NEAL ARDLEY admitted that a point was not good enough for York City after being held to a 1-1 draw with Maidenhead United.

York’s first match back at the LNER Community Stadium in over five weeks saw Maidenhead take the lead in the opening 17 minutes after a thunderous finish from Ashley Nathaniel-George, before comical own goal from Sam Beckwith put City back into the contest.

Ardley’s side weren’t able to secure the victory despite late pressure, with the York boss not faulting the efforts of his team in a hard-working performance.

“We were trying our best to make things happen but it’s football, these are the sort of games that you could get counter-attacked and lose 2-1,” Ardley explained.

“The point is not good enough, we don’t want the point but I can only focus on the performance.

“Outside of the first 15 minutes, I thought that the performance was in many ways as good as the energy and the tempo that we put on.

“I can fault the first 15 minutes, in the first 15 minutes we looked like a team that hadn’t had a game plan all week.

“That shouldn’t have been the case, we talked about how they were very good in the middle of the pitch and trying to break up the play and not letting them settle, we wanted to play beyond that quicker.

“For the first 15 minutes we weren’t good, and we paid the price and went 1-0 down.

“But from that moment on I thought that we were really good, we grew in the second-half with the energy, the running and the tempo.

“We knew that the were a team that could cause you problems and on the counter-attack we had to be really switched on.

“The finishing, Will Davies in the first-half should have taken it with his left foot when he got slid in, and I don’t know how many chances we had in the second-half. I can’t really fault too much about it.

“Dipo had the one where he hit the post, Paddy had the one where if it dropped to him then it would have been a good and Will Davies had one in the first-half.

“I think we’d have done enough on another day to have gone on and won the game, we limited them to very little.

“The energy, the effort, the tempo was very good but it was one of those days. It’s football.

“We’re down near the bottom and we’re scrapping for our lives, we’re not a team near the top that scores 83 goals in a season and is in that place, we’re in a different place.

“I see a team with great team spirit that run hard, are fit and strong, and are giving everything.

“That’s where it’s got to start when you’re near the bottom.”

Ardley also provided an update on defender Adam Crookes, who ended the match with bandages on his forehead after receiving a cut in the second-half.

“He’s got a cut, he’s cut his eye.

“He patched it up, got on with it and they tried to put balls onto him after it and he headed them.

“The lads are fighting for the cause, I thought that the fans were incredible, afterwards they were clapping us.

“I know they were disappointing with the result, but I think they’re clapping a team that have run their socks off.”

Also in attendance at the LNER Community Stadium was midfielder Olly Dyson, who is currently out on loan with Scarborough Athletic, but was spotted wearing a protective boot back at his parent club.

“It’s precautionary, we don’t think it’s that bad.

“It’s one of them to keep because it’s on the bottom of his foot where he is injured, so we’re trying to keep the weight off of it.

“Hopefully it’s not too bad.”