NEAL Ardley was left seething as York City earned themselves a replay after a disappointing goalless draw with Needham Market in the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round.

The City boss cut a frustrated figure following a limp and pedestrian performance by his side against their lower-ranked opposition, with the Minstermen now facing the long trip to Suffolk in their replay on Tuesday evening.

Ardley had reinforced that his side must match Needham's level of desire and motivation to progress into the First Round proper, but it seemed that only Ryan Fallowfield and substitute Kai Kennedy had taken in that message.

City had their chances, with Dipo Akinyemi, Lenell John-Lewis and Olly Dyson all blasting efforts high and wide, but a draw was no less than Needham deserved.

The Southern League Premier Division Central outfit may have been firm underdogs ahead of the tie, but dealt with York's attack with relative ease, and had opportunities to cause the upset that Ardley had feared.

REPORT: York City lacklustre in FA Cup stalemate with Needham Market

Kevin Horlock had already completed his post-match interviews when the City boss emerged, and he did not mince his words after admitting that he had made his feelings clear in the dressing room.

"I want to be careful what I say because I'm angry," a frustrated Ardley warned. "I'm angry, I'm really, really angry.

"You try to work on stuff during the week to build the game up and get yourself into great areas, but I thought we lacked so much intensity in that first half.

"It was slow, and everything that we did, it was so easy for them to defend us. The boys thought that it was a game of keep ball, and that wasn't the message.

"In the second half, we played with it a little bit more and we ended up creating those chances in the last 20 minutes when we knew that they were tired.

"We had such a lack of quality in everything that we did - the final pass and the decision-making. But I can't be on that pitch and make the final decision.

"I can do work to get them into those areas but when your quality is not quite there, you have to have more tempo, a bit more energy and work rate.

"I'm really, really, really frustrated."

RECAP: York City 0-0 Needham Market - FA Cup

City controlled the possession throughout but were often left struggling as to what to do with the ball, the majority of passes played sideways or backwards to debutant goalkeeper Rory Watson.

Though they did come out with an added impetus after half time, it lasted barely five minutes, with the Minstermen only having substitutes Kennedy and Zanda Siziba, and a change of formation to 4-4-2, to thank for a flurry of chances in the latter stages.

Despite forcing the first save of the match four minutes into proceedings, City struggled to find any kind of rhythm, and Ardley conceded that his side had not done enough to win the game.

"When the opposition come and sit in, you can't keep playing forward," he explained. "If you just keep playing forward aimlessly, it's going to come back.

"We did that a couple of times in the second half, work it and tire them out, and then you find the gaps and go and exploit the gaps.

"Our problem was that we made the wrong decisions. Once we had done that work, we took three touches to go sideways instead of two touches to go forwards between the lines.

"And when we got between the lines, we broke our final pass, it was overhit or we made the wrong choice, we tried to slide down the side when the ball was on, and that's decision making.

"When the chances came, we had two or three really good chances and we've missed them all, which is a part of football, we know that.

"But we're obviously annoyed because we've got to play another game now on Tuesday. We've got a lot of travelling involved in that.

"The fans are upset, and I am as angry and frustrated as the fans. 

"They're not going to come and lay down for us, they've come and put everything into that game. But still, we should be winning that game."