A crucial week lies ahead of York City as they aim to maintain their place in the football league. A goalless draw against Bristol Rovers lifted York off the foot of the table, above Aldershot, but wins for relegation threatened Plymouth and Accrington Stanley have landed York even deeper in the mire, three points from safety.
Tomorrow York host fellow strugglers Plymouth, who earned a vital three points by prevailing 1-0 over Exeter yesterday, before 21st placed Accrington make the trip to Bootham Crescent on Saturday in what could well be a season defining week for the Minstermen.
With five games of the season remaining, it is imperative that York win at least one of their forthcoming fixtures to boost their hopes of survival, and put an end to their wretched run which has seen them fail to win since New Years Day.
Since that 3-0 victory over Burton Albion, York have embarked on a 16 match winless run, during which they have picked up only eight points and slipped to the foot of the table. The prospect of relegation back to the Blue Square Premier now looks an imminent threat, and defeats against Plymouth and Accrington would leave York teetering on the brink of relegation.
Yesterday Nigel Worthington’s side produced a vastly improved performance and were unfortunate not to end their woeful run of form, as they were denied victory by a sublime display by Bristol Rovers’ goalkeeper Steve Mildenhall.
Mildenhall made fine saves to deny York duo Tom Platt and Chris Smith, before brilliantly keeping out Michael Coulson’s late strike.
After the game York City manager Nigel Worthington told BBC Radio York: “I am extremely pleased with the performance. You can be disappointed that you’ve not won the game but you’ve got to pick the positives out of it, and make sure we go and repeat that again on Monday.”
One of the main concerns for the side must be their lack of goals, as with only 42 goals in 41 games they remain the second lowest scorers in the division. Indeed during their 16 game winless streak, York have only scored nine times, and that is one of the primary reasons for their dramatic slump.
Veteran striker Richard Cresswell has recently been brought in on loan along with Ipswich winger Josh Carson to try and alleviate that problem, but the side have failed to net in three of their last four outings.
The coming week is of the utmost importance to the club, if this is not to be a one year stint back in the football league, and their whole season could well be shaped by their next two matches.