York City v Port Vale: Scott Lindsey looking for a more balanced performance
Scott Lindsey has urged York City to play their own game for the whole 90-plus minutes against Port Vale on Saturday.
A 90th-minute equaliser at home to Accrington Stanley on Tuesday was a good character reference, but coach Lindsey was unhappy York did not pose the same threat in the first half.
So at home to Port Vale, the challenge will be to start better and stick to their principles if the visitors frustrate the fans.
York's 13-match winning streak in league football at the Community Stadium is over, but consecutive draws have extended their unbeaten sequence to 24 games.
"I feel it's a really difficult place to come as an opposition team to play at a stadium with a packed house with us popping the ball about," said Lindsey, proudly.
"Even on Tuesday, there were moments where we're 1-0 down and there's a few shouts from the stands saying we've got to get it forward. I completely understand it but we have a way of playing.
"I always felt we were going to score. We probably left it too late.
"What's important to me is the team look aggressive from the off.
"On Tuesday we had our highest xG (expected goals metric), we had 11 box entries. I think we averaged around two or three box entries in each 15-minute block.
"In the last 15 minutes we peppered their box far more than we did in the whole of the first half. To me, that's unbalanced.
"I would like the first half to look a bit more like that. I don't want it just to be pass, pass, pass, turn it over, they attack. That's what we're working hard on.
"The last 15 minutes almost looked out of control but I want the first half to look a little bit more like that where we're actually testing them out a bit more."