STEVE WATSON has admitted neither attack nor defence were up to scratch in the second half of York City's 1-1 draw at Farsley Celtic.

City were very good in the first half, racking up six shots on goal - two on target - and seven corners, while restricting their hosts to just one effort on target and one corner.

This was coupled with some attractive play, and Sean Newton's 37th-minute strike gave the Minstermen a deserved half-time lead.

But the pendulum swung sharply in Farsley's favour. Olly Dyson struck Steve Drench's left-hand post from close range and Michael Duckworth blazed over on the follow-up just after the break as a prelude to York's inability to register any shots on target or corners in the second half.

From thereon, the hosts looked to have gained the upper hand, with Dave Syers cementing his team's resurgence by nodding in the equaliser seven minutes from time.

"You've got no God-given right to have a 1-0 lead mean the three points are yours," Watson said. "It's a tough place to come, they're a good side.

"But when you consider how comfortable the first half was and how well we managed the ball and to create chances - two or three one-v-ones - all we needed to do was add the second goal.

"We had many chances to do that, second half as well, but for some reason in the last half hour, we allowed ourselves to start panicking, lose our shape and go that bit too deep. We didn't deal with balls into the box anywhere near well enough in the second half and they - deservedly, really - got the equaliser.

"But take all of that out of the equation, there is absolutely no excuse in any game of football for anybody to have a free header in the box, and that's the most disappointing thing for me.

"If somebody carves you open and puts one in the top corner, sometimes you hold your hands up, but for us to have looked so open in the box, a couple of times in the second half, there's no real excuse for that.

"Once you get onto the pitch, you've got your jobs to do and your men to mark. Do your jobs properly and you win the game.

"But it wasn't just that side of it. Second half, we had so many chances to break and to get down the side but for the quality we've brought in, the quality wasn't good enough.

"Both ends of the pitch, second half, were disappointing today."

Robbie Tinkler was missing with a pulled groin from training on Friday.