If Scott Lindsey can be said to have had the luxury of a honeymoon period in charge at York, this was perhaps the night it ended. In torrid conditions, against well-drilled opponents in Accrington Stanley, City toiled and were arguably fortunate to escape with a point. The relief brought by Ollie Pearce’s late equaliser, his third goal in as many games, couldn’t obscure the fan frustration at a performance lacking in ideas.
Recognising that his side may have been tired having played the majority of Saturday’s game at Newport with ten men, Lindsey made three changes to the starting eleven. As expected, Alex Newby returned to the line-up in place of the suspended Jovan Malcolm, with Pearce moving to centre-forward, and Jack Hunt and Jeff King were also blooded from the start in place of Ryan Fallowfield and Joe Felix.
The driving rain and chill in the air brought home the fact the early stages of the season were now well behind us, and that this game would have little in common with the balmy late summer strolls to victory City had enjoyed in their first four home games. If the conditions made it tricky for York to play their usual passing game, their opponents made it doubly so: Accrington pressed high and with intensity right from the start, trying to force mistakes as City looked to play out from the back.
This strategy nearly paid off on a couple of occasions. Early on, Alex Hunt gave the ball away in a dangerous area and will have been relieved to see Josh Woods’ effort fly over. Midway through the first half, with York still having failed to carve out any real opportunities themselves, Ollie Banks then dallied on the ball and was dispossessed by Charlie Warren, who struck a low effort on target but too close to Alfie McNally. An immediate counter-attack by City, initiated by Mark Kitching’s marauding run, led to a shooting opportunity for Jeff King on the edge of the area, but he blazed his attempt well wide.
With York struggling to find ways through an organised Accrington press, and the visitors not creating a huge amount from open play, it felt like the most likely source of an opening goal might be either a defensive slip-up or a moment of individual brilliance. The latter almost arrived in the unlikely form of a 30-yard strike by Accrington defender Devon Matthews, but this flew just wide of the post. Alex Newby then found space in the area at the opposite end with some deft footwork, but his shot was sent straight at goalkeeper Louie Moulden.
Then, with the interval approaching, the best chance of the half arrived. Joe Grey opened up space with a driving run, outpacing Donald Love and then sending a through ball to set Pearce through on goal. The chance bore a resemblance to Pearce’s goal against Newport at the weekend, and again he hit a low shot first-time, but on this occasion Accrington keeper Moulden had come out well to narrow the angle and was able to block with his legs. Alex Hunt then found Grey on the edge of the area, and Grey’s effort was well struck but fizzed narrowly over the bar.
The score was goalless at half-time, then, and although York had laboured for most of the half, the late chances for Pearce and Grey gave hope that they had worked out a formula to cut through their opposition. The early stages of the second half, however, saw Stanley on the front foot and looking the more likely to score. Ex-City defender David Tutonda received the ball from a quickly taken throw-in, slipped past Jack Hunt and sent an inviting ball into the danger zone, but when it fell to Connor O’Brien he sent his effort narrowly over.
On the hour mark, Accrington went ahead, and it was from a familiar source for City: a set piece. Josh Woods was the goalscorer, and it was Woods who won the free-kick, first tackling Joe Grey then receiving an overly enthusiastic challenge from Grey in response near the left touchline that the referee penalised. Woods met Stefan Mols’ inswinging free-kick with a glancing header that bounced past McNally and into the far corner. The aerial threat posed by Woods should have been known in advance, after he headed two goals from corners in Accrington’s previous game, but the Minstermen’s struggles with defending dead balls continue.
Lindsey immediately looked to change the flow of the game with a triple substitution that saw Ryan Fallowfield, Joe Felix and Frankie Maguire take to the field. Yet the visitors continued to offer the greater attacking threat, and Maguire’s first contribution of note was to block a goalbound effort from Warren. Accrington keeper Moulden was troubled at the other end when a Harry Boyes cross briefly looked like it might float all the way in, but he was able to get a fist to the ball and divert it behind for a corner.
York made two further changes, switching up the midfield by replacing Banks and Hunt with Arthur Read and Hiram Boateng. It was Boateng’s first game time since his incident-filled appearance at Rochdale back in April, and he received a rapturous reception on joining the action. It was beginning to feel like it might be the evening when City’s unbeaten record at home this season came to an end, though, particularly when Pearce intercepted a loose ball and ignored passing options either side of him to instead send a tame effort into the arms of Moulden.
If anything, a second Accrington goal looked likelier as the game entered its closing stages. Substitute Connor Grant had a golden opportunity six minutes from time when Kitching’s slip gave him a free run at goal, but his effort lacked composure and went well wide. Perhaps the pressure from Pearce, an unlikely last covering defender, was enough to throw him off. With York committing numbers forward in search of an equaliser, Stanley went close to a second goal again through Woods’ solo counter-attack, but Read slid in and got enough on Woods’ shot to deflect it over the bar.
In the final minute of normal time, though, a point was salvaged. Inevitably, it was Pearce, undeterred by his earlier misses, who arrived at the perfect place and time to nod home the equaliser. A cross swung in by Boyes from an unorthodox position on the right flank initially looked underhit, but Read’s headed flick looped into the path of the onrushing Pearce who headed emphatically beyond Moulden. Pearce’s celebration perhaps betrayed his frustration at perceived negativity from the crowd, putting a finger to his lips in the direction of the West Stand as he wheeled away.
Boyes almost gave the night an even better ending for York, going close with a long-range effort in stoppage time that had Moulden flailing across but zipped narrowly high and wide. Yet City had to settle for a point, and it was hard to argue that more was deserved. Indeed, had Accrington shown greater composure in front of goal in the second half, the contest may have been over before Pearce’s intervention.
The result means that Lindsey’s side have now recorded three consecutive 1-1 draws, with Pearce the scorer each time. The draw at Newport felt like a battling display with ten men, but the home performances either side against Northampton and now Accrington give more cause for concern. The fluency of City’s early season showings at the LNER have given way to much more frustrating fare with long spells of possession leading to few clear-cut chances. If well-organised opponents have worked out a way to blunt York’s attacking threat, a new solution may need to be found. The three upcoming league games over the next ten days feel like they could be vital in defining the direction of City’s season.
It did feel, watching the Northampton game and this one, that we have been sussed by opponents. Without a target man up top, centre backs are able to just outmuscle us on any long balls we send upfield. But when we try to play out from the back (as we obviously want to do as the norm) a high press, particularly targeting our wings to prevent us using our wingbacks effectively , just completely stifles us.
It’s incredibly frustrating seeing the players receive the ball in midfield, get pressed, pass it back, then look around with the hands outstretched to ask “why was I given no options”. I must have seen that outstretched hand motion about a dozen or more times yesterday.
To be honest though, not even sure it’s fully on Lindsey - there did seem to be a lack of energy and movement from the players, and an unwillingness to take risks. You could see it on every throw in, we just looked trapped.
Overall, we are still obviously a good team at this level, but we clearly need to tweak something or perhaps be a bit more adaptable to our opponents.