TIM RYAN has branded his York City side as “toothless” after their 1-0 loss to Dorking Wanderers.

The defeat was York’s eighth successive game without a win, as James McShane’s 13th goal of the season ensured the win for Dorking.

With the win, Wanderers snapped a five-game winless run of their own. Having conceded the most goals in the Vanarama National League this season with 45, they successfully kept a clean sheet against City, their first since September.

York struggled to show anything clinical at Meadowbank, with Olly Dyson, Manny Duku and Lenell John-Lewis all missing good chances to score.

“We’re toothless at the moment, we’re not creating, we’re not brave enough,” insisted interim boss Ryan.

“We’re not having build-up play, we’ve done it all week on the training ground. 

“(We’ve) come to a long journey down here, we’ve prepped right, everything has been done right, the players have worked their socks off to put the performance in and they’ve not executed it.

“The message at half-time was clear that we were well below par, with desire, with decision making, just in general. 

“Self belief was below par. Second half, in credit to them all, we had a go. 

“As I say, there was a lack of quality, but we had a go and we got balls forward early because there was never any build-up play, we got the ball forward. 

“When the ball was in the area, we were toothless.”

City’s misery was further compounded when both Ryan Fallowfield and Dan Pybus exited the game with injury in the first half.

The Minstermen were already without defender Adam Crookes and attackers Alex Hurst and Maziar Kouhyar, the latter two having picked up an illness.

“We lost two yesterday, it’s not an excuse,” noted Ryan. “We have a squad, and that’s why you have a squad. 

“We lost Crookes and Hurst yesterday, Pybus and Fallowfield within the first quarter of the game. It’s difficult. 

“As I always say, when you build a squad, the ones that come out, the next ones go in and it’s their chance to keep the shirt going forward. 

“It’s a big game next week for the lads (against Wrexham). It’s a chance people need to take.

“I’ve not assessed them (Fallowfield and Pybus) because I’m more interested in what went on on the pitch.”

“There was a little bit of flu with the pair of them (Hurst and Crookes) I think, that was the message I got from the physio. 

“It was safer for them to stay at home rather than travel on the bus, a long journey and confined space. It was better for them to stay at home.”