Accrington Stanley 3 York City 2: Same old problems face new Minstermen chief

A 3-2 defeat at Accrington Stanley means the Minstermen are also yet to progress past the FA Cup’s first round since winning promotion to the Football League in 2012.

The kind of defensive blunders that have blighted York’s campaign resurfaced with sloppiness seeing Sean McConville and Matt Crooks net either side of Vadaine Oliver’s first-half equaliser.

Awful play by Femi Ilesanmi gifted Stanley an early second-half penalty that was converted by Josh Windass, meaning Michael Coulson’s stoppage-time header counted for little.

Former Dundee United chief McNamara said: “We conceded some very silly, poor goals through basic errors. They were very similar to the ones I’ve seen on this season’s match footage and we’ve got to eliminate them.”

McConville fired Stanley in front on 29 minutes when he was given the freedom of the Minstermen’s penalty area before he curled in off Scott Flinders’s left-hand post from 12 yards.

After Oliver had turned in Bryn Morris’s left-wing cross from close in four minutes later, Crooks powered through to score from 15 yards.

Two minutes into the restart, Ilesanmi shoved Billy Kee and Windass chipped calmly down the middle from the spot.

Coulson met Eddie Nolan’s left-wing cross in the second minute of stoppage time to claim his fourth goal of the season.

Accrington Stanley: Mooney; Halliday, Davies, Wright, Pearson; Mingoia, Crooks, Conneely, McConville, Windass (Gornell, 88), Kee. Unused substitutes: Etheridge, Procter, Barry, McCartan, Quansah, Wakefield.

York City: Flinders; McCoy, Lowe (Winfield, 46), Ilesanmi, Nolan; Collins, Godfrey (Turner, 76), Morris; Sinclair (Hyde, 59), Oliver, Coulson. Unused substitutes: Ingham, Swan, Tutonda, Straker.

Referee: F Graham.

Man of the match: Matt Crooks .