Soccer
Scott Lindsey hails York character to bounce back from poor start
Scott Lindsey praised the character of his York players after they recovered from a slow start to earn a 1-1 draw at Crewe.
The Minstermen were under the cosh in the opening half-an-hour at the Mornflake Stadium as they fell behind to a set-piece header from Luke Offord.
But Alex Newby’s equaliser before the interval set the tone and the visitors looked the more likely to win the game in the second half.
“In the first 15 minutes we were like a rabbit in headlights and it was disappointing the way we conceded from a set-piece. But once we got over that we were very good and it was a really good performance,” said Lindsey.
“Not many teams will come to Crewe and win. It was a tough game, but we were excellent. I don’t know why we started like that, but I didn’t need to shout at the players, although I did tell them at half-time they’d been rubbish for the first 15 minutes.
“Fair play to them as they found the character to ride the poor opening spell. Once we were up and running I didn’t think we were going to lose that game. I thought we were the better team.”
York lost their unbeaten start to the campaign in a midweek defeat at Cheltenham and they trailed again on Saturday after Crewe defender Offord was allowed too much space to head in Calum Agius’ corner after nine minutes.
The Railwaymen were impressive as they pinned Lindsey’s side back. Josh March should have scored before Offord’s strike but skied his effort from six yards out.
Morgan Williams attempted an audacious bicycle kick as York finally offered a threat and they were level in the 40th minute thanks to an intricate passing move which ended with Newby taking Ollie Pearce’s pass and finding the bottom corner.
After the interval Crewe were indebted to Tom Booth for denying York a first away success, with Newby thwarted at the far post by the agile goalkeeper, who also conjured up a great save to deny Alex Hunt and then in stoppage time prevented substitute Zech Medley’s effort from finding the bottom corner.
A pre-season injury to first-choice keeper Ian Lawlor offered the opportunity to the homegrown Booth, who has started all Crewe’s games so far.
“I had a conversation with Tom during the summer and he has worked really hard. He has got himself in really good condition and he is going about his work quietly,” said Crewe boss Lee Bell. “We’ve got a really experienced keeper (Lawlor) who is giving him great advice and support.
“We are heading along the right tracks. We’re getting chances, but I do worry about scoring goals – the players have to put them into the back of the net. I think we’ll be fine with the players we’ve got.
“It was a great delivery for our goal. We were good last season with our set plays and we’ve become really good at them.
“But in open play we probably should make some better decisions. We caught York out in the first half by being really aggressive. If we’d been a bit more ruthless then we could have taken all three points, but then York could have as well for large parts of the game.”
