looking to return to his reliably strong standards as soon as possible with no net-minder wanting to rack up blunders in three successive games.

4 The gulf between City and the top seven remains a big one

Despite former boss Martin Gray signalling his intention to win promotion at the start of the season and Steve Watson even refusing to give up on a play-off spot, the gulf between the Minstermen and this term’s top teams has been exposed in so many of their meetings against the current top-seven sides. Saturday’s defeat was the seventh loss from ten matches against those clubs in the automatic promotion and play-off places – Chorley, Stockport, Spennymoor, Bradford Park Avenue, Telford, Brackley and Altrincham.

In five of those fixtures, three or more goals have also been conceded by City. Four of the seven points from a possible 30 available in the contests, meanwhile, were won in August against Stockport and Brackley teams who have both gone from strength to strength following a patchy first few weeks.  

In total, City have scored seven goals and conceded 20 in their ten meetings with the leading seven sides. During those matches, only top-scorer Jordan Burrow has netted more than once, with his two goals consisting of a penalty against Brackley and Saturday’s effort when he followed up his own saved spot kick.

Of the three teams currently below Watson’s men in the table, FC United of Manchester have managed to take eight points from the top-seven sides, but Ashton United (no points) and Nuneaton (one) have fared worse. Nevertheless, City will be looking to improve their record against the top teams with Spennymoor, Bradford and Telford, who sit third, fourth and fifth respectively in the standings, providing the opposition for the final three fixtures of the campaign.

5 Chorley have the capacity to last the distance

The Lancastrians were 14-1 shots for the title when the odds were first revealed last summer, as bookmakers even tipped them to miss out on a play-off place. City, in contrast, were 5-1 second favourites behind Stockport.

Despite a flying start that saw Jamie Vermiglio’s men win their first seven matches, there were still plenty that doubted the Magpies ability to maintain such a rapid pace. But, other than a little wobble in late autumn when three of Chorley’s four league defeats this term were suffered in the space of eight days, the team have consistently racked up impressive results with last season’s impenetrable defence now supplemented by a more attractive style of play and goals from all departments of the side.

Heavy sixth-tier home defeats like Saturday will always throw the spotlight on City’s deficiencies, but Chorley’s qualities also merited recognition, with Stockport, aided by match-winning midfielder Matty Warburton, now looking the only team capable of capitalising on any slip-ups from the season-long frontrunners.