A LATE Tyler Cordner strike booked York City’s place in the first round of the Emirates FA Cup, at the expense of Needham Market after a 1-0 win in Suffolk.

Here are the Press’ three takeaways from the win on Tuesday night.

Back-to-back clean sheets

After struggling so much defensively in recent times, it’s always a positive to pick up another clean sheet.

Albeit against lower league opposition, Needham Market proved themselves a threat and held York at bay for the majority of 180 minutes, and were certainly no pushovers.

The confidence of the defence has been an issue all season, with already established footballers appearing to struggle with individual mistakes and perhaps a lack of communication, so having that belief is important to be implemented into any defence.

Back-to-back clean sheets can only spell good news for Neal Ardley, who will be delighted, and even more so for goalkeeper Rory Watson, who proved himself more than capable of competing for that number one spot.

Tyler Cordner’s improvements

After a tricky start to life in North Yorkshire, Cordner looks to be growing in confidence game by game.

After playing a vital part of the back-to-back clean sheets, Cordner has now also opened his account for the Minstermen with a powerful strike in the 92nd minute, showing he can show up for City when he’s needed most.

Cordner looked comfortable on the ball and confident, and often surged forward to help push York into an attack when the midfield perhaps struggled to at times.

Financially sensible

The Uggla’s arrival into the club has seen York’s finances drastically improve, on and off of the pitch.

But it’s important to be sensible with said finances, and progress in the cup competitions goes a long way in becoming sustainable.

City earned £9,375 into the bank, with a win at Chester potentially earning the club an additional £41,000, according to the FA.

This money could be pivotal in helping the club to stay sustainable and potentially earn themselves a home draw in the second round of the FA Cup, should the Minstermen beat Chester, which could prove financially huge for the club.

Ardley has already made it clear in the past how much he cares for the FA Cup and how sensible he intends to be with the finances, so progressing in the tournament fulfils his ideology and the identity he is trying to inject into this football club.