York City and Bradford City's angry managers show why both are on the right track
Standards. That, more than anything, is what the Football League Trophy group stage is about. York City and Bradford City's let theirs slip, making their managers angry at full-time on Tuesday.
It tells you something about why the Bantams top League One, and the newly-promoted Minstermen sit in the League Two play-off places.
York played well for the first hour at home to Rotherham United, but allowed the Millers to take two points. After a 1-1 draw, Alex Bruce’s men won the penalty shoot-out 5-4.
Bradford did not, in manager Graham Alexander's eyes, but two goals from substitute Nick Powell turned a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 win over Newcastle United's under-21s.
The group stage of this competition is about as unimportant as games get for league clubs. Just 1,955 fans watched the Yorkshire derby, 2,132 Bradford's game.
Rotherham made nine changes from their weekend XIs, York and Bradford 11. It was harsh on a Millers side whose professionalism and hunger came to the fore that those on a double shift – Ewan Otoo and Fabio Taverers – went off in the first half with thigh and Achilles injuries.
"I saw a really good side with no aggression to win it," said Scott Lindsey after watching York comfortably outplay Rotherham for nearly an hour, yet have only Zech Medley's first goal for them to show for it.
"If you win a game 1-0, it's job done, isn't it?" moaned Lindsey. "You don't need to score a second, you've just got to stop the one going in.
"One long ball down the middle, Ash Palmer heads it into the middle of the pitch, we react so slowly and they get through,” he moaned. “We're not narrowed off. We're too open and wide."
The Millers grew and York shrank after Sheffield United loanee Jili Buyabu’s smart equaliser, to the point where the visitors might have won it before his kick from 12 yards completed their perfect shoot-out.
"I just don't like the fact that we play so well and we lose," said Lindsey. "I can't buy that.
"We were the better team and we should have won that game. We're just too soft to see it through. I need a bit more. a game of football.
"We got in a great position because we play so cleanly and so well, yet we then lose on penalties because we're not aggressive enough throughout the 90 minutes.
"There's moments where you're like, 'Come on, play quicker!'
"We score from a corner with Medley (their 6ft 5in centre-back jumping well to head in) and in the second half, we take short corners.
"It's like, 'What are we doing, lads? Stick it in the box and see if Meds can score another one!'
"At the end, we get a free-kick. We've got the goalkeeper walking to take it. There's 30 seconds to play!
"Run! Kick it forward! See if we can score!
"I don't care if there's one person, 21 people or 2,500 people (watching). It's a professional sport. You win nothing from being nice.
"I saw a really good side, loads of positives, but we lose because we're not aggressive enough."
Three home cup ties into the season, York’s rotated teams have lost two, drawn one.
Although Arthur Read in midfield and Joe Felix at right wing-back pushed their cases, Lindsey felt the collective mindset showed why Tuesday's players has not been seen so much in the league.
"It has to filter down," he said. "It can't be just where the boys in the first team have that winning mentality. The whole club has to have it.
"That's not acceptable. You can't play that well and lose a game.
"We've played seven (league) games. We've played six-and-a-half of them really well. Half a game (at Chesterfield last Saturday) we haven't played well.
"It is a case of if it's not broke, we don't need to fix it. We're doing okay. But if you play that well, you've got to win the game."
Alexander's side might have won their opening match in the competition, but he was no happier. Good managers are like that.
He called Tuesday "a lesson for individuals that your preparation is not just that I've had the right drinks and I've got my shinpads on.
"It's a mental preparation to be absolutely top-notch for the most important game you're ever going to play... until the next one."
He added: "I said to my players at half-time all I want from them is to go home feeling good about themselves, so I asked them who felt good at half-time. After the game they were feeling good about themselves but they have to understand why."
Bobby Pointon, Harry Ibbitson and Powell were in his good books after coming on in the 57th minute – the time Buyabu scored in York.
"They brought pace and energy and they looked like they loved playing football," said Alexander.
"We give them such a licence to do all the things I would expect footballers to enjoy doing but we just played too slow, didn't take risks, passed backwards. There's a carelessness in some of our games.
"The three players who came on – that is us."